Shepherd leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 50% of adults in Shepherd typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Shepherd, ~21% vote Democratic, ~29% Republican, and ~50% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Shepherd compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Shepherd leans more Republican than 4 of 49 neighbors.
Shepherd runs about 7 points more Democratic than Mississippi as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Shepherd. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+75) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+12), a spread of about 63 points.
Why Shepherd leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Shepherd, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 11% of adults in Shepherd hold a bachelor's degree, about 8 points below the Mississippi average of 19%.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Shepherd, MS sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Shepherd looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Shepherd is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 7%, about 53 points below the U.S. average of 60%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 31% of households in Shepherd rent, above 85% of cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 26% of adults in Shepherd report food insecurity, above 92% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Pittsboro, MS R+36
- Bruce, MS R+35
- Ellard, MS R+75
- Calhoun City, MS R+19
- Derma, MS D+8
- Big Creek, MS R+52
- Tyson, MS R+42
- Loyd, MS R+70
- Robbs, MS R+76
Cities with Similar Populations
- Palmer, IL R+59
- Circleville, UT R+79
- Favonia, VA R+60
- Fassett, PA R+60
- Lake Mykee Town, MO R+57
- Fairview, WY R+79
- Newville, IN R+62
- Lytton, OH R+50
- Nisbet, IN R+48
- Gnaw Bone, IN R+41
All Local Stats
Home Services
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Mississippi Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.