Ship Bottom leans Republican by roughly 18 points: about 41% of voters vote Democratic and 59% Republican.
About 95% of adults in Ship Bottom typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Ship Bottom, ~39% vote Democratic, ~56% Republican, and ~5% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Ship Bottom compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Ship Bottom leans more Republican than 16 of 58 neighbors.
Ship Bottom runs about 24 points more Republican than New Jersey as a whole. New Jersey leans Democratic overall, while Ship Bottom is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Ship Bottom. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+24) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+13), a spread of about 11 points.
Why Ship Bottom 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 Ship Bottom, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Ship Bottom votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 60%, about 23 points above the U.S. average of 36%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts. Ship Bottom runs against the grain of New Jersey, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Ship Bottom, NJ sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Ship Bottom looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Ship Bottom is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 78%, about 18 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 92% of households in Ship Bottom own their home, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 99% of adults in Ship Bottom have completed high school, above 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Surf City, NJ R+16
- Beach Haven, NJ R+6
- North Beach Haven, NJ R+15
- Harvey Cedars, NJ R+3
- Manahawkin, NJ R+33
- Staffordville, NJ R+34
- West Creek, NJ R+39
- Parkertown, NJ R+35
- Mayetta, NJ R+32
- Barnegat Light, NJ D+3
Cities with Similar Populations
- Waubun, MN R+21
- Island Falls, ME R+45
- Gastonia, TX R+62
- Cohay, MS R+42
- Evening Shade, AR R+71
- Stockton, MN R+28
- Oshkosh, NE R+68
- Erskine, MN R+47
- Kerby, MI R+31
- Sudan, TX R+76
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New Jersey Division of 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.