Shirley leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 79% of adults in Shirley typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Shirley, ~31% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~21% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Shirley compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Shirley leans more Republican than 2 of 52 neighbors.
Shirley runs about 33 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Shirley is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Shirley. The south side is the most split-leaning (R+48) and the northeast side is the least split-leaning (Even), a spread of about 47 points.
Why Shirley 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 Shirley, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Shirley votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 30%, about 6 points below the U.S. average of 36%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 75% of households in Shirley are family households, above 77% of cities. Shirley runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
High-school completion, uninsured rate, and voter turnout
Places that combine high-school-completion-heavy adults and a low uninsured rate tend to turn out at a higher rate, as Shirley, IL does.
Why turnout in Shirley looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Shirley 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 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Shirley have completed high school, above 87% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Randolph, IL R+34
- Bloomington, IL D+11
- Normal, IL D+23
- Heyworth, IL R+38
- Stanford, IL R+44
- McLean, IL R+41
- Downs, IL R+32
- Danvers, IL R+43
- Holder, IL R+30
- Carlock, IL R+40
Cities with Similar Populations
- Cornwallville, NY R+28
- Briggs, TX R+66
- Elkton, TN R+62
- Tiline, KY R+66
- Princeton, ID R+59
- Beekman, LA R+84
- East Tallassee, AL R+71
- Grant Center, MI R+36
- Grinnell, KS R+81
- Stone Mills, NY R+47
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois State Board 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.