Silver Bay leans slightly Republican by roughly 8 points: about 46% of voters vote Democratic and 54% Republican.
About 77% of adults in Silver Bay typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Silver Bay, ~35% vote Democratic, ~41% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Silver Bay compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Silver Bay leans more Republican than 8 of 11 neighbors.
Silver Bay runs about 12 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Silver Bay is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Silver Bay 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 Silver Bay, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Silver Bay votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 42%, well above the Minnesota average of 23%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts. Silver Bay runs against the grain of Minnesota, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Silver Bay, MN sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Silver Bay looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Silver Bay 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Silver Bay have completed high school, above 82% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Lax Lake, MN R+7
- Beaver Bay, MN R+8
- East Beaver Bay, MN R+8
- Finland, MN R+4
- Little Marais, MN R+4
- Whyte, MN R+7
- Murphy City, MN D+5
- Wales, MN R+12
- Schroeder, MN D+25
- Highland, MN R+12
Cities with Similar Populations
- Conklin, MI R+48
- Ben Avon, PA D+37
- Fountain City, IN R+53
- Deerfield, MI R+44
- Philadelphia, NY R+40
- Ramsey, IL R+66
- Rock Port, MO R+60
- Paint Lick, KY R+54
- Lakeland, MN Even
- Bucyrus, KS R+33
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.