South Dos Palos leans slightly Republican by roughly 14 points: about 43% of voters vote Democratic and 57% Republican.
About 45% of adults in South Dos Palos typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in South Dos Palos, ~19% vote Democratic, ~26% Republican, and ~55% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How South Dos Palos compares
Among cities within 25 miles, South Dos Palos leans more Republican than 5 of 16 neighbors.
South Dos Palos runs about 34 points more Republican than California as a whole. California leans Democratic overall, while South Dos Palos is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within South Dos Palos. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+50) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+20), a spread of about 30 points.
Why South Dos Palos 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 South Dos Palos, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 8% of adults in South Dos Palos hold a bachelor's degree, about 27 points below the California average of 35%. South Dos Palos runs against the grain of California, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; South Dos Palos, CA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in South Dos Palos looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. South Dos Palos 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 47%, about 15 points below the California average of 62%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 67% of households in South Dos Palos rent, compared to around 50% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 36% of adults in South Dos Palos report food insecurity, above 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Dos Palos, CA R+11
- Oro Loma, CA R+24
- Firebaugh, CA D+8
- Los Banos, CA D+5
- Santa Rita Park, CA R+55
- El Nido, CA R+54
- Volta, CA R+19
- Mendota, CA D+12
- McSwain, CA R+37
- Chowchilla, CA R+26
Cities with Similar Populations
- Raymond, NE R+44
- Fallon Naval Air Station, NV R+56
- Half Moon, NC R+28
- Pojoaque, NM D+35
- West Concord, MN R+42
- Biola, CA R+21
- Como, TX R+76
- Pittsville, WI R+39
- Holmwood, LA R+77
- Leoti, KS R+53
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.