Southwest Hills is a Democratic stronghold. About 86% of voters here vote Democratic and 14% Republican.
About 98% of adults in Southwest Hills typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Southwest Hills, ~84% vote Democratic, ~14% Republican, and ~2% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Southwest Hills compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Southwest Hills leans more Democratic than 16 of 38 neighbors.
Southwest Hills runs about 58 points more Democratic than Oregon as a whole.
Why Southwest Hills leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Southwest Hills, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 84% of adults in Southwest Hills hold a bachelor's degree, about 55 points above the U.S. average of 28%.
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 Southwest Hills, Portland, OR does.
Why turnout in Southwest Hills looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Southwest Hills 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 75%, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and more than 99% of adults in Southwest Hills have completed high school, above 95% of neighborhoods. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Homestead, Portland, OR D+69
- University District, Portland, OR D+62
- Bridlemile, Portland, OR D+61
- Northwest, Portland, OR D+77
- Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill, Portland, OR D+68
- Hillsdale, Portland, OR D+74
- Hayhurst, Portland, OR D+68
- Pearl District, Portland, OR D+63
- Slabtown, Portland, OR D+78
- Old Town-Chinatown, Portland, OR D+54
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Wellington-Harrington, Cambridge, MA D+72
- South Side, West Palm Beach, FL Even
- Tremont, Cleveland, OH D+55
- Disston Heights, St. Petersburg, FL Even
- Greenville, Scarsdale, NY D+27
- Elmwood Area, Abilene, TX R+25
- Richmond Factory, Augusta, GA D+53
- Central Business District, Orlando, FL D+30
- Bryant, Buffalo, NY D+68
- University Park, Dayton, OH D+23
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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.