Southwest Topeka leans slightly Democratic by roughly 8 points: about 54% of voters vote Democratic and 46% Republican.
About 72% of adults in Southwest Topeka typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Southwest Topeka, ~39% vote Democratic, ~33% Republican, and ~28% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Southwest Topeka compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Southwest Topeka is the least Democratic-leaning.
Southwest Topeka runs about 24 points more Democratic than Kansas as a whole. Kansas leans Republican overall, while Southwest Topeka is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Southwest Topeka. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+13) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+9), a spread of about 22 points.
Why Southwest Topeka 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 Topeka, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Southwest Topeka votes against the grain of Kansas. Kansas leans Republican overall, while Southwest Topeka runs about 24 points more Democratic.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Southwest Topeka, Topeka, KS 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 Southwest Topeka looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Southwest Topeka 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%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- West Southwest 3, Topeka, KS D+12
- West Southwest 2, Topeka, KS D+9
- South Southeast 1, Topeka, KS D+22
- Central Topeka 2, Topeka, KS D+22
- South Southeast 3, Topeka, KS D+7
- East Topeka, Topeka, KS D+25
- Sunset Hills, Lawrence, KS D+56
- Oread, Lawrence, KS D+65
- Berkeley Hills, Emporia, KS D+6
- Prairie-Piper-KC-KS, Kansas City, KS R+7
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Garfield Manor, Chicago, IL D+38
- Pleasant Grove West, Chesapeake, VA R+31
- Poplar Grove, Salt Lake City, UT D+34
- Cambridgeport, Cambridge, MA D+77
- Magruder, Hampton, VA D+47
- Marina-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA D+63
- Churchill, Eugene, OR D+46
- Eastwood, Syracuse, NY D+37
- Neighbors Southwest, Beaverton, OR D+42
- Moran Prairie, Spokane, WA D+18
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kansas 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.