Spencer Heights leans Democratic by roughly 22 points: about 61% of voters vote Democratic and 39% Republican.
About 55% of adults in Spencer Heights typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Spencer Heights, ~34% vote Democratic, ~21% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Spencer Heights compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Spencer Heights leans more Democratic than 74 of 76 neighbors.
Spencer Heights runs about 11 points more Democratic than Illinois as a whole.
Why Spencer Heights 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 Spencer Heights, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 44% of adults in Spencer Heights have never been married, well above similar-sized cities (around 26%).
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Spencer Heights, IL sits in the bottom 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 Spencer Heights looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Spencer Heights is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 44% of households in Spencer Heights rent, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 25%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 27% of adults in Spencer Heights report food insecurity, above 93% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Mounds, IL D+27
- Villa Ridge, IL R+39
- Mound City, IL D+7
- North Mounds, IL Even
- Pulaski, IL R+22
- Olmsted, IL R+54
- Cairo, IL D+42
- Tamms, IL R+26
Cities with Similar Populations
- Rulison, CO R+49
- Verne, WY R+69
- Holt, TX R+84
- Turkey Flat, AZ R+70
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.