St. Olaf leans heavily Republican by roughly 40 points: about 30% of voters vote Democratic and 70% Republican.
About 90% of adults in St. Olaf typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in St. Olaf, ~27% vote Democratic, ~63% Republican, and ~10% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How St. Olaf compares
Among cities within 25 miles, St. Olaf leans more Republican than 32 of 53 neighbors.
St. Olaf runs about 27 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Why St. Olaf 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 St. Olaf, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 7% of adults in St. Olaf hold a bachelor's degree, about 17 points below the Iowa average of 24%.
Population density and Republican lean
Places with low population density tend to lean Republican; St. Olaf, IA sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in St. Olaf looks the way it does
Areas with high high-school completion turn out at higher rates. About 99% of adults in St. Olaf have completed high school, about 5 points above the Iowa average of 94%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Farmersburg, IA R+40
- Froelich, IA R+38
- Elkader, IA R+35
- Communia, IA R+32
- Gunder, IA R+41
- Monona, IA R+36
- Littleport, IA R+39
- Volga, IA R+45
- Garnavillo, IA R+37
- Osborne, IA R+46
Cities with Similar Populations
- Adams, OK R+82
- Pepperell, AL R+3
- Greenlaw, LA R+37
- Winigan, MO R+69
- Benson Landing, VT R+23
- Harbert, MI D+12
- Fairview, SD R+52
- Parkerville, KS R+58
- Weeks, AL R+88
- Etterville, MO R+72
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.