Sunset Hills, Lawrence, KS Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Sunset Hills

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Sunset Hills is a Democratic stronghold. About 78% of voters here vote Democratic and 22% Republican.

 

About 52% of adults in Sunset Hills typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sunset Hills, ~40% vote Democratic, ~11% Republican, and ~49% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Sunset Hills compares

Sunset Hills runs about 72 points more Democratic than Kansas as a whole. Kansas leans Republican overall, while Sunset Hills is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by block within Sunset Hills. The south side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+61) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+43), a spread of about 18 points.

Why Sunset 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 Sunset Hills, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Sunset Hills votes against the grain of Kansas. Kansas leans Republican overall, while Sunset Hills runs about 72 points more Democratic. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 63% of adults in Sunset Hills have never been married, above 95% of neighborhoods.

Homeownership and voter turnout

Places with renter-heavy households tend to turn out at a lower rate; Sunset Hills, Lawrence, KS sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure.

Why turnout in Sunset Hills looks the way it does

Renters vote less often than owners. About 71% of households in Sunset Hills rent, about 46 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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.