Sylvan leans heavily Republican by roughly 36 points: about 32% of voters vote Democratic and 68% Republican.
About 84% of adults in Sylvan typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Sylvan, ~27% vote Democratic, ~57% Republican, and ~16% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Sylvan compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Sylvan leans more Republican than 10 of 31 neighbors.
Sylvan runs about 40 points more Republican than Minnesota as a whole. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Sylvan is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Sylvan 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 Sylvan, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Sylvan votes against the grain of Minnesota. Minnesota leans Democratic overall, while Sylvan runs about 40 points more Republican.
Homeownership and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Sylvan, MN sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Sylvan looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Sylvan 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 73%, about 13 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 94% of households in Sylvan own their home, about 19 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Sylvan have completed high school, above 91% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Pillager, MN R+47
- East Gull Lake, MN R+34
- Baxter, MN R+19
- Crow Wing, MN R+55
- Brainerd, MN R+27
- Fort Ripley, MN R+55
- Motley, MN R+49
- Lake Shore, MN R+43
- Cushing, MN R+43
- Lake Hubert, MN R+33
Cities with Similar Populations
- Georgia, TX R+79
- Augusta, MT R+55
- Rio Nido, CA D+45
- Ralston, OK R+63
- Hartford, IN R+57
- Glen Elder, KS R+67
- Searchlight, NV R+31
- Ardenvoir, WA R+33
- Palomar Mountain, CA R+20
- Spanish Village, CO R+60
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Minnesota 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.