The Waterfront, Jersey City, NJ Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in The Waterfront

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

The Waterfront leans heavily Democratic by roughly 48 points: about 74% of voters vote Democratic and 26% Republican.

 

About 44% of adults in The Waterfront typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in The Waterfront, ~33% vote Democratic, ~11% Republican, and ~56% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How The Waterfront compares

Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, The Waterfront leans more Democratic than 7 of 41 neighbors.

The Waterfront runs about 43 points more Democratic than New Jersey as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by block within The Waterfront. The southwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+53) and the northwest side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+41), a spread of about 12 points.

Why The Waterfront 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 The Waterfront, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 93% of adults in The Waterfront hold a bachelor's degree, about 65 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 49% of adults in The Waterfront have never been married, above 80% of neighborhoods.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; The Waterfront, Jersey City, NJ sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.

Why turnout in The Waterfront looks the way it does

Renters vote less often than owners. About 86% of households in The Waterfront rent, about 61 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout, and about 8% of homes in The Waterfront have more than one occupant per room, above 87% of neighborhoods. 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 New Jersey Division 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.