The West Side leans heavily Democratic by roughly 36 points: about 68% of voters vote Democratic and 32% Republican.
About 50% of adults in The West Side typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in The West Side, ~34% vote Democratic, ~16% Republican, and ~50% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How The West Side compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, The West Side leans more Democratic than 2 of 3 neighbors.
The West Side runs about 17 points more Democratic than California as a whole.
Why The West Side 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 West Side, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many never-married adults vote Democratic. About 49% of adults in The West Side have never been married, modestly above similar-sized neighborhoods (around 36%).
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; The West Side, Eureka, CA 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 West Side looks the way it does
Renters vote less often than owners. About 68% of households in The West Side rent, about 43 points above the U.S. average of 25%. Crowded housing lines up with lower turnout, and about 6% of homes in The West Side have more than one occupant per room, above 80% of neighborhoods. High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, and The West Side sits in the top 15% on a violent-crime measure. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Old Town, Eureka, CA D+38
- Cutten, Eureka, CA D+16
- South Bay, Eureka, CA D+14
- Jacoby Creek, Arcata, CA D+59
- Rohnerville, Fortuna, CA D+6
- Happy Valley, Anderson, CA R+43
- Enterprise, Redding, CA R+13
- Starview, Redding, CA R+27
- Columbia, Redding, CA R+35
- Pacheco, Redding, CA R+39
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Dixie Downs, St. George, UT R+30
- Pawtuckett, Charlotte, NC D+46
- Fort Concho, San Angelo, TX R+14
- North Central Thousand Oaks, San Antonio, TX Even
- Northside, Kalamazoo, MI D+79
- Perris Hills, San Bernardino, CA D+26
- Old Savannah, Augusta, GA D+40
- Lakeside-Lester Park, Duluth, MN D+39
- Hansen, Mountain House, CA D+15
- Waynita-Simonds-Norway Hill, Bothell, WA D+35
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from California 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.