Upper East Side is a Democratic stronghold. About 78% of voters here vote Democratic and 22% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Upper East Side typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Upper East Side, ~53% vote Democratic, ~15% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Upper East Side compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Upper East Side leans more Democratic than 15 of 39 neighbors.
Upper East Side runs about 43 points more Democratic than New York as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Upper East Side. The northeast side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+61) and the west side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+44), a spread of about 17 points.
Why Upper East 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 Upper East Side, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 82% of adults in Upper East Side hold a bachelor's degree, about 53 points above the U.S. average of 28%.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Upper East Side, Manhattan, NY sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Upper East Side looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Upper East Side 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 76%, about 16 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 98% of adults in Upper East Side have completed high school, above 82% of neighborhoods. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Carnegie Hill, Manhattan, NY D+60
- Roosevelt Island, Manhattan, NY D+57
- North Sutton Area, Manhattan, NY D+55
- Yorkville, Manhattan, NY D+59
- Midtown, Manhattan, NY D+58
- Upper West Side, Manhattan, NY D+71
- Long Island City, Queens, NY D+58
- Theater District, Manhattan, NY D+63
- Astoria, Queens, NY D+41
- Murray Hill, Manhattan, NY D+58
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Paradise Valley, Phoenix, AZ Even
- South Bronx, Bronx, NY D+50
- Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY R+33
- Far North Dallas, Dallas, TX D+21
- Deer Valley, Phoenix, AZ R+8
- North Mountain, Phoenix, AZ D+9
- East Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY D+58
- Powers, Colorado Springs, CO R+4
- Flushing, Queens, NY Even
- Jackson Heights-ny, Queens, NY D+18
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New York State Board 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.