Van Buren County is a Republican stronghold. About 23% of voters here vote Democratic and 77% Republican.
About 75% of adults in Van Buren County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Van Buren County, ~17% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Van Buren County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Van Buren County leans more Republican than 10 of 16 neighbors.
Van Buren County runs about 42 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Why Van Buren County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Van Buren County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Van Buren County sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 94% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Van Buren County, IA sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Van Buren County looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 82% of households in Van Buren County own their home, about 7 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Jefferson County, IA R+4
- Scotland County, MO R+64
- Davis County, IA R+59
- Clark County, MO R+60
- Henry County, IA R+31
- Wapello County, IA R+26
- Lee County, IA R+27
- Schuyler County, MO R+67
- Keokuk County, IA R+47
- Knox County, MO R+66
Counties with Similar Populations
- Newton County, AR R+63
- Crook County, WY R+78
- Ferry County, WA R+31
- Grant County, OR R+53
- Jefferson County, NE R+51
- Jefferson County, MS D+63
- Dallam County, TX R+46
- Grand Isle County, VT Even
- Pierce County, NE R+72
- Pepin County, WI R+30
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Iowa 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.