Velvet Ridge is a Republican stronghold. About 13% of voters here vote Democratic and 87% Republican.
About 55% of adults in Velvet Ridge typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Velvet Ridge, ~7% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Velvet Ridge compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Velvet Ridge leans more Republican than 66 of 72 neighbors.
Velvet Ridge runs about 43 points more Republican than Arkansas as a whole.
Why Velvet Ridge 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 Velvet Ridge, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 12% of adults in Velvet Ridge hold a bachelor's degree, about 6 points below the Arkansas average of 18%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 80% of households in Velvet Ridge are family households, above 90% of cities.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with low colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Velvet Ridge, AR sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Velvet Ridge looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Velvet Ridge is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 48%, about 12 points below the U.S. average of 60%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 22% of adults in Velvet Ridge report food insecurity, above 85% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Twentythree, AR R+68
- Providence, AR R+75
- Denmark, AR R+75
- Russell, AR R+71
- Bald Knob, AR R+65
- Bradford, AR R+73
- Sunnydale, AR R+75
- Judsonia, AR R+69
- Pleasant Plains, AR R+72
- Worden, AR R+71
Cities with Similar Populations
- Dundee, MS D+24
- Freeburn, KY R+74
- Hebo, OR R+14
- Linn, KS R+73
- Mystic Grove, MA R+10
- Gorham, KS R+73
- Tyson, AL Even
- Vermont, IN R+53
- Jerico Springs, MO R+69
- Fowlstown, GA D+17
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Arkansas 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.