Vilas, SD Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Vilas

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

Vilas is a Republican stronghold. About 24% of voters here vote Democratic and 76% Republican.

 

About 65% of adults in Vilas typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Vilas, ~16% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Vilas compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Vilas leans more Republican than 13 of 22 neighbors.

Vilas runs about 24 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.

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

Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Vilas, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 10 points below the South Dakota average of 26%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 79% of households in Vilas are family households, above 87% of cities.

Preventive-care access and voter turnout

Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Vilas, SD sits in the top quarter 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 Vilas looks the way it does

Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 95% of households in Vilas own their home, about 18 points above the South Dakota average of 77%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Vilas have completed high school, above 85% of cities. 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 South Dakota 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.