Waltham Highlands leans heavily Democratic by roughly 44 points: about 72% of voters vote Democratic and 28% Republican.
About 67% of adults in Waltham Highlands typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Waltham Highlands, ~48% vote Democratic, ~19% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Waltham Highlands compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, Waltham Highlands leans more Democratic than 6 of 19 neighbors.
Waltham Highlands runs about 18 points more Democratic than Massachusetts as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within Waltham Highlands. The south side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+52) and the north side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+39), a spread of about 13 points.
Why Waltham Highlands 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 Waltham Highlands, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 57% of adults in Waltham Highlands hold a bachelor's degree, about 29 points above the U.S. average of 28%.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Waltham Highlands, Waltham, MA 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 Waltham Highlands looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Waltham Highlands 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 71%, about 11 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Bank Square, Waltham, MA D+50
- South Side, Waltham, MA D+59
- Piety Corner, Waltham, MA D+37
- The Lanes, Waltham, MA D+29
- Bleachery, Waltham, MA D+42
- Lakeview, Waltham, MA D+41
- Warrendale, Waltham, MA D+38
- North Waltham, Waltham, MA D+33
- West Newton, Newton, MA D+60
- Bemis, Watertown Town, MA D+50
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Buckingham Lake-Crestwood, Albany, NY D+47
- West Main Street Historic District, Norwalk, OH R+28
- Fern Bluff, Brushy Creek, TX D+12
- College Hill, Wichita, KS D+29
- Sharon, Orem, UT R+20
- Las Lomas, Laredo, TX D+12
- Mount Vernon-Hollywood-Montclair, Lexington, KY D+54
- Brookfield Village, Oakland, CA D+58
- Tower Homes, Kansas City, MO D+67
- Union Square, Lakewood, CO D+34
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, 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.