Waterford leans slightly Republican by roughly 6 points: about 47% of voters vote Democratic and 53% Republican.
About 84% of adults in Waterford typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Waterford, ~39% vote Democratic, ~45% Republican, and ~16% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Waterford compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Waterford leans more Republican than 45 of 85 neighbors.
Waterford runs about 5 points more Republican than Michigan as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Waterford. The southeast side runs the most Democratic (D+2) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+14), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Waterford 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 Waterford, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Waterford votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 79%, far above the Michigan average of 31%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Waterford, MI sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Waterford looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Waterford 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 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Lake Angelus, MI R+19
- Sylvan Lake, MI D+11
- Keego Harbor, MI D+8
- Pontiac, MI D+53
- Orchard Lake Village, MI R+7
- Village of Clarkston, MI Even
- White Lake, MI R+20
- Clarkston, MI R+15
- West Bloomfield, MI D+14
- Commerce Township, MI R+14
Cities with Similar Populations
- Kingsport, TN R+45
- Camden, NJ D+64
- Tamarac, FL D+27
- Petaluma, CA D+42
- Lake Elsinore, CA R+9
- Dover, DE D+25
- Salisbury, MD D+18
- East Orange, NJ D+80
- Huntersville, NC D+6
- Eastvale, CA Even
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Michigan Department 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.