Waterville leans heavily Republican by roughly 38 points: about 31% of voters vote Democratic and 69% Republican.
About 87% of adults in Waterville typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Waterville, ~27% vote Democratic, ~60% Republican, and ~13% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Waterville compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Waterville leans more Republican than 40 of 50 neighbors.
Waterville runs about 25 points more Republican than Iowa as a whole.
Why Waterville 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 Waterville, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Waterville, about 99% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 26 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 11 points below the Iowa average of 24%.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Waterville, IA 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 Waterville looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Waterville 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 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 92% of households in Waterville own their home, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Elon, IA R+40
- Harpers Ferry, IA R+34
- Volney, IA R+40
- Waukon Junction, IA R+33
- Village Creek, IA R+30
- Waukon, IA R+29
- Watson, IA R+38
- Lansing, IA R+27
- Monona, IA R+36
- Ludlow, IA R+39
Cities with Similar Populations
- West Middleton, IN R+55
- Platter, OK R+64
- Max, ND R+63
- Ellisboro, NC R+59
- Annapolis, MO R+63
- Sisco Heights, WA R+20
- Beaver Falls, NY R+51
- Oskar, MI R+19
- Bird City, KS R+76
- Red Hill, KY R+60
All Local Stats
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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.