Wayne County is a Republican stronghold. About 14% of voters here vote Democratic and 86% Republican.
About 55% of adults in Wayne County typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Wayne County, ~8% vote Democratic, ~47% Republican, and ~45% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Wayne County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Wayne County leans more Republican than 12 of 14 neighbors.
Wayne County runs about 41 points more Republican than Tennessee as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Wayne County. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+79) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+63), a spread of about 16 points.
Why Wayne County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Wayne County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 14% of adults in Wayne County hold a bachelor's degree, about 8 points below the Tennessee average of 22%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 69% of households in Wayne County are family households, above 76% of counties.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Wayne County, TN sits in the bottom 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 Wayne County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Wayne County 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 50%, about 6 points below the Tennessee average of 56%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 84% of adults in Wayne County have completed high school, below 86% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Lewis County, TN R+67
- Lawrence County, TN R+68
- Hardin County, TN R+69
- Perry County, TN R+73
- Lauderdale County, AL R+47
- Decatur County, TN R+69
- Colbert County, AL R+46
- McNairy County, TN R+71
- Giles County, TN R+57
- Henderson County, TN R+65
Counties with Similar Populations
- Bayfield County, WI D+6
- Lawrence County, AR R+65
- Dade County, GA R+64
- Wayne County, IL R+65
- Lawrence County, KY R+67
- Long County, GA R+26
- Brooks County, GA R+23
- Parke County, IN R+59
- Hill County, MT R+23
- Union County, FL R+61
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of 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.