Wessington Springs leans heavily Republican by roughly 44 points: about 28% of voters vote Democratic and 72% Republican.
About 92% of adults in Wessington Springs typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Wessington Springs, ~26% vote Democratic, ~66% Republican, and ~8% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Wessington Springs compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Wessington Springs leans more Republican than 1 of 11 neighbors.
Wessington Springs runs about 15 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Wessington Springs. The south side is the most Republican-leaning (R+58) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+40), a spread of about 18 points.
Why Wessington Springs 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 Wessington Springs, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Wessington Springs votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 32%, well above the South Dakota average of 9%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Wessington Springs, SD sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Wessington Springs looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Wessington Springs 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
- Lane, SD R+55
- Alpena, SD R+56
- Virgil, SD R+67
- Woonsocket, SD R+57
- Spring Valley Colony, SD R+17
- Storla, SD R+60
- Wessington, SD R+66
- Lyonville, SD R+59
- White Lake, SD R+59
- Forestburg, SD R+61
Cities with Similar Populations
- Lindside, WV R+67
- Ebro, FL R+61
- Kendleton, TX Even
- Tunstall, VA R+42
- Walnut Grove, MN R+62
- Union Grove, TX R+72
- Eureka, LA R+85
- Muse, PA R+27
- Caulfield, MO R+72
- Stoney Hill, SC R+59
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.