West Southwest 3 leans slightly Democratic by roughly 12 points: about 56% of voters vote Democratic and 44% Republican.
About 70% of adults in West Southwest 3 typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in West Southwest 3, ~39% vote Democratic, ~31% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How West Southwest 3 compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, West Southwest 3 leans more Democratic than 3 of 5 neighbors.
West Southwest 3 runs about 28 points more Democratic than Kansas as a whole. Kansas leans Republican overall, while West Southwest 3 is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Why West Southwest 3 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 West Southwest 3, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. More than 99% of residents in West Southwest 3 live in densely developed areas, about 64 points above the U.S. average of 36%. West Southwest 3 runs against the grain of Kansas, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Park access and Democratic lean
Places with heavy park coverage tend to lean Democratic; West Southwest 3, Topeka, KS sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in West Southwest 3 looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. West Southwest 3 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 66%, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Southwest Topeka, Topeka, KS D+8
- West Southwest 2, Topeka, KS D+9
- Central Topeka 2, Topeka, KS D+22
- South Southeast 1, Topeka, KS D+22
- South Southeast 3, Topeka, KS D+7
- East Topeka, Topeka, KS D+25
- Sunset Hills, Lawrence, KS D+56
- Oread, Lawrence, KS D+65
- Prairie-Piper-KC-KS, Kansas City, KS R+7
- Berkeley Hills, Emporia, KS D+6
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Zach White, El Paso, TX Even
- South Salt Creek, Lincoln, NE D+29
- Downtown Omaha, Omaha, NE D+49
- Riverbend, Tampa, FL D+3
- Old Town-Chinatown, Portland, OR D+54
- Allendale, Oakland, CA D+63
- Bayside, Queens, NY D+9
- Sylvan Park, Nashville, TN D+38
- Downtown Thousand Oaks, Thousand Oaks, CA D+22
- Rincon Heights, Tucson, AZ D+57
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Kansas 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.