Westerly leans slightly Democratic by roughly 8 points: about 54% of voters vote Democratic and 46% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Rhode Island did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.
About 75% of adults in Westerly typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Westerly, ~41% vote Democratic, ~34% Republican, and ~25% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Westerly compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Westerly leans more Democratic than 18 of 31 neighbors.
Westerly runs about 7 points more Republican than Rhode Island as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Westerly. The northwest side runs the most Democratic (D+17) and the northeast side runs the most Republican (R+6), a spread of about 23 points.
Why Westerly 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 Westerly, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 46% of adults in Westerly hold a bachelor's degree, about 17 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 31% of adults in Westerly have never been married, above 76% of cities.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Westerly, RI sits in the top 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 Westerly looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Westerly 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 73%, about 13 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Bradford, RI R+8
- Ashaway, RI R+11
- Wood River Junction, RI R+11
- Charlestown, RI R+3
- Hopkinton, RI R+12
- Carolina, RI R+9
- Hope Valley, RI R+15
- Richmond, RI R+8
- Kenyon, RI R+4
- Fishers Island, NY D+21
Cities with Similar Populations
- Lumberton, TX R+70
- Agoura Hills, CA D+18
- Palm Valley, FL R+23
- Stephens City, VA R+21
- Smithfield, NC R+14
- Rocky River, OH D+21
- Seffner, FL R+12
- Elmwood Park, NJ R+7
- Enumclaw, WA R+7
- Thomaston, GA R+25
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Rhode Island Board 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. RI did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.