Wildwood leans slightly Republican by roughly 8 points: about 46% of voters vote Democratic and 54% Republican.
About 62% of adults in Wildwood typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Wildwood, ~29% vote Democratic, ~33% Republican, and ~38% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Wildwood compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Wildwood leans more Republican than 10 of 45 neighbors.
Wildwood runs about 15 points more Republican than New Jersey as a whole. New Jersey leans Democratic overall, while Wildwood is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Wildwood. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+4) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+28), a spread of about 32 points.
Why Wildwood 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 Wildwood, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Wildwood votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 85%, well above the New Jersey average of 61%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Wildwood runs against the grain of New Jersey, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Wildwood, NJ 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 Wildwood looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Wildwood is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 55% of households in Wildwood rent, compared to around 20% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 20% of adults in Wildwood report food insecurity, above 81% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- West Wildwood, NJ R+30
- Wildwood Crest, NJ R+23
- North Wildwood, NJ R+27
- Rio Grande, NJ R+19
- Wildwood Gables, NJ R+6
- Cold Spring, NJ R+21
- Cape May, NJ R+15
- Stone Harbor, NJ R+8
- Villas, NJ R+22
Cities with Similar Populations
- Surfside Beach, SC R+29
- Shoreham, NY R+24
- Boulevard Park, WA D+34
- Sunset Beach, NC R+37
- Posen, IL D+33
- Ashburn, GA D+13
- Cosby, TN R+69
- Bethpage, TN R+66
- Hamptonville, NC R+63
- Perry, UT R+51
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New Jersey 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.