Wood River leans Republican by roughly 20 points: about 40% of voters vote Democratic and 60% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Wood River typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Wood River, ~27% vote Democratic, ~41% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Wood River compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Wood River leans more Republican than 98 of 160 neighbors.
Wood River runs about 31 points more Republican than Illinois as a whole. Illinois leans Democratic overall, while Wood River is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Wood River. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+34) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+13), a spread of about 21 points.
Why Wood River 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 Wood River, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Wood River votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 87%, far above the Illinois average of 33%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. Wood River runs against the grain of Illinois, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Walkability and Democratic lean
Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Wood River, IL 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 Wood River looks the way it does
Turnout in Wood River sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- East Alton, IL R+20
- Roxana, IL R+22
- Rosewood Heights, IL R+30
- Hartford, IL R+32
- South Roxana, IL R+38
- Cottage Hills, IL R+24
- Bethalto, IL R+27
- Alton, IL D+11
- Moro, IL R+35
- Poag, IL D+4
Cities with Similar Populations
- Melbourne Beach, FL R+27
- Cardiff By The Sea, CA D+27
- Baker City, OR R+36
- West Point, UT R+43
- Sun Village, CA D+4
- Price, UT R+50
- Andover, NJ R+23
- Ridgefield, NJ Even
- Litchfield, NH R+4
- Amityville, NY R+7
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Illinois State 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. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.