Zion is a Republican stronghold. About 16% of voters here vote Democratic and 84% Republican.
About 54% of adults in Zion typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Zion, ~9% vote Democratic, ~45% Republican, and ~46% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Zion compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Zion leans more Republican than 107 of 112 neighbors.
Zion runs about 27 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Why Zion 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 Zion, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas vote Republican. About 5% of residents in Zion live in densely developed areas, about 7 points below the West Virginia average of 12%. A high white share with below-average college attainment predicts Republican voting, and Zion fits that profile on both counts. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Zion are family households, above 77% of cities.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Zion, WV sits below the national average on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Zion looks the way it does
High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, mostly because the housing stress common in those areas makes voting harder. Zion sits in the top 15% nationally on a violent-crime measure. See CrimeGrade for more details. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 85% of adults in Zion have completed high school, below 81% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Gaines, WV R+68
- Selbyville, WV R+69
- Carter, WV R+68
- Alton, WV R+70
- French Creek, WV R+68
- Rock Cave, WV R+68
- Wilsontown, WV R+68
- Adrian, WV R+69
Cities with Similar Populations
- Harleston, MS R+87
- Sac Bay, MI R+31
- Aragon, NM R+33
- Piercy, CA D+48
- Romona, IN R+54
- Matthews Crossroads, NC R+2
- Carnarvon, IA R+63
- Guernsey, OH R+64
- Greenwood, AL R+86
- Grayson, NC R+48
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from West Virginia 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.