Party affiliation of US voters in urban, rural and suburban communities

Changing Partisan Coalitions in a Politically Divided Nation
- What this report tells us – and what it doesn’t
1. The partisanship and ideology of American voters
- Partisans and partisan leaners in the U.S. electorate
- Party identification and ideology
2. Partisanship by race, ethnicity and education
3. Partisanship by gender, sexual orientation, marital and parental status
- Gender and partisanship
- Parents are more Republican than voters without children
4. Age, generational cohorts and party identification
5. Party identification among religious groups and religiously unaffiliated voters
6. Partisanship by family income, home ownership, union membership and veteran status
7. Partisanship in rural, suburban and urban communities
- Demographic differences in partisanship by community type
8. The changing demographic composition of voters and party coalitions
Acknowledgments
Methodology
- Overview of survey methodologies
- The 2023 American Trends Panel profile survey methodology
Appendix A: Adjusting for mode effects when combining telephone surveys and the American Trends Panel
- Measuring party identification across survey modes
- Adjusting telephone survey trends
Appendix B: Religious category definitions
Appendix C: Age cohort definitions

Voters’ partisanship has long varied by the type of community they live in. Those in urban counties mostly align with the Democratic Party, while the reverse is true among those in rural counties. In suburbs, where a majority of Americans live, voters’ partisanship is fairly evenly divided.

There have been only modest changes in these patterns in recent years. Over the past two decades, however, voters in rural counties have become increasingly Republican.

Trend charts over time showing that partisanship among registered voters in urban and rural communities are mirror images. Suburban voters continue to be closely divided, while voters in rural counties have become increasingly Republican.

In 2000, the Republican Party held a narrow leaned identification advantage over the Democratic Party among rural voters (51% vs. 45%), but that grew substantially over the next decade. By 2010, the GOP’s advantage had widened to 13 percentage points. It has nearly doubled since then, and the Republican Party now holds a 25-point edge over the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party, by contrast, has a nearly identical advantage among voters in urban counties: 60% identify with or lean to the Democratic Party, while 37% identify as or lean Republican. This gap has been relatively consistent over the past two decades, though it is slightly narrower than in 2016 (when 65% of voters in urban counties associated with the Democratic Party and 34% with the GOP).
By comparison, suburban voters have been closely divided over the past two decades. Half of voters in suburban counties currently align with the Republican Party, while 47% associate with the Democratic Party – identical to the shares who aligned with each party in 2000.

Demographic differences in partisanship by community type

For the most part, the demographic differences in partisanship seen among all voters are evident among those living in different community types.

Dot plot showing gender, education, race and ethnicity differences in partisanship among registered voters by community type. Women voters are less likely than men to align with the GOP, and this is evident across urban, suburban and rural counties. Younger voters are less committed to the Republican Party than are older voters, regardless of the type of county in which they live. White voters in rural counties are especially likely to identify as Republican or lean Republican.

Women voters are less likely than men to align with the GOP, and this is evident across urban, suburban and rural counties.
Younger voters are less committed to the Republican Party than are older voters, regardless of the type of county in which they live.
White voters in rural counties are especially likely to identify as Republican or lean Republican (66% do so). That compares with 57% of White voters in suburbs and 48% in urban counties.
Among Hispanic, Black and Asian voters, there is little difference in partisanship between those who live in urban counties and those who live in suburban counties. (Hispanic, Asian and Black rural voters are smaller groups, and sample sizes do not allow for separate reporting.)