Well this has been one heck of a couple of years for the Republican Party. Never in my life time have I see anything like it — given that’s a relatively short lifetime, but who’s counting?
And now that we’re headed towards the next big election, we wanted to get a better sense of what parts of California would be the most likely to back Donald Trump again.
Specifically, which cities have the highest number of conservative voters in the Golden State?
In order to do so, we turned our sites on measuring how each city in California with populations greater than 5,000 voted and contributed to political campaigns in the past several years. The cities with the highest percentage of voters who voted republican and gave the most to conservatives where named the most conservative cities in the state.
If you’re wondering, San Francisco is the most liberal city in California of all those we measured.
And to be clear, we didn’t form this list based on our own biases — we relied on the cold hard data. For more on how we ran the numbers, keep on reading. Then we’ll take a closer look at each of our top 10 most conservative cities in California.
And if you already knew these places were conservative, check out some more reading about California and the most conservative places in the country:
How we determined the most conservative cities in California for 2019
We started by making a list of every city in California over 5,000 people based on the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (The most recent data). That left us with 425 cities and towns.
We then measured the voting record and donation data to determine which places lean the most rightward in their allegiances by:
- Percentage Of Registered Republicans
- # Of Contributions To Republicans Per Capita
- $ Amount Contributed To Republicans Per Capita
Next, we ranked each city from 1 to 425 for each of the criteria where number one was the most conservative.
The winner, Susanville, is “The Most Conservative City in California For 2019”.
Let’s go through these conservative places, shall we?
The 10 Most Conservative Places In California For 2019
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Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the southern part of the county, at an elevation of 4,186 feet. The population was 17,974 in the 2010 census, up from 13,541 in the 2000 census. Much of the population increase is related to persons held at two state prisons in the city.
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Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat, of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,076 at the 2010 census, up from 13,147 at the 2000 census.
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Redding, officially the City of Redding, is the county seat of Shasta County, California, in the northern part of the state. It lies along the Sacramento River, is 162 miles north of Sacramento, and 120 miles south of the Oregon border. Interstate 5 bisects the entire city, from the south to north before it approaches Shasta Lake, which is located 15 miles to the north. The 2010 population was 89,861. Redding is the largest city in the Shasta Cascade region, and it is the fourth-largest city in the Sacramento Valley, behind Sacramento, Elk Grove, and Roseville.
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Population: 10,125
Percent Republican: 63.9%
$ Republican Amount Per Capita: $7.23
# Republican Contributions Per Capita: 0.06
More on Shasta Lake: Data
The City of Shasta Lake is a city in Shasta County, California, United States. It is the closest settlement to Shasta Dam and Shasta Lake reservoir, which are popular tourist destinations. The population was 10,164 at the 2010 census, up from 9,008 at the 2000 census.
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Willows is a city in and the county seat of Glenn County, California. The city is a home to regional government offices, including the California Highway Patrol, California Department of Motor Vehicles, the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the main offices of the Mendocino National Forest, which comprises about one million acres of Federal land located mostly in mountainous terrain west of Willows. The population was 6,166 at the 2010 census, down from 6,220 at the 2000 census.
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Ione is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 7,918 at the 2010 census, up from 7,129 in 2000. Once known as “Bed-Bug” and “Freeze Out,” Ione was an important supply center on the main road to the Mother Lode and Southern Mines during the California Gold Rush.
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Marysville is the county seat of Yuba County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted in the 2000 Census. It is included in the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, often referred to as the Yuba-Sutter Area after the two counties, Yuba and Sutter. The metropolitan statistical area is part of the Greater Sacramento area.
Summing Up The Conservative Strongholds in California
Well there you have it, the places in California that have the highest number of conservatives per capita, with Susanville ranking as the least conservative in the entire state.
If you’re curious, here are the least conservative cities in California:
- San Francisco
- Berkeley
- Union City
For more California reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In California
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In California
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In California
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In California
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In California
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In California
- 10 Safest Places In California
- 10 Worst Places To Live In California