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NEW STUDY RANKS AMERICA’S MOST LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE CITIES
Bay Area Center for Voting Research ^ | August 11, 2005 | Bay Area Center for Voting Research

Posted on 08/11/2005 1:13:23 PM PDT by TheMole

BERKELEY, CA – A new nationwide study released today by the nonpartisan Bay Area Center for Voting Research (BACVR) ranks the political leanings of every American city and finds that Detroit, Michigan is the most liberal and Provo, Utah the most conservative.

In all, the BACVR researchers examined voting patterns of 237 American cities with populations of over 100,000 and ranked them each on liberal and conservative scales.

The list of America’s most liberal cities is dominated by cities with large African American populations that are concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest and California. Conversely, the study found that the staunchest conservative cities are clustered in the South and interior West and have extremely low numbers of African American residents.

“Detroit and Provo epitomize America’s political, economic and racial polarization,” said Jason Alderman a BACVR director. “As the most conservative city in America, Provo is overwhelmingly white and solidly middle class. This is in stark contrast to Detroit, which is impoverished, black and the most liberal.” Gary, Indiana, a rust belt former steel town, comes in as America’s second most liberal city, followed by Berkeley, California, which ranks third. Washington, D.C. comes in as the fourth most liberal and Oakland, California comes in fifth.

On the list of the nation’s most conservative cities, Texas cements its reputation as America’s most rock-ribbed state, having three cities in the top five. Lubbock and Abilene, Texas rank as the second and third most conservative cities, respectively, followed by Hialeah, Florida in fourth place and Plano, Texas in fifth.

BACVR researchers found a direct correlation between a city’s political ideology and its racial makeup. “The great political divide in America today is not red vs. blue, north vs. south, costal vs. interior or even rich vs. poor – it is now clearly black vs. white,” said Phil Reiff, a BACVR director.

“While there are a few liberal cities without large African American populations, these wind up being the exceptions. College towns like Berkeley and Cambridge have modest black populations but remain bastions of upper middle-class, white, intellectual liberalism. These liberal white communities, however, are more reminiscent of penguins clustering together around a shrinking iceberg than of a vibrant and growing political movement,” Reiff said.

The Bay Area Center for Voting Research is a nonpartisan think tank based in Berkeley, California. A full copy of the report and the complete list of rankings for all 237 cities are available at www.votingresearch.org.

America’s 25 Most Liberal Cities
(in descending order)
1 Detroit Michigan
2 Gary Indiana
3 Berkeley California
4 Washington, D.C.
5 Oakland California
6 Inglewood California
7 Newark New Jersey
8 Cambridge Massachusetts
9 San Francisco California
10 Flint Michigan
11 Cleveland Ohio
12 Hartford Connecticut
13 Paterson New Jersey
14 Baltimore Maryland
15 New Haven Connecticut
16 Seattle Washington
17 Chicago Illinois
18 Philadelphia Pennsylvania
19 Birmingham Alabama
20 St. Louis Missouri
21 New York New York
22 Providence Rhode Island
23 Minneapolis Minnesota
24 Boston Massachusetts
25 Buffalo New York

America’s 25 Most Conservative Cities
(in descending order)
1 Provo Utah
2 Lubbock Texas
3 Abilene Texas
4 Hialeah Florida
5 Plano Texas
6 Colorado Springs Colorado
7 Gilbert Arizona
8 Bakersfield California
9 Lafayette Louisiana
10 Orange California
11 Escondido California
12 Allentown Pennsylvania
13 Mesa Arizona
14 Arlington Texas
15 Peoria Arizona
16 Cape Coral Florida
17 Garden Grove California
18 Simi Valley California
19 Corona California
20 Clearwater Florida
21 West Valley City Utah
22 Oklahoma City Oklahoma
23 Overland Park Kansas
24 Anchorage Alaska
25 Huntington Beach California


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bayarea; conservativecities; liberalcities; study; topten; zaq
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To: Choose Ye This Day

But is there a house available by the Osmonds?


121 posted on 08/11/2005 2:05:06 PM PDT by TXBubba ( Democrats: If they don't abort you then they will tax you to death.)
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To: FeliciaCat

Newark, Sharpe James' personal piggy bank.

New Jersey would be such a nice place if we could eject Newark, Paterson, Jersey City and Camden into outer space.

I would include Trenton in that list but I kind of like the State Capitol.


122 posted on 08/11/2005 2:05:30 PM PDT by XRdsRev (New Jersey has more horses per square mile than any other U.S. state.)
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To: Army Air Corps; WestTexasWend; MeanWestTexan

westex ping


123 posted on 08/11/2005 2:05:54 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana (There will be no bad talk or loud talk in this place. CB Stubblefield.)
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To: HostileTerritory

It very white and very low crime- except for the Indian reservations, which are considerable.


124 posted on 08/11/2005 2:06:00 PM PDT by Finalapproach29er (America is gradually becoming the Godless,out-of-control golden-calf scene,in "The Ten Commandments")
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To: al_c

You don't get out much do you? Austin is liberal but by no means near those in the L column.


125 posted on 08/11/2005 2:10:29 PM PDT by eastforker (Under Cover FReeper going dark(too much 24))
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To: clintonh8r
Provo:

Near Heber City:


126 posted on 08/11/2005 2:11:03 PM PDT by Choose Ye This Day (What did Al Franken know, and when did he know it?)
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To: Sterm26
I can see Philly being on the list of Lib cities, but how did we beat New York? (If only we could do so on the field!)

New York is definitely a liberal city, but it also contains one of the most staunchly Republican Congressional districts in the country (the 13th, which covers Staten Island and part of Brooklyn).

127 posted on 08/11/2005 2:11:21 PM PDT by Alberta's Child (I ain't got a dime, but what I got is mine. I ain't rich, but Lord I'm free.)
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To: TXBubba

Marie's house just caught on fire the other week. You might be able to get a deal.

There are high Dental Standards to live near the Osmonds, however.


128 posted on 08/11/2005 2:12:32 PM PDT by Choose Ye This Day (What did Al Franken know, and when did he know it?)
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Comment #129 Removed by Moderator

To: hispanarepublicana

Well, the Left still hasn't realised that a growing number of hispanics are voting for conservatives. In my homewtown San Antonio, had tons of "Viva Bush" posters during the 1992 election; the local Dems were dismayed by the number of pro-Bush posters in the barrio.


130 posted on 08/11/2005 2:16:00 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Army Air Corps
In my homewtown San Antonio, had tons of "Viva Bush" posters during the 1992 election; the local Dems were dismayed by the number of pro-Bush posters in the barrio.

I saw a Hispanic guy driving a truck with a sticker that said "Kerry es Pendejo" just before the election.

131 posted on 08/11/2005 2:18:08 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana (There will be no bad talk or loud talk in this place. CB Stubblefield.)
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To: IowaHawk

The two lists could just as easily be of the fastest growing communities in the country and the slowest growing, or declining communities in the country. It's probably not a coincidence. People want to be around positive people and are driven out by the negative ones remaining. That's always been the history of development in the world. People, jobs, creativity and productivity go where they are welcomed, honored and celebrated.


132 posted on 08/11/2005 2:18:42 PM PDT by MikeHu
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To: hispanarepublicana

Esto es la verdad!


133 posted on 08/11/2005 2:20:45 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Choose Ye This Day

Wow, thats purty.


134 posted on 08/11/2005 2:21:12 PM PDT by Ranald S. MacKenzie (Its the philosophy, stupid.)
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To: hispanarepublicana

Also, the left is only now realising that more hispanics are becoming active in conservative groups and causes. Also, a growing number of hispanics are running for office as Republicans (Lubbock's sheriff is an example).


135 posted on 08/11/2005 2:25:55 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: chs68
Is there a Peoria in Arizona? Yes, there is. It's in Maricopa County and had a population of 104,000 in the 2001 census.

City of Peoria, Arizona

While I'm at it, the number of responses to the post surprised me. I simply don't have time right now to reply to the posters, but just quickly (1) this is a survey of voting behavior not cultural liberalism (2) it only counts cities over 100,000 population (3) sure they're the "Bay Area Center" and that produces the same reaction in me as it does most of you, but they're straightforward about their surveys, and that comparison of liberals to penguins on melting ice is a good one.

136 posted on 08/11/2005 2:26:51 PM PDT by TheMole
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To: Ranald S. MacKenzie; Army Air Corps

It ain't Lubbock, is it? That's as far as I'll go, because armyaircorps will go to posting photos.....


137 posted on 08/11/2005 2:27:55 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana (There will be no bad talk or loud talk in this place. CB Stubblefield.)
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To: hispanarepublicana

You are tempting me, aren't you? :-)


138 posted on 08/11/2005 2:30:16 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: MikeHu

"Liberal" cities were the story of the 20th century, just as "conservative" communities are the story of the 21st century. But also rooted in the 20th century success story were the institutions like broadcast (mainstream) media, communism, socialism, trade unionism, fascism and demagoguery, public schools and the universities. They're fighting hard to remain relevant and in control of a dynamic, evolving society that levels the playing field -- just when they thought they were at the top and have a right to permanently remain there. It doesn't work that way. That's why all your Helen Thomases and Jimmy Carters are screaming for everybody to get back with the program of worshipping them as society's deities.


139 posted on 08/11/2005 2:30:40 PM PDT by MikeHu
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To: MikeHu

Did I forget to mention Wolf Blitzer?

Louis the Great, the Sun King would say, "I AM the State."

The news people now insist, "I am the news."


140 posted on 08/11/2005 2:35:51 PM PDT by MikeHu
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