We’ve updated this study! Click Here For The Newest Version!
As we enter the home stretch on this election cycle, the only thing left to do is vote (seriously, get out and vote!). We’ve been bombarded with scandals, controversies, and conspiracies. This has left us with a hunger for some cold hard facts and data. As a New York-based data-driven real estate startup, RentHop recognizes the magnitude of the situation. Not only will renters and brokers be affected, but as half the country simultaneously moves to Canada, rent prices may finally decrease! We feel it is our duty to lend some data science muscle and weigh in on this nightmare.
The map and graph below show the share of donors each candidate has in zip codes across the five boroughs. The drop down list allows you to type a zip code or borough, or you can click a zip code on the map. Purple areas are where neither Clinton nor Trump have more than 55% of the donors, 15 zip codes fall into this category. Light blue and light red represent areas where the candidate has 55-70% of the donors, and a dark blue or red represents a 70+% majority.
Some of our key findings include:
- Hillary Clinton has 27,226 unique donors in NYC (88.8% of active donors)
- Trump roused the support of 3,258 donors in NYC (10.6% of active donors)
- Clinton leads Trump in 189 Zip Codes across the five boroughs
- Trump holds a majority share of donors in Staten Island, with 534 to her 319
- Manhattan especially loves Hillary, 94.2% of donors gave to her over Trump
- In Queens 2,063 donors supported Clinton, and 929 supported Trump, it’s their closest contest
- Just 81 donors gave to Gary Johnson and another 69 donated to Jill Stein across the city
The data for this study was provided by the Federal Election Commission (FEC.gov). Here, disclosures for all campaigns can be found, documenting every dollar in and out. The most recent disclosure, dated September 21, 2016, contains over 5.3 million lines of donor data, since the beginning of the election cycle. We’ve chosen to ignore dollar amounts in favor of donor counts, as we feel this helps us get a better idea of how many people support each candidate. We’ll be updating the charts when the next, and final set before the election, of disclosures comes out.
Here are 5 Zip Codes where Hillary is Untouchable
- 11422, 10452 (and many others across the city) 100% Donor Share
- 10026 (Central Park North, Manhattan) – 142 donors to Donald’s 1 lonely donor – 99.3% Donor Share
- 11238 (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn) – 409 donors to Trump’s 5 – 98.8% Donor Share
- 10011 (Chelsea)– 1,425 donors to Trump’s 22 – 98% Donor Share
- 11201 (Brooklyn Heights) – 1,189 donors to Trump’s 27 – 97.1% Donor Share
Donald has a Huge Lead in these 5 Zip Codes
- 11697 (Breezy Point, Queens) – 11 donors to Clinton’s 0 – 100% Donor Share
- 10309 (Pleasant Plains, Staten Island) – 48 donors to Clinton’s 12 – 80% Donor Share
- 11414 (Howard Beach, Queens) – 44 donors to Clinton’s 12 – 78.5% Donor Share
- 10306 (New Dorp, Staten Island) – 93 donors to Clinton’s 31 – 75% Donor Share
- 11228 (Dyker Heights, Brooklyn) – 34 donors to Clinton’s 15 – 69.4% Donor Share
What is a “unique donor”?
To calculate unique donors, we combed through the 5.3 million donations, looking at the names, and zip codes. We removed common prefixes (Dr., Mr., Mrs, Ms,) that are often added accidentally or inconsistently across forms, and shortened 9-digit zip codes to 5 digits, since some candidates weren’t collecting the longer version, and many people don’t know theirs. People that have changed their names or moved in between donations could artificially inflate these numbers. After grouping people with the same name and zip code together, we found there were just under 1.2 million unique donors between all candidates.
We at RentHop recognize that this is just one take on the current political climate, and it may under or over-represent some demographics. We believe in the power of knowledge and the transparency of open data to allow voters and all people to make informed decisions. We hope the consequence of this election is not overlooked, and no winner is assumed until every vote, including yours, is counted.
