Portland (The Oregonian)

Portland is famous for its progressive politics. Surely any ranking of liberal cities would put the Rose City at number one or two, with San Francisco taking the other slot, right?

Think again. The City by the Bay does indeed make the top two, but not Oregon’s largest metropolis.

In 2014, political scientists Chris Tausanovitch and Christopher Warshaw published a paper that examined "the degree to which cities are responsive to the views of their citizens." And by tracking popular public policy (via a variety of opinion surveys over 10 years), they ended up ranking the U.S.'s most liberal and conservative large cities -- metropolises that have more than 250,000 residents.

The Tausanovitch/Warshaw paper makes clear that big cities tend to be quite liberal. And this includes cities in "red states," where voters are often more liberal in practice than in attitude. Hence, wrote the Pew Research Center, many burghs known for being conservative fall left of center in the academic study's ranking, based on the popularity of their actual municipal-government policies, such as voter support for affordable housing. There's also the fact that demographic stereotypes typically hold up: conservatives really do prefer being able to stretch out in the suburbs (that is, cities with fewer than 250,000 people), while liberals like living in dense, walkable neighborhoods (i.e., large cities). "Overall, the liberal tilt of big cities is unmistakable," wrote Pew Research's Drew DeSilver.

Indeed, but that doesn’t mean large cities are as blue as the sky on a clear summer day. The point at which the ranking tips over to actual conservative cities: No. 56, where Fort Worth, Tex., lands. And in case you’re wondering, the most conservative American city with more than 250,000 people: Mesa, Ariz.

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Most liberal cities in the U.S.

The Top 50...

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Las Vegas (AP)

50.

Las Vegas (above).

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49.

Phoenix

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48.

Lexington, KY

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47.

Riverside, CA

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46.

El Paso, TX

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45.

Louisville, KY

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44.

Indianapolis

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43.

Tampa, FL

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Charlotte (AP)

42.

Charlotte, NC (above).

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41.

Toledo, OH

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40.

Houston

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39.

Santa Ana, CA

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Cincinnati (AP)

38.

Cincinnati

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37.

Tucson, AZ

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36.

Albuquerque, NM

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Dallas (AP)

35.

Dallas (above).

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Columbus (AP)

34.

Columbus, OH (above)

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33.

Milwaukee, WI

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32.

Long Beach, CA

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31.

Raleigh, NC

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30.

San Jose, CA

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Sacramento (AP)

29.

Sacramento, CA (above).

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28.

Memphis, TN

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27.

San Diego

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Honolulu (AP)

26.

Honolulu (above)

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25.

Kansas City, MO

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24.

Cleveland

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23.

Miami

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Atlanta (AP)

22.

Atlanta (above).

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21.

Newark, NJ

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20.

Denver

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19.

Pittsburgh

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Los Angeles (AP)

18.

Los Angeles (above).

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17.

New Orleans

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16.

Philadelphia

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St. Louis (AP)

15.

St. Louis (above).

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14.

Austin, TX

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13.

St. Paul, MN

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12.

Portland, OR

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Chicago (AP)

11.

Chicago (above).

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10.

Baltimore

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9.

Buffalo

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8.

New York City

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Detroit (AP)

7.

Detroit (above).

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6.

Minneapolis

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5.

Boston

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4.

Oakland, CA

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Seattle (AP)

3.

Seattle (above).

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2.

Washington, DC

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1.

San Francisco

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The upshot

Where you live matters. The researchers found that "the most liberal cities spend over twice as much per capita as the most conservative cities. They also have higher taxes per capita and less regressive tax systems than conservative cities." Read Tausanovitch and Warshaw's "Representation in Municipal Government."