• county
  • FIPS 20027
  • Largest town: Clay Center

Clay County, Kansas

Clay County had 7,969 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 645.3 square miles of land. It ranks 47th of 105 in Kansas by population and 74th by land area.

Population
7,969
#47 of 105 in Kansas · #2,576 in US
Area
645.3 sq mi
#74 of 105 in Kansas · #1,472 in US
Density
12 / sq mi
#47 of 105 in Kansas · #2,487 in US
Median household income
$66,389
#32 of 105 in Kansas · #1,260 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Clay County within Kansas. Pin: Topeka.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Clay County

Clay County population, land area and income

Clay County had 7,969 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 645.3 square miles of land. It ranks 47th of 105 in Kansas by population and 74th by land area. That works out to 12.3 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and in the bottom quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Kansas has 6,946 residents; Clay County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $66,389 is above the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

7,969

3144th1st

2576th of 3,144 (US)

Land area

645 sq mi

3144th1st

1472nd of 3,144 (US)

Density

12.3 / sq mi

3144th1st

2487th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$66,389

3143rd1st

1260th of 3,143 (US)

Rank within Kansas (105)

Population

7,969

105th1st

47th of 105 (KS)

Land area

645 sq mi

105th1st

74th of 105 (KS)

Density

12.3 / sq mi

105th1st

47th of 105 (KS)

Median household income

$66,389

105th1st

32nd of 105 (KS)

How Clay County's population changed since 2020

Clay County lost 158 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.9%. That ranks 68th of 105 in Kansas for growth. The median Kansas county changed by -1.0%, and the state as a whole by +1.1%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Clay County recorded 335 births and 507 deaths, a natural change of -172. Net international migration added +0 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +23. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 172 people.

8,12720208,09920218,04820227,99620237,9692024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
335
Deaths
507
Net international migration
+0
Net domestic migration
+23
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
-27

Where Clay County is

The Census internal point of Clay County is at 39.345000, -97.168900. It sits in UTM zone 14N. The map shades Kansas's 105 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Clay County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Harper County: -1.0%Phillips County: -4.6%Seward County: -2.7%Grant County: -3.1%Pawnee County: -3.8%Haskell County: -4.5%Ness County: -2.3%Logan County: -1.8%Wichita County: -3.6%Greenwood County: -1.7%Stanton County: -0.7%Edwards County: -5.3%Gray County: +1.6%Franklin County: +1.0%Saline County: -1.5%Allen County: -0.9%Lyon County: +1.3%Cloud County: -3.3%Brown County: -3.6%Rice County: -1.1%Lincoln County: -0.6%Osborne County: -4.0%Rooks County: -2.8%Russell County: -0.8%Jefferson County: +0.0%Jewell County: -1.0%Lane County: -5.6%Sheridan County: -1.9%Gove County: -2.1%Trego County: -1.1%Montgomery County: -3.0%Sumner County: +0.1%Graham County: -1.5%Marion County: -1.0%Washington County: +0.8%Stevens County: -4.0%Kiowa County: -0.7%Mitchell County: +0.4%Cheyenne County: +1.3%Ellis County: +0.2%Rush County: -4.6%Scott County: -4.3%Comanche County: +0.7%Wallace County: -2.6%Nemaha County: -2.0%Linn County: +2.6%Ford County: -0.4%Dickinson County: +1.4%Ellsworth County: -0.9%Labette County: -2.3%Cowley County: -1.0%Neosho County: -2.2%Wilson County: -2.2%Thomas County: -1.7%Greeley County: -9.6%Osage County: -0.0%Finney County: +0.1%Kearny County: -3.8%Kingman County: -6.4%Republic County: -1.3%Ottawa County: +2.1%Smith County: -0.5%Crawford County: -0.1%Elk County: -1.5%Miami County: +4.4%Hodgeman County: -3.7%Morris County: -1.7%Morton County: -8.1%Harvey County: -1.0%Meade County: -4.2%Sedgwick County: +2.1%Geary County: -3.6%Woodson County: +0.4%Bourbon County: +0.6%Chase County: -2.6%Pratt County: -0.0%Reno County: -0.8%Chautauqua County: -1.2%Norton County: -2.1%Marshall County: -0.7%Doniphan County: +1.4%Cherokee County: -0.9%Barton County: -2.3%Riley County: +0.8%Butler County: +2.6%Stafford County: -3.7%Anderson County: +0.9%Sherman County: -1.8%Rawlins County: -5.5%Pottawatomie County: +5.7%McPherson County: +0.5%Coffey County: -0.7%Hamilton County: +0.0%Atchison County: -0.5%Shawnee County: -0.4%Leavenworth County: +3.3%Jackson County: +2.2%Clark County: -5.3%Douglas County: +2.7%Clay County: -1.9%Barber County: -3.2%Johnson County: +3.5%Wabaunsee County: +3.2%Decatur County: -1.1%Wyandotte County: +0.3%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -3.6%
  2. < -1.7%
  3. < -0.7%
  4. < +0.6%
  5. ≥ +0.6%
no data

Orange pin: Clay County internal point. Dark pin: Topeka.

Internal point

Decimal
39.345000, -97.168900
DMS
39°20'42.00"N 97°10'8.04"W
UTM
14N 657790.6E 4356661.6N
Geohash
9yfzufec0
Plus code
86F48RWJ+2C

Towns in Clay County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Clay County, 4,070 people together, or 51% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Clay County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Clay Center with 4,070.

  1. 01Clay Center4,070
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Clay County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Clay County. The most populous is Riley County, KS, with 72,557 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Topeka and the nearest big city

Topeka is 82.4 miles ESE of Clay County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Topeka, KS (population 125,467), 81.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Junction City, KS (population 22,053), 27.7 miles away.

Clay County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Clay County is 20027: state code 20 for Kansas plus county code 027. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $66,389.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Clay County, Kansas?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 7,969. That is down 158 people (1.9%) from the July 2020 estimate of 8,127.

What is the FIPS code of Clay County?

20027. The first two digits (20) are Kansas; the last three (027) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Clay County?

Clay Center, with 4,070 residents inside Clay County in 2024.

Which counties border Clay County?

6 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: Riley County, KS; Geary County, KS; Dickinson County, KS; Cloud County, KS; Ottawa County, KS; Washington County, KS.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.