Clay County, West Virginia

Clay County population, land area and income

Clay County had 7,689 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 341.9 square miles of land. It ranks 47th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 37th by land area. That works out to 22.5 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in West Virginia has 21,285 residents, so Clay County has 36% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $45,291 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Clay County's population changed since 2020

Clay County lost 324 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 4.0%. That ranks 42nd of 55 in West Virginia for growth. The median West Virginia county changed by -2.9%, and the state as a whole by -1.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Clay County recorded 329 births and 623 deaths, a natural change of -294. Net international migration added +0 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -66. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 294 people.

Where Clay County is

The Census internal point of Clay County is at 38.459800, -81.081900. It sits in UTM zone 17N. The map shades West Virginia's 55 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.

Towns in Clay County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Clay County. Its 7,689 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Clay County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Clay County. The most populous is Kanawha County, WV, with 173,906 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Kanawha County

  173,906 people

  26 mi WSW

• Nicholas County

  24,017 people

  19 mi SE

• Roane County

  13,540 people

  24 mi NW

• Braxton County

  12,051 people

  25 mi NE

• Calhoun County

  5,873 people

  27 mi N

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 30.0 miles WSW of Clay County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Columbus, OH (population 933,263), 146.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Charleston, WV (population 46,482), 30.8 miles away.

Clay County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Clay County is 54015: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 015. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $45,291.