county

Clay County, IA

Demographic and economic profile of Clay County, IA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Clay County, IA has a population of 16,446 and a labor force participation rate of 65.8%, with median worker earnings of $40,049 and 26.0% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher. The county's cost structure is relatively low, with a median home value of $171,500 and median gross rent of $798 per month, alongside a 4.0% unemployment rate and a mean commute of 19.1 minutes. Population has edged up 0.8% over five years, and a GDP per capita of $66,817 against a per capita income of $37,963 points to meaningful output relative to the county's modest size.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

16,446

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$65,428

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.3 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.8% since 2018

Clay County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,285 (92.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races355 (2.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone322 (2.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race304 (1.8%)
  • Asian Alone124 (0.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone45 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish229
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island33
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic29
  4. 4.Other Indo-European3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

951

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$66,817

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$37,963

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance2,211
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,103
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)986
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services689
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services644

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations3,231
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations1,528
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,395
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,305
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations781

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.26×)560
  2. 2.Retail Trade (LQ 1.32×)1,185
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.13×)928
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.10×)2,125
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.09×)207

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$171,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$798/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

73.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $125,000 to $149,999651 (12.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999639 (12.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999543 (10.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999497 (9.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999483 (9.0%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999463 (8.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

26.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

65.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,049

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

17.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone6,594 (80.8%)
  • Carpooled690 (8.5%)
  • Worked At Home495 (6.1%)
  • Walked279 (3.4%)
  • Public Transit63 (0.8%)
  • Bicycle25 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.