Editing Clay County, Iowa

{{short description|County in Iowa, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county          = Clay County
 | state                = Iowa
 | ex image             = Clay County IA Courthouse.jpg
 | ex image size        = 240px
 | ex image cap         = [[Clay County Courthouse (Iowa)|Clay County Courthouse]]
 | seal                 = 
 | founded year         = 1851
 | founded date         = 
 | seat wl             = Spencer
 | largest city wl     = Spencer
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 573
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 567
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 5.4
 | area percentage      = 0.9
 | population_as_of     = 2020
 | population_total     = 16384
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2023
 | population_est       = 16511 {{gain}}
 | density_sq_mi        = auto
 | time zone           = Central
 | footnotes            = 
 | web                  = https://claycounty.iowa.gov/
 | district             = 4th
 | named for            = [[Henry Clay Jr.]] }}

'''Clay County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Iowa]]. As of the [[2020 United States census]], the population was 16,384.<ref name=cen2020>{{cite web |title=2020 Census State Redistricting Data |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/01-Redistricting_File--PL_94-171/Iowa/ |website=census.gov |publisher=United states Census Bureau |access-date=August 12, 2021}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Spencer, Iowa|Spencer]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> Its name is in honor of [[Henry Clay Jr.]],<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=Govt. Print. Off. |author=Gannett, Henry |year=1905 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n32 83]}}</ref> a colonel who died in action in the [[Mexican–American War]], and son of [[Henry Clay]], famous American statesman from Kentucky. Clay County comprises the Spencer, IA [[Micropolitan Statistical Area]]. Clay County holds the annual [[Clay County Fair]]. The first newspaper in Clay County was the ''[[Peterson Patriot]]'' which started publication in 1880.

== Geography ==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|573|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|567|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|5.4|sqmi}} (0.9%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> Clay County is home to the large [[Barringer Slough]] wetland.

===Major highways===
* [[File:US 18.svg|x20px]] [[U.S. Route 18 in Iowa|U.S. Highway 18]]
* [[File:US 71.svg|x20px]] [[U.S. Route 71 in Iowa|U.S. Highway 71]]
* [[File:Elongated circle 10.svg|x20px]] [[Iowa Highway 10]]

===Airport===
The [[Spencer Municipal Airport]] is located {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} northwest of the business district of Spencer. It provides service to the county and surrounding communities.

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Dickinson County, Iowa|Dickinson County]]  (north)
* [[Palo Alto County, Iowa|Palo Alto County]]  (east)
* [[Buena Vista County, Iowa|Buena Vista County]]  (south)
* [[O'Brien County, Iowa|O'Brien County]]  (west)

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1860= 52
|1870= 1523
|1880= 4248
|1890= 9309
|1900= 13401
|1910= 12766
|1920= 15660
|1930= 16107
|1940= 17762
|1950= 18103
|1960= 18504
|1970= 18464
|1980= 19576
|1990= 17585
|2000= 17372
|2010= 16667
|2020= 16384
|estyear=2023
|estimate=16511
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 2, 2024}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=July 14, 2014|archive-date=August 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811110448/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ia190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> 2010-2018<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19/19041.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221090007/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19/19041.html|archive-date=February 21, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
[[File:ClayCountyIowaPop2020.png|thumb|right|Population of Clay County from US census data]]

===2020 census===
[[File:ClayCountyIA2022PopPyr.png|thumb|left|2022 US Census [[population pyramid]] for Clay County from [[American Community Survey|ACS]] 5-year estimates]]
The 2020 census recorded a population of 16,384 in the county, with a population density of {{Pop density|16384|571.430778|sqmi|km2}}. 96.20% of the population reported being of one race. There were 8,109 housing units of which 7,222 were occupied.<ref name=cen2020/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Clay County Racial Composition<ref>{{Cite web|title =P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Clay County, Iowa|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Clay%20County,%20Iowa&t=Race%20and%20Ethnicity&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (NH)
|15,025
|92.8%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (NH)
|99
|0.6%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]] (NH)
|37
|0.23%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]] (NH)
|105
|0.64%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]] (NH)
|2
|0.01%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]] (NH)
|412
|2.51%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|704
|4.3%
|}

===2010 census===
The 2010 census recorded a population of 16,667 in the county, with a population density of {{Pop density|16667|569|sqmi|km2}}. There were 8,062 housing units, of which 7,282 were occupied.<ref name="USCB">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table|title=Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - State &ndash; County|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] American FactFinder|access-date=March 12, 2011}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 17,372 people, 7,259 households, and 4,776 families residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|30|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 7,828 housing units at an average density of {{convert|14|/mi2|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the county was 98.08% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.17% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.10% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.82% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.03% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.25% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.55% from two or more races. 1.13% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 7,259 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.20% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,799, and the median income for a family was $42,769. Males had a median income of $30,163 versus $21,068 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $19,451. About 6.30% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.10% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

==Economy==
The county has been based on farming. The 1980s farm crisis caused some families to have to give up their farms, and farms have been merged to industrial scale.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} The population has declined since 1980. {{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}

At one point [[Great Lakes Airlines]] was headquartered in [[Summit Township, Clay County, Iowa|Summit Township]], Clay County.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19981205074829/http://greatlakesav.com/ Welcome to Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd.]" ''Great Lakes Airlines''. December 5, 1998. Retrieved on May 25, 2009.</ref><ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20190330170254/https://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=16000US1974280&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on Spencer city, Iowa]." ''[[U.S. Census Bureau]]''. Retrieved on May 25, 2009.</ref>

==Communities==

===Cities===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Dickens, Iowa|Dickens]]
* [[Everly, Iowa|Everly]]
* [[Fostoria, Iowa|Fostoria]]
* [[Gillett Grove, Iowa|Gillett Grove]]
* [[Greenville, Iowa|Greenville]]
* [[Peterson, Iowa|Peterson]]
* [[Rossie, Iowa|Rossie]]
* [[Royal, Iowa|Royal]]
* [[Spencer, Iowa|Spencer]]
* [[Webb, Iowa|Webb]]
{{div col end}}

===Townships===
Clay County is divided into these [[civil township|townships]]:
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Clay Township, Clay County, Iowa|Clay]]
* [[Douglas Township, Clay County, Iowa|Douglas]]
* [[Freeman Township, Clay County, Iowa|Freeman]]
* [[Garfield Township, Clay County, Iowa|Garfield]]
* [[Gillett Grove Township, Clay County, Iowa|Gillett Grove]]
* [[Herdland Township, Clay County, Iowa|Herdland]]
* [[Lake Township, Clay County, Iowa|Lake]]
* [[Lincoln Township, Clay County, Iowa|Lincoln]]
* [[Logan Township, Clay County, Iowa|Logan]]
* [[Lone Tree Township, Clay County, Iowa|Lone Tree]]
* [[Meadow Township, Clay County, Iowa|Meadow]]
* [[Peterson Township, Clay County, Iowa|Peterson]]
* [[Riverton Township, Clay County, Iowa|Riverton]]
* [[Sioux Township, Clay County, Iowa|Sioux]]
* [[Summit Township, Clay County, Iowa|Summit]]
* [[Waterford Township, Clay County, Iowa|Waterford]]
{{div col end}}

===Population ranking===
The population ranking of the following table is based on the [[2020 United States census]] of Clay County.<ref name=cen2020/>
'''†''' ''county seat''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!City/Town/etc.
!Municipal type
!Population (2021 Census)

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 1
|'''†''' '''[[Spencer, Iowa|Spencer]]'''
| City
| 11,356
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 2
|'''[[Everly, Iowa|Everly]]'''
| City
| 576
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 3
|'''[[Royal, Iowa|Royal]]'''
| City
| 382
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 4
|'''[[Peterson, Iowa|Peterson]]'''
| City
| 324
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 5
|'''[[Fostoria, Iowa|Fostoria]]'''
| City
| 232
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 6
|'''[[Dickens, Iowa|Dickens]]'''
| City
| 149
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 7
|'''[[Webb, Iowa|Webb]]'''
| City
| 142
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 8
|'''[[Greenville, Iowa|Greenville]]'''
| City
| 69
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 9
|'''[[Rossie, Iowa|Rossie]]'''
| City
| 48
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 10
|'''[[Gillett Grove, Iowa|Gillett Grove]]'''
| City
| 32
|}

==Politics==
For most of its history, Clay County has primarily voted for Republican party candidates in presidential elections. Exceptions to this include [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Bull Moose]] candidate & former president [[Theodore Roosevelt]] winning a majority in 1912, the longest Democratic streak in its history when [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] & [[Harry S. Truman]] were on the ballot from 1932 to 1948, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] winning in a landslide statewide & nationally in 1964, [[Michael Dukakis]] getting a huge boost statewide thanks to the Midwest farm crisis in 1988, & [[Bill Clinton]] benefiting from [[Ross Perot]] gaining significant minorities of the county's vote in 1992 & 1996. The level of Republican support has increased significantly in recent years, with Hillary Clinton posting the worst performance since 1952 when [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] won an identical percentage of the county's votes at 26.1%.
{{PresHead|place=Clay County, Iowa|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|6,047|2,367|127|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,137|2,662|170|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,877|2,249|491|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|4,951|3,385|166|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,355|3,925|122|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|4,898|3,547|143|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|3,992|3,294|292|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|3,129|3,659|867|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|3,011|3,346|2,023|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|3,641|4,173|56|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|4,450|3,774|92|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|4,479|3,179|1,106|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|4,548|3,776|176|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|4,564|2,887|245|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|4,325|2,840|463|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|2,999|4,631|119|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|5,165|3,437|2|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|5,107|2,970|113|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|6,271|2,258|112|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|3,036|3,649|276|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|3,055|3,639|30|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|3,673|4,328|24|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|2,774|4,691|121|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|2,599|3,944|226|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|3,986|2,064|35|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|3,549|378|1,896|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|4,471|1,001|113|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|1,649|1,234|93|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1912|Progressive|679|707|1,438|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|1,921|778|58|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|2,154|487|96|Iowa}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|2,292|781|77|Iowa}}
{{PresFoot|1896|Republican|1,880|933|36|Iowa}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Iowa}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Clay County, Iowa]]
* [[Clay County Courthouse (Iowa)]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}<!-- for current and future use if material is uploaded -->
* [http://www.co.clay.ia.us Clay website]
* [http://www.claycountysheriffsoffice.com Clay County Sheriff]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190129153535/https://scharnbergpark.com/ Clay County Conservation website]

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Clay County, Iowa
|North     = [[Dickinson County, Iowa|Dickinson County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Palo Alto County, Iowa|Palo Alto County]]
|Southeast =
|South     = [[Buena Vista County, Iowa|Buena Vista County]]
|Southwest =
|West      = [[O'Brien County, Iowa|O'Brien County]]
|Northwest =
}}
{{Clay County, Iowa}}
{{Iowa}}
{{authority control}}
{{coord|43|04|51|N|95|08|58|W|region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Clay County, Iowa| ]]
[[Category:1851 establishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1851]]