Clay County, Iowa Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Clay County
U.S. county
Clay County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Iowa
Iowa's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Founded	1851
Named for	Henry Clay Jr.
Seat	Spencer
Largest city	Spencer
Area
• Total	573 sq mi (1,480 km²)
• Land	567 sq mi (1,470 km²)
• Water	5.4 sq mi (14 km²) 0.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	16,384
• Density	28.593/sq mi (11.040/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th

Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,384. Its county seat is Spencer. Its name is in honor of Henry Clay Jr., 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
Demographics
- 2020 census
- 2010 census
Economy
Communities
See also

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 573 square miles (1,480 km²), of which 567 square miles (1,470 km²) is land and 5.4 square miles (14 km²) (0.9%) is water. Clay County is home to the large Barringer Slough wetland.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 18
U.S. Highway 71
Iowa Highway 10

Airport

The Spencer Municipal Airport is located three miles (4.8 km) northwest of the business district of Spencer. It provides service to the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	52	—
1870	1,523	2,828.8%
1880	4,248	178.9%
1890	9,309	119.1%
1900	13,401	44.0%
1910	12,766	−4.7%
1920	15,660	22.7%
1930	16,107	2.9%
1940	17,762	10.3%
1950	18,103	1.9%
1960	18,504	2.2%
1970	18,464	−0.2%
1980	19,576	6.0%
1990	17,585	−10.2%
2000	17,372	−1.2%
2010	16,667	−4.1%
2020	16,384	−1.7%
2023 (est.)	16,511	−0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2018

Population of Clay County from US census data

2020 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Clay County from ACS 5-year estimates

The 2020 census recorded a population of 16,384 in the county, with a population density of 28.6719/sq mi (11.0703/km²). 96.20% of the population reported being of one race. There were 8,109 housing units of which 7,222 were occupied.

Clay County Racial Composition
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	15,025	92.8%
Black or African American (NH)	99	0.6%
Native American (NH)	37	0.23%
Asian (NH)	105	0.64%
Pacific Islander (NH)	2	0.01%
Other/Mixed (NH)	412	2.51%
Hispanic or Latino	704	4.3%

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 16,667 in the county, with a population density of 29.292/sq mi (11.310/km²). There were 8,062 housing units, of which 7,282 were occupied.

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. The population has declined since 1980.

At one point Great Lakes Airlines was headquartered in Summit Township, Clay County.

Communities

Cities

Townships

Clay County is divided into these townships:

Clay
Douglas
Freeman
Garfield
Gillett Grove
Herdland
Lake
Lincoln
Logan
Lone Tree
Meadow
Peterson
Riverton
Sioux
Summit
Waterford

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Clay County. † county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2021 Census)
1	† Spencer	City	11,356
2	Everly	City	576
3	Royal	City	382
4	Peterson	City	324
5	Fostoria	City	232
6	Dickens	City	149
7	Webb	City	142
8	Greenville	City	69
9	Rossie	City	48
10	Gillett Grove	City	32

Clay County, Iowa facts for kids

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