Clay County, Kansas
A county in Kansas, ranked 48 of 105 by population.
CountyFIPS 20027
- Population
- 7,990
- -136 (-1.7%) since 2020
- Land area
- 645.3
- square miles. A further 1.6% of the total area is water
- Population density
- 12.4
- people per square mile, computed rather than published
- County seat
- Clay Center
- Seat of county government.
- Established
- 1857
- 168 years ago
- Largest city
- Clay Center city
- Population 4,061.
Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
Satellite view
Aerial imagery of Clay County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.
Where Clay County ranks
Position among the 105 counties of Kansas, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.
| Measure | Value | In Kansas | Nationally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,990 | 48th of 105 | 2,573rd of 3,144 |
| Land area | 645.3 sq mi | 74th of 105 | 1,472nd of 3,144 |
| Population density | 12.4 per sq mi | 45th of 105 | 2,482nd of 3,144 |
| Median household income | $66,176 | 42nd of 105 | 1,516th of 3,143 |
Full data for Clay County
| Measure | Value | Source and vintage |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,990 | Vintage 2025 Population Estimates |
| Population in 2020 | 8,126 | Vintage 2025 Population Estimates |
| 2020 estimates base? | 8,115 | Vintage 2025 Population Estimates |
| Land area | 645.3 sq mi | 2025 Gazetteer Files |
| Water area | 10.3 sq mi | 2025 Gazetteer Files |
| Total area | 655.6 sq mi | 2025 Gazetteer Files |
| Population density? | 12.4 per sq mi | Computed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area |
| Median household income | $66,176 | American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates |
| Median home value | $155,900 | American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates |
| Median age | 43.7 | American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates |
| Households | 3,522 | American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates |
| Housing units | 3,944 | American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates |
Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
How the population changed
The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:
- Births minus deaths
- -30
- 82 births, 112 deaths
- Net migration
- +6
- More people moved in than moved out.
Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
The 6 areas bordering Clay County
Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.
| Bordering area | State | Shared border | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riley County | Kansas | 24 mi | 72,598 |
| Dickinson County | Kansas | 22 mi | 18,637 |
| Washington County | Kansas | 22 mi | 5,533 |
| Cloud County | Kansas | 18 mi | 8,833 |
| Ottawa County | Kansas | 12 mi | 5,744 |
| Geary County | Kansas | 6.2 mi | 36,338 |
Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
All 105 counties of Kansas
Open the interactive Kansas county map, or jump straight to any of them.
- Allen County
- Anderson County
- Atchison County
- Barber County
- Barton County
- Bourbon County
- Brown County
- Butler County
- Chase County
- Chautauqua County
- Cherokee County
- Cheyenne County
- Clark County
- Clay County
- Cloud County
- Coffey County
- Comanche County
- Cowley County
- Crawford County
- Decatur County
- Dickinson County
- Doniphan County
- Douglas County
- Edwards County
- Elk County
- Ellis County
- Ellsworth County
- Finney County
- Ford County
- Franklin County
- Geary County
- Gove County
- Graham County
- Grant County
- Gray County
- Greeley County
- Greenwood County
- Hamilton County
- Harper County
- Harvey County
- Haskell County
- Hodgeman County
- Jackson County
- Jefferson County
- Jewell County
- Johnson County
- Kearny County
- Kingman County
- Kiowa County
- Labette County
- Lane County
- Leavenworth County
- Lincoln County
- Linn County
- Logan County
- Lyon County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- McPherson County
- Meade County
- Miami County
- Mitchell County
- Montgomery County
- Morris County
- Morton County
- Nemaha County
- Neosho County
- Ness County
- Norton County
- Osage County
- Osborne County
- Ottawa County
- Pawnee County
- Phillips County
- Pottawatomie County
- Pratt County
- Rawlins County
- Reno County
- Republic County
- Rice County
- Riley County
- Rooks County
- Rush County
- Russell County
- Saline County
- Scott County
- Sedgwick County
- Seward County
- Shawnee County
- Sheridan County
- Sherman County
- Smith County
- Stafford County
- Stanton County
- Stevens County
- Sumner County
- Thomas County
- Trego County
- Wabaunsee County
- Wallace County
- Washington County
- Wichita County
- Wilson County
- Woodson County
- Wyandotte County
Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.