County Maps US

Clay County, Nebraska

A county in Nebraska, ranked 47 of 93 by population.

CountyFIPS 31035

Within Nebraska
Clay County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Clay Center, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
6,170
+69 (+1.1%) since 2020
Land area
572.3
square miles. A further 0.2% of the total area is water
Population density
10.8
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Clay Center
Seat of county government.
Established
1871
154 years ago
Largest city
Sutton city
Population 1,466.

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.

Aerial view of Clay County, Nebraska from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 794 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Clay County ranks

Position among the 93 counties of Nebraska, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn NebraskaNationally
Population6,17047th of 932,718th of 3,144
Land area572.3 sq mi55th of 931,753rd of 3,144
Population density10.8 per sq mi43rd of 932,543rd of 3,144
Median household income$78,98613th of 93625th of 3,143

Full data for Clay County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population6,170Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 20206,101Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?6,101Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area572.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area1.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area573.5 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?10.8 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$78,986American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$155,600American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age39.1American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households2,490American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units2,817American 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
+19
87 births, 68 deaths
Net migration
+38
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 areaStateShared borderPopulation
Fillmore CountyNebraska24 mi5,458
Adams CountyNebraska24 mi31,071
Hamilton CountyNebraska24 mi9,678
Nuckolls CountyNebraska24 mi4,100
Webster CountyNebraska0.2 mi3,336
York CountyNebraska262 ft14,564

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 93 counties of Nebraska

Open the interactive Nebraska county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.