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Place dossier plate
SheetAL-CLAY-AL · Clay, AL 10,288 pop · income 67th pct · 16 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Clay
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Clay on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Berwick · lowest
45,338
Berwick · lowest
45,338 median HH income
37.3% of the leader · rank #1
Shortsville · near
86,154
Shortsville · near
86,154 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #2
Clay · this city
86,163
Clay · this city
86,163 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #3
Gray CDP (Som… · near
86,164
Gray CDP (Som… · near
86,164 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #4
West Haverstr… · near
86,167
West Haverstr… · near
86,167 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #5
Zimmerman · near
86,169
Zimmerman · near
86,169 median HH income
70.8% of the leader · rank #6
Pike Road · highest
121,687
Pike Road · highest
121,687 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Clay on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 10,288.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Clay places in the 67th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
67th
percentile, household income
42nd
percentile, home value
1st
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Clay, AL
10,288 people live in Clay, Alabama - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Clay households earn a median of $86,163 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.7%. Clay's housing stock carries a median value of $198,400, and the median resident age is 40.4 years. 23.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 8 residential building permits were authorized in Clay (Construction Slowdown), down 90% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Alabama run below the national norm: the state registers 88.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $936 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Alabama's average monthly utility costs around $245 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Clay's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income to work and mobility to within-city variation to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Clay, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Clay growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -115 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 8 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Which cities make useful reference points for Clay?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Alabama, the closest population matches are Meridianville (10,268 residents, $93,030 income); Rainbow City (10,213 residents, $59,659 income); Spanish Fort (10,377 residents, $101,574 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Flowery Branch, GA (10,286 residents); Port Townsend, WA (10,290 residents); Watervliet, NY (10,285 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
How far does income reach against housing in Clay?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
PlainCities matches 16 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Clay?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 86.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Drive alone
86.6%
Work from home
9.4%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,952 workers age 16+.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 23.3% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
7.7%
Bachelor's degree+
23.3%
Matched public schools
1
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Above median income · poverty 7.7% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Alabama average
C+
City profile score · Clay, AL
63/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
88.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income B-
$86,163
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate D
7.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share D
23.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Clay profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 90/100 (A+) · 88.8 index
Household income: 65/100 (B-) · $86,163
Poverty rate: 49/100 (D) · 7.7%
Bachelor's+ share: 44/100 (D) · 23.3%
How does Clay compare to other US cities?
Where Clay sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income67% higher than other cities
Home value42% pricier than other cities
Median rent1% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Clay against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Alabama only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Alabama-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Clay near the bottom of Alabama's cities
Among the 556 Alabama cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Clay ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Clay only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#62 of 530
88th percentile in Alabama
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 556
0th percentile in Alabama
Median Home Value
#122 of 517
76th percentile in Alabama
Poverty Rate
#378 of 556
32nd percentile in Alabama
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#144 of 556
74th percentile in Alabama
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Alabama only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
67th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Clay's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$198,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 58% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Clay's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,960 of 15,516
More affordable than 81% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#208 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.3×, Clay sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,960 of 15,516 and #208 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$86,163Clay, AL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Clay, AL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Clay, AL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
10,288
Median Income
$86,163
Median Home Value
$198,400
Median Age
40.4
Poverty Rate
7.7%
Labor force participation
60.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.3%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Clay's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
10,313 residents
2021
10,298 residents
2022
10,286 residents
2023
10,224 residents
2024
10,249 residents
2025
10,198 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
8
housing units authorized
Single-Family
8
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
80
80
0
$14.1M
2020
54
54
0
$9.8M
2021
57
57
0
$12.3M
2022
16
16
0
$4.5M
2023
20
20
0
$4.9M
2024
8
8
0
$2.1M
Permit volume decreased 90% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
86.6%
Carpool
3.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.3%
Work from Home
9.4%
Based on 4,952 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Alabama statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $245
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Alabama at $245 (electricity about $138 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Alabama statewide averages, not a meter reading for Clay. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Alabama's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Clay is $936/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Alabama statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 61.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Alabama statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Clay sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Clay compares to similar-size Alabama cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.