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Place dossier plate
SheetNC-CLAYTON-NC · Clayton, NC 28,043 pop · income 54th pct · 53 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 Clayton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Clayton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Henderson · lowest
47,176
Henderson · lowest
47,176 median HH income
36.5% of the leader · rank #1
Henniker · near
73,339
Henniker · near
73,339 median HH income
56.8% of the leader · rank #2
Fayetteville · near
73,342
Fayetteville · near
73,342 median HH income
56.8% of the leader · rank #3
North Conway · near
73,344
North Conway · near
73,344 median HH income
56.8% of the leader · rank #4
Clayton · this city
73,348
Clayton · this city
73,348 median HH income
56.8% of the leader · rank #5
DeLand · near
73,352
DeLand · near
73,352 median HH income
56.8% of the leader · rank #6
Tysons · highest
129,189
Tysons · highest
129,189 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Clayton on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 28,043.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Clayton - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Clayton places in the 54th percentile for household income and the 48th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
54th
percentile, household income
64th
percentile, home value
48th
percentile, median rent
48th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Clayton, NC
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 28,043 residents in Clayton, a small city within North Carolina. Median household income here is $73,348 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.5%. Home values in Clayton run a median of $292,400, and the median resident age is 32.7 years. 35.6% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 69.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 418 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 29% from five years earlier. Clayton reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1451.1 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Clayton's yearly average temperature at 60.6°F with 49.9 inches of precipitation per year.
Living costs in North Carolina run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts North Carolina at 94.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,161 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts North Carolina's average monthly utility costs around $215 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 66.7 out of 100 (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Clayton'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 work and mobility to within-city variation to population change to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context to reported crime to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Clayton, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Clayton?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
PlainCities matches 53 Census tracts to this city.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +5,945 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +22.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 418 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Clayton?
Within North Carolina, the closest population matches are Kernersville (27,439 residents, $69,923 income); Asheboro (27,353 residents, $48,628 income); Thomasville (27,261 residents, $58,246 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Crestview, FL (28,046 residents); Tysons, VA (28,022 residents); Ramsey, MN (28,070 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.
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
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.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Clayton?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 60.6°F, with 49.9 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for North Carolina is 66.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
60.6°F
Annual precipitation
49.9 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
66.7
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Clayton?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1451.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 36% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1282.8
Violent rate
168.3
Total reported rate
1451.1
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
The NCES join finds 14 public schools within the city match. 35.6% 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.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
14
Bachelor's degree+
35.6%
Poverty estimate
6.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Clayton?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 4.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$73,348
Home value
$292,400
Value / income
4.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 6.5% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
94.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, North Carolina average
C
City profile score · Clayton, NC
59/100
5 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.
Bachelor's+ share B-
35.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living B-
94.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate C
6.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime C-
168 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income C-
$73,348
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Clayton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 68/100 (B-) · 35.6%
Cost of living: 67/100 (B-) · 94.3 index
Poverty rate: 56/100 (C) · 6.5%
Violent crime: 54/100 (C-) · 168 /100k
Household income: 53/100 (C-) · $73,348
Where Clayton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Clayton's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Clayton highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Clayton, NC (this city): home $292,400, crime 1,451/100k
Crestview, FL : home $266,500, crime 1,622/100k
Ramsey, MN : home $345,000, crime 580/100k
Henderson, KY : home $151,400, crime 2,134/100k
Glen Cove, NY : home $654,500, crime 580/100k
Kernersville, NC : home $264,000, crime 3,376/100k
Thomasville, NC : home $163,200, crime 2,627/100k
Mint Hill, NC : home $386,900, crime 934/100k
Leland, NC : home $358,800, crime 1,080/100k
How does Clayton compare to other US cities?
Clayton measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income54% higher than other cities
Home value64% pricier than other cities
Median rent48% pricier than other cities
Safety48% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to North Carolina alone, Clayton ranks #44 of 195 North Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Clayton against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to North Carolina only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
North Carolina-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Clayton near the bottom of North Carolina's cities
Among the 746 North Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Clayton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Clayton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#211 of 700
70th percentile in North Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 746
0th percentile in North Carolina
Median Home Value
#171 of 708
76th percentile in North Carolina
Poverty Rate
#457 of 746
38th percentile in North Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#185 of 746
75th percentile in North Carolina
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 North Carolina only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
54th percentile nationally for median household income · 48th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Clayton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Clayton's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Clayton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$292,40036th percentilemore affordable than 36% 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
Clayton's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,665 of 15,516
More affordable than 31% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,976 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.0×, Clayton sits in the moderate band:
national rank #10,665 of 15,516 and #1,976 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$73,348Clayton, NC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Clayton, NC median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Clayton, NC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)35.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)69.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
28,043
Median Income
$73,348
Median Home Value
$292,400
Median Age
32.7
Poverty Rate
6.5%
Labor force participation
69.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
35.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1451.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
168.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1282.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
60.6°F
Annual Precipitation
49.9"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
14
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Clayton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
26,688 residents
2021
28,356 residents
2022
29,426 residents
2023
30,247 residents
2024
31,642 residents
2025
32,633 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
418
housing units authorized
Single-Family
418
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
14.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
590
590
0
$80.5M
2020
657
657
0
$93.7M
2021
513
513
0
$88.1M
2022
303
303
0
$58.5M
2023
504
499
5
$110.6M
2024
418
418
0
$93.8M
Permit volume decreased 29% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
76.2%
Carpool
8.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.3%
Work from Home
14.6%
Other
0.8%
Based on 14,589 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
North Carolina statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $215
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across North Carolina at $215 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are North Carolina statewide averages, not a meter reading for Clayton. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
North Carolina's BEA cost-of-living index is 94.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Clayton is $1,161/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to North Carolina statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 66.7 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a North Carolina statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Clayton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Clayton compares to similar-size North Carolina 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, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.