14,112 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.9% since 2020)
639 square miles of land · 22 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
13 active community water systems list Clay County in the area they serve, reporting 22,599 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CLAY CO REG WATER DISTRICT groundwater · local government · AR0000722 | 5,633 served |
| PIGGOTT WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000090 | 4,620 served |
| CORNING WATERWORKS buys groundwater · local government · AR0000096 | 3,388 served |
| LAFE REGIONAL WATER DISTRIBUTION DISTRIC groundwater · local government · AR0000483 | 2,583 served |
| ST FRANCIS RIVER REG WATER DD groundwater · local government · AR0000836 | 2,465 served |
| RECTOR WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000093 | 2,280 served |
| GREENWAY WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000097 | 322 served |
| MC DOUGAL WATERWORKS groundwater · local government · AR0000098 | 271 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 71 people were held in Clay County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 797 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 68.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
3 school districts have their office in Clay County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $10.2 million — $9.3 million to run schools, about $10,898 per student, plus $616,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.1 million local (mostly property tax), $6.9 million state, $1.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.5 million.
Spent $11.3 million — $10.2 million to run schools, about $12,225 per student, plus $847,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.8 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $3.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.6 million.
Spent $8.6 million — $8 million to run schools, about $13,036 per student, plus $503,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.1 million local (mostly property tax), $5.2 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.3 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Clay County about $20.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
201 bridges in Clay County: 86 in good condition, 94 fair, and 21 poor (10.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 62-20- LM 2.58 over BLACK RIVER · built 1956 | 4,200 vehicles a day |
| SH 90- 01 LM 0.0 over St. Francis River · built 1981 | 3,427 vehicles a day |
| US 62 over St. Francis River · built 1953 | 1,159 vehicles a day |
| SH 328-02- LM 1.50 over DRAINAGE DITCH · built 1977 | 700 vehicles a day |
| SH 141-05- LM 5.23 over DRAINAGE DITCH · built 1972 | 350 vehicles a day |
| SH 141-05- LM 6.51 over DITCH NO 8 · built 1972 | 350 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $16.7 million of work in Clay County in fiscal 2025, about $1,149 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-19 to 2026-11-02. Absentee application due (by mail, email, or fax): 2026-10-27. Absentee ballot hand-delivered by you: last day: 2026-10-30. Election Day — and mailed absentee ballots must arrive: 2026-11-03. Provisional ballot: show your ID by noon: 2026-11-09. General runoff (only where a race needs one): 2026-12-01.
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State, 2026 election calendar · Fayetteville Flyer, Oct. 5, 2026 · sos.arkansas.gov — voting in Arkansas
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Clay County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Clay County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Arkansas: the state government and every county in Arkansas.
Nearby counties: Greene County (19 mi) · Butler County, MO (24 mi) · Dunklin County, MO (25 mi) · Ripley County, MO (32 mi) · Randolph County (34 mi) · Pemiscot County, MO (37 mi).