South Dakota · county 46027

Clay County, South Dakota: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Clay County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Clay County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

15,245 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.6% since 2020)
412 square miles of land · 37 people per square mile

How Clay County compares — against the other counties in South Dakota

15,245 — people: 14th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$11,278 — spending per student in its school districts: 55th highest of 65 South Dakota counties.
77.2 years — life expectancy: 36th highest of 61 South Dakota counties.
10.1% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 42nd highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
14.6% — child poverty: 28th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
89.7% — households with broadband internet: 10th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$63,752 — median household income: 42nd highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
15.1% — share of bridges rated poor: 31st highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$1,086 — federal grant dollars per resident: 35th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.
$11.6 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 19th highest of 66 South Dakota counties.

“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.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Clay County

4 active community water systems list Clay County in the area they serve, reporting 17,173 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

VERMILLION groundwater · local government · SD4600342	11,695 served
CLAY RURAL WATER SYSTEM groundwater · private · SD4600626	4,780 served
IRENE buys surface water · local government · SD4600173	422 served
WAKONDA buys groundwater · local government · SD4600349	276 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.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 9 people were held in Clay County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2021), or 80 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2016 it was about 11.

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.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

1 school district has its office in Clay County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

VERMILLION SCHOOL DISTRICT 13-11,436 students

Spent $32.7 million — $16.2 million to run schools, about $11,278 per student, plus $15.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.3 million local (mostly property tax), $6.7 million state, $2.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $36 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.

Health, money and internet at home — Clay County beside South Dakota

Life expectancy77.2 years · South Dakota 76.8 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance10.1% · South Dakota 10.0%

Children in poverty14.6% · South Dakota 13.5%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)13.0% · South Dakota 11.7%

Households with broadband internet89.7% · South Dakota 88.5%

Households with severe housing problems20.7% · South Dakota 11.4%

Residents per primary care doctor2,164 · South Dakota 1,252

Residents per mental health provider857 · South Dakota 409

Unemployment2.1% · South Dakota 2.0%

Median household income$63,752 · South Dakota $72,794

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.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Clay County about $11.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Very Low.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$5.3 million a year · Very Low

Tornado$2.8 million a year · Relatively Low

Drought$954,660 a year · Relatively Moderate

Hail$715,034 a year · Relatively Low

Strong wind$488,363 a year · Relatively Low

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

93 bridges in Clay County: 38 in good condition, 41 fair, and 14 poor (15.1%). “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.

Busiest bridges rated poor

700 S. DAKOTA AVE. over VERMILLION RV · built 1975	550 vehicles a day
46230 306 ST. over VERMILLION RV OVERFLOW · built 1970	150 vehicles a day
45530 306 STREET over CK · built 1971	147 vehicles a day
46080 313 ST. over CLAY CK · built 1983	125 vehicles a day
46080 314 ST. over CLAY CK DITCH · built 1900	97 vehicles a day
46530 314TH ST. over VERMILLION RV · built 1930	97 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $16.3 million of work in Clay County in fiscal 2025, about $1,086 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.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026 Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062	closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699	closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661	closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064	closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC) Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026	closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778	closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222	closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708	closes 2026-10-29

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.

Voting

Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for South Dakota are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.

Not here yet

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 South Dakota: the state government and every county in South Dakota.

Nearby counties: Union County (18 mi) · Yankton County (22 mi) · Cedar County, NE (26 mi) · Lincoln County (28 mi) · Turner County (28 mi) · Dixon County, NE (30 mi).