7,857 people (2024 Census estimate, +3.5% since 2020)
237 square miles of land · 33 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.
2 active community water systems list Clay County in the area they serve, reporting 10,597 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CELINA WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · TN0000099 | 6,160 served |
| NORTHWEST CLAY COUNTY UTILITY surface water · local government · TN0000573 | 4,437 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 9 people were held in Clay County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 194 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 22.
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.
1 school district has its office in Clay County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $16 million — $12.8 million to run schools, about $11,695 per student, plus $3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.9 million local (mostly property tax), $8.9 million state, $5 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.4 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: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Clay County about $4.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
64 bridges in Clay County: 10 in good condition, 51 fair, and 3 poor (4.7%). “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.
| NFA 2109 over LITTLE TRACE CREEK · built 1979 | 309 vehicles a day |
| NFA A053 over PROCTOR BRANCH · built 1950 | 50 vehicles a day |
| NFA A210 over MILL CREEK · built 1941 | 40 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2 million of work in Clay County in fiscal 2025, about $264 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: 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-29. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-24. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State: elections calendar · Tennessee Secretary of State: registration deadline FAQ · Tennessee Secretary of State: GoVoteTN
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 Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: Monroe County, KY (15 mi) · Jackson County (15 mi) · Cumberland County, KY (19 mi) · Overton County (20 mi) · Macon County (25 mi) · Clinton County, KY (26 mi).