County profile
Clay County, IA
United States · GDP 2024
#1498 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 83% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$1.5B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+8.4%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
7,012
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
570
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$51.8k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
16,202
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
2.8%
Median HH income
$65.4k±$5.1k
Bachelor's degree+
27.5%±3.3%
Poverty rate
11.4%±2.1%
Business applications
171 · 2025
Retail establishments
94
56.9/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Retail trade28%
Health care27%
Manufacturing15%
Wholesale trade13%
Food & accommodation11%
Transportation7%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
16,202
residents · 2025 · -0.9% since 2020
Income per capita $69.3k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−75
International migration+132
Natural change−185
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$1.1B2019
$1.1B2020
$1.2B2021
$1.4B2022
$1.4B2023
$1.5B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$178.6k±$10.8k
Median gross rent
$811/mo±$77/mo
Vacancy rate
10.7%±2.5%
Affordability
3.4× wages
Residential permits
$10.9M
61 units · 3.8/1k pop
FEMA risk score
36.4
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$919/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Hail 83Winter weather 71Drought 62
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
2832016
2932017
3042018
3122019
3142020
3382021
3772022
3972023
4072024
4282025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 205% since 2021202021
252022
142023
92024
612025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
61.8 km
I-90
Nearest freight rail
6.1 km
CPKC
Nearest port
123.5 km
BIG SOO TERMINAL DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
98.0 km
FORT DODGE RGNL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$51.8k
avg. annual pay · +22% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Clay?
Clay's economy produced $1.5B in 2024, growing 8.4% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is retail trade.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.