Clay County, South Dakota

History

Clay County began forming in 1859 when the land was opened for legal occupation. In the fall of that year, Ahira A. Partridge (who would later become the first elected sheriff of the county) crossed the Missouri river into the Dakota territory, and became the first white man to settle what would become Clay county; squatting on 160 acres of land that encompass most of the present-day city of Vermillion. In 1862 the county was formally organized. The Clay County Courthouse was built in 1912.

Clay County is the name of 17 other counties in the United States, most of them named in honor of Henry Clay.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 417 square miles (1,080 km²), of which 412 square miles (1,070 km²) is land and 5.1 square miles (13 km²) (1.2%) is water. It is the smallest county by area in South Dakota.

Protected areas

Adjacent counties

Major highways

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,537 people, 4,878 households, and 2,721 families residing in the county. The population density was 33 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 5,438 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²).

There were 4,878 households out of which 28.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.00% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.20% were non-families. 31.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out with 18.80% under the age of 18, 31.50% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 15.80% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 13,864 people, 5,110 households, and 2,628 families residing in the county. The population density was 33.6 inhabitants per square mile (13.0/km²). There were 5,639 housing units at an average density of 13.7 per square mile (5.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.1% white, 3.1% American Indian, 1.7% Asian, 1.3% black or African American, 0.5% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 43.9% were German, 16.4% were Norwegian, 15.8% were Irish, 8.7% were English, 5.4% were Swedish, and 1.8% were American.

Of the 5,110 households, 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 48.6% were non-families, and 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 25.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,198 and the median income for a family was $61,159. Males had a median income of $37,059 versus $28,016 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,518. About 8.0% of families and 24.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Racial/ethnic makeup

The racial makeup of the county was 92.78% White, 1.00% Black or African American, 2.66% Native American, 1.95% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. 0.89% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.0% were of German, 15.6% Norwegian, 9.9% Irish and 5.4% English ancestry.

Religion

From 2000 Census data over 50% consider themselves "unclaimed".

Education

Cities

Town

Unincorporated communities

Townships

The county is divided into twelve townships: