Clay County, Minnesota

Clay County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 8, 1862 [1]
Named for	Henry Clay
Seat	Moorhead
Largest city	Moorhead
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,052.74 sq mi (2,727 km²) 1,045.24 sq mi (2,707 km²) 7.49 sq mi (19 km²), 0.71%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	58,999 49/sq mi (19/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.clay.mn.us

Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 58,999.^[1] Its name is in honor of American statesman Henry Clay, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century. Its county seat is Moorhead.^[2] It was originally called Breckenridge County, but changed to its current name in 1862.

Clay County is part of the Fargo, ND–MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,052.74 square miles (2,726.6 km²), of which 1,045.24 square miles (2,707.2 km²) (or 99.29%) is land and 7.49 square miles (19.4 km²) (or 0.71%) is water.^[3]

Major highways

Interstate 94 U.S. Highway 10 U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Highway 75

Minnesota State Highway 9 Minnesota State Highway 32 Minnesota State Highway 34 Minnesota State Highway 336

Adjacent counties

• Norman County, Minnesota (north)
• Becker County, Minnesota (east)
• Otter Tail County, Minnesota (southeast)
• Wilkin County, Minnesota (south)
• Richland County, North Dakota (southwest)
• Cass County, North Dakota (west)

Law and government

Clay County is governed by a board of five commissioners.

• Wayne Ingersol (Moorhead) 1st District
• Jerry Waller (Dilworth) 2nd District
• Jon Evert (Comstock) 3rd District (chair)
• Kevin Campbell (Moorhead) 4th District
• Mike McCarthy (Moorhead) 5th District

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	72		—
1870	92		27.8%
1880	5,887		6,298.9%
1890	11,517		95.6%
1900	17,942		55.8%
1910	19,640		9.5%
1920	21,780		10.9%
1930	23,120		6.2%
1940	25,337		9.6%
1950	30,363		19.8%
1960	39,080		28.7%
1970	46,585		19.2%
1980	49,327		5.9%
1990	50,422		2.2%
2000	51,229		1.6%
2010	58,999		15.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 51,229 people, 18,670 households, and 12,340 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 people per square mile (19/km²). There were 19,746 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.99% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 1.44% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.67% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 3.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.4% were of Norwegian and 26.8% German ancestry according to Census 2000.

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

There were 18,670 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.90% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 19.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,889, and the median income for a family was $49,192. Males had a median income of $34,176 versus $23,149 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,557. About 7.40% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.30% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Presidential Election Results 2000-2008

Year	Democrat	Republican
2008	76.48% 1,582,973	23.05% 477,038
2004	70.25% 1,439,724	29.15% 597,405
2000	68.63% 1,280,547	28.65% 534,542

Cities and towns

Cities	Townships		CDP	Other communities
Barnesville Comstock Dilworth Felton Georgetown Glyndon Hawley Hitterdal Moorhead Sabin Ulen	Alliance Township Barnesville Township Cromwell Township Eglon Township Elkton Township Elmwood Township Felton Township Flowing Township Georgetown Township Glyndon Township Goose Prairie Township Hagen Township Hawley Township Highland Grove Township Holy Cross Township Humboldt Township	Keene Township Kragnes Township Kurtz Township Moland Township Moorhead Township Morken Township Oakport Township Parke Township Riverton Township Skree Township Spring Prairie Township Tansem Township Ulen Township Viding Township	Oakport	Baker Dale Downer Kragnes Muskoda Rollag Rustad Winnipeg Junction

Climate and weather

Moorhead, Minnesota
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.7   18 0     0.6   24 6     1.3   36 19     1.4   56 33     2.8   69 45     3.9   77 55     2.8   82 60     2.6   81 57     2.6   71 47     2.2   56 35     1   37 20     0.8   22 6 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[5]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     18   -8 -18     16   -4 -14     33   2 -7     35   13 1     71   21 7     99   25 13     71   28 16     65   27 14     65   22 8     55   13 2     25   3 -7     21   -6 -14 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Moorhead have ranged from a low of 0 °F (−18 °C) in January to a high of 82 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −48 °F (−44 °C) was recorded in January 1887 and a record high of 114 °F (46 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.64 inches (16 mm) in February to 3.90 inches (99 mm) in June.^[5]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Clay County, Minnesota

References

1. ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Monthly Averages for Moorhead, Minnesota". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMN0514. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 

External links

• Clay County official website

Coordinates: 46°54′N 96°29′W / 46.90°N 96.49°W / 46.90; -96.49