Clay City is a town in Harrison Township, Clay County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Clay City had a population of 878. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Clay City was originally called Markland, and under this latter name was platted in 1873 when the railroad was extended to that point.

However, there was another post office with that name in the state, so this name could not be used because there was already an extant "Markland, Indiana." The name Huntersville was then adopted in honor of Congressman Morton C. Hunter. The Congressman was not popular in the local area, however, so residents objected to the name, and the name "Clay City" was eventually chosen by a local committee. Clay City is named for Kentucky statesman Henry Clay.

Geography

Clay City is located at (39.277048, -87.112079).

According to the 2010 census, Clay City has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 861 people, 361 households, and 241 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 436 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.2% White, 0.1% Asian, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population.

There were 361 households, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.2% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.

The median age in the town was 39.2 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 22.9% were from 45 to 64; and 19.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 44.6% male and 55.4% female.

2000 census

As of the census