Clay County, Mississippi

Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 18,636. Its county seat is West Point. 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. J. Wesley Caradine, an African American, was the first state representative for Clay County after it was established in 1871. The federal government formerly designated Clay County as the West Point Micropolitan Statistical Area, but the county lost that status in 2013. It is part of the Golden Triangle region of the state.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.

Major highways

20px U.S. Route 45 Alternate
20px Mississippi Highway 25
20px Mississippi Highway 46
20px Mississippi Highway 47
20px Mississippi Highway 50

Adjacent counties

Chickasaw County (north)
Monroe County (northeast)
Lowndes County (southeast)
Oktibbeha County (south)
Webster County (west)

National protected area

Natchez Trace Parkway (part)

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Clay County, Mississippi – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|10,420

|9,745

|9,332

|8,276

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,196

|49.43%

|46.14%

|42.46%

|40.11%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |38.61%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|10,446

|11,245

|12,331

|11,977

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,785

|49.55%

|53.24%

|56.10%

|58.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |57.87%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|19

|27

|style='background: #ffffe6; |35

|0.02%

|0.09%

|0.04%

|0.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%

|Asian alone (NH)

|43

|31

|35

|45

|style='background: #ffffe6; |57

|0.20%

|0.15%

|0.16%

|0.22%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|Other race alone (NH)

|14

|style='background: #ffffe6; |37

|0.02%

|0.00%

|0.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|80

|94

|style='background: #ffffe6; |339

|0.36%

|0.46%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.82%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|164

|80

|190

|199

|style='background: #ffffe6; |186

|0.78%

|0.38%

|0.86%

|0.96%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.00%

|Total

|21,082

|21,120

|21,979

|20,634

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18,636

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 18,636. The median age was 42.6 years. 21.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.3 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 38.7% White, 58.0% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.0% of the population.

There were 7,771 households in the county, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.5% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 21,979 people, 8,152 households, and 5,885 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 8,810 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 56.33% Black or African American, 42.82% White, 0.05% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

According to the census

Public schools

West Point Consolidated School District is the sole school district in the county. It operates West Point High School, located in the county.

Effective July 1, 2015 the West Point School District and the Clay County School District was consolidated into the West Point Consolidated School District.

Communities

City

West Point (county seat)

Census-designated place

Pheba

Unincorporated communities

Abbott
Cedarbluff
Hopewell
Montpelier
Tibbee
Una
Waverly
White Station

Ghost town

Palo Alto

Politics

Clay County is a Democratic stronghold, owing to its high African-American population. It last supported a Republican candidate in 1984, when it was narrowly won by Ronald Reagan.