Clay County, Indiana: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+57%. Republican peak: R+57 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+57MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 26,4092024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,0102024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 94.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+25 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 2020MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Owen County, IN · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clay CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clay County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | +6.2% |
| 1896 | +7.9% |
| 1900 | +2.9% |
| 1904 | −5.3% |
| 1908 | +5.1% |
| 1912 | +24.7% |
| 1916 | +4.6% |
| 1920 | −4.1% |
| 1924 | −5.0% |
| 1928 | −13.8% |
| 1932 | +20.3% |
| 1936 | +12.9% |
| 1940 | −3.4% |
| 1944 | −7.7% |
| 1948 | +2.6% |
| 1952 | −7.8% |
| 1956 | −12.1% |
| 1960 | −16.3% |
| 1964 | +9.3% |
| 1968 | −15.8% |
| 1972 | −31.1% |
| 1976 | −2.1% |
| 1980 | −22.2% |
| 1984 | −30.3% |
| 1988 | −22.1% |
| 1992 | −13.7% |
| 1996 | −12.6% |
| 2000 | −27.4% |
| 2004 | −37.4% |
| 2008 | −11.5% |
| 2012 | −33.7% |
| 2016 | −54.9% |
| 2020 | −56.6% |
| 2024 | −56.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,495 | 9,354 | 12,073 | ||
| R | 2,552 | 9,499 | 12,267 | ||
| R | 2,306 | 8,528 | 11,332 | ||
| R | 3,460 | 7,096 | 10,805 | ||
| R | 4,954 | 6,267 | 11,395 | ||
| R | 3,333 | 7,361 | 10,783 | ||
| R | 3,605 | 6,393 | 10,158 | ||
| R | 3,605 | 4,858 | 9,915 | ||
| R | 3,306 | 4,696 | 10,164 | ||
| R | 3,724 | 5,852 | 9,629 | ||
| R | 3,707 | 6,957 | 10,725 | ||
| R | 4,363 | 6,980 | 11,812 | ||
| R | 5,433 | 5,674 | 11,265 | ||
| R | 3,742 | 7,146 | 10,937 | ||
| R | 3,956 | 5,743 | 11,298 | ||
| D | 6,528 | 5,412 | 12,026 | ||
| R | 5,342 | 7,434 | 12,834 | ||
| R | 5,720 | 7,302 | 13,061 | ||
| R | 6,078 | 7,118 | 13,351 | ||
| D | 5,965 | 5,654 | 11,905 | ||
| R | 5,721 | 6,688 | 12,553 | ||
| R | 7,255 | 7,768 | 15,114 | ||
| D | 8,235 | 6,335 | 14,683 | ||
| D | 8,151 | 5,343 | 13,818 | ||
| R | 5,358 | 7,103 | 12,641 | ||
| R | 5,349 | 5,955 | 12,189 | ||
| R | 5,612 | 6,129 | 12,716 | ||
| D | 3,435 | 3,102 | 7,244 | ||
| D | 3,297 | 1,494 | 7,307 | ||
| D | 4,204 | 3,766 | 8,601 | ||
| R | 3,565 | 4,005 | 8,342 | ||
| D | 4,114 | 3,873 | 8,399 | ||
| D | 4,482 | 3,823 | 8,393 | ||
| D | 3,558 | 3,105 | 7,256 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
16.3%
English
15.2%
American
8.9%
Irish
8.5%
French
2.2%
Italian
2.1%
Scottish
1.8%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 41.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$70,010
Clay County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Clay County$70,010
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Clay County ranks near the middle of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.1%
Working age (18–64)10.8%
Seniors (65+)10.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.5%
speak English only
Spanish0.7%
Other Indo-European0.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 68.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clay County's R+56.9 margin in 2024 places it among Indiana's most Republican-leaning counties, reflecting a rural, working-class electorate that has shifted decisively rightward over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-seven points in 2024. The 2024 margin was fifty-seven points.
A population of 26,409, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $70,010 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Owen County and Carroll County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Clay County, Indiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/18021/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Clay County, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clay County, Indiana voted Republican by 56.8 points (R+57), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 12,073 votes cast, 2,495 went Democratic and 9,354 went Republican.
What is Clay County, Indiana's political typology?
Akashic places Clay County, Indiana in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 10 times, Republican 24 times, and other 0 times.
When did Clay County, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Clay County, Indiana voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Clay County, Indiana?
Clay County, Indiana has a population of 26,409 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clay County, Indiana?
Median household income in Clay County, Indiana is $70,010 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Clay County, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clay County, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.