Clay County, Kansas: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+55%. Republican peak: R+71 in 1952.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+55MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 8,0482024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,1762024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+14 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+71 in 1952MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Blaine County, NE · 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 | −53.6% |
| 1896 | +7.5% |
| 1900 | −4.5% |
| 1904 | −56.4% |
| 1908 | −10.3% |
| 1912 | +14.3% |
| 1916 | −1.1% |
| 1920 | −48.8% |
| 1924 | −39.3% |
| 1928 | −48.7% |
| 1932 | +2.6% |
| 1936 | −1.2% |
| 1940 | −38.5% |
| 1944 | −48.9% |
| 1948 | −34.3% |
| 1952 | −70.9% |
| 1956 | −61.2% |
| 1960 | −51.5% |
| 1964 | −25.1% |
| 1968 | −52.0% |
| 1972 | −58.9% |
| 1976 | −30.5% |
| 1980 | −53.9% |
| 1984 | −58.4% |
| 1988 | −45.3% |
| 1992 | −27.3% |
| 1996 | −43.8% |
| 2000 | −50.1% |
| 2004 | −59.4% |
| 2008 | −49.1% |
| 2012 | −53.0% |
| 2016 | −57.4% |
| 2020 | −54.6% |
| 2024 | −55.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 844 | 3,062 | 3,999 | ||
| R | 894 | 3,177 | 4,182 | ||
| R | 677 | 2,891 | 3,858 | ||
| R | 834 | 2,788 | 3,686 | ||
| R | 1,009 | 2,998 | 4,054 | ||
| R | 793 | 3,174 | 4,010 | ||
| R | 951 | 2,998 | 4,088 | ||
| R | 963 | 2,793 | 4,177 | ||
| R | 947 | 2,198 | 4,590 | ||
| R | 1,112 | 2,997 | 4,157 | ||
| R | 919 | 3,559 | 4,519 | ||
| R | 932 | 3,449 | 4,667 | ||
| R | 1,610 | 3,085 | 4,832 | ||
| R | 887 | 3,562 | 4,542 | ||
| R | 926 | 3,335 | 4,635 | ||
| R | 1,806 | 3,030 | 4,873 | ||
| R | 1,246 | 3,937 | 5,226 | ||
| R | 1,034 | 4,378 | 5,461 | ||
| R | 831 | 5,059 | 5,961 | ||
| R | 1,804 | 3,763 | 5,711 | ||
| R | 1,391 | 4,101 | 5,541 | ||
| R | 2,067 | 4,699 | 6,836 | ||
| R | 3,441 | 3,525 | 6,987 | ||
| D | 3,289 | 3,115 | 6,591 | ||
| R | 1,515 | 4,457 | 6,044 | ||
| R | 1,417 | 3,767 | 5,986 | ||
| R | 1,155 | 3,521 | 4,844 | ||
| R | 2,632 | 2,692 | 5,644 | ||
| O | 1,373 | 843 | 3,715 | ||
| R | 1,495 | 1,858 | 3,508 | ||
| R | 403 | 2,262 | 3,299 | ||
| R | 1,826 | 2,001 | 3,888 | ||
| D | 1,929 | 1,655 | 3,633 | ||
| R | 0 | 2,038 | 3,805 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.8%
English
15.1%
Irish
9.4%
American
5.8%
French
3.8%
Scottish
1.5%
Italian
0.5%
African American
1.9%
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: 43.7 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
$66,176
Clay County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Clay County$66,176
Kansas$74,275
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
13.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.1%
Working age (18–64)10.1%
Seniors (65+)20.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.9%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.5%
Spanish0.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clay County's R+55.5 presidential margin in 2024 reflects a broader pattern of deep rural consolidation across north-central Kansas, where agricultural communities have shifted sharply toward one-party dominance over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached seventy-one points in 1952. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-five points.
A population of 8,048, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,176 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Blaine County and Bandera 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, Kansas. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/20027/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More stable rural right counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Clay County, Kansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clay County, Kansas voted Republican by 55.5 points (R+55), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 3,999 votes cast, 844 went Democratic and 3,062 went Republican.
What is Clay County, Kansas's political typology?
Akashic places Clay County, Kansas in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 2 times, Republican 31 times, and other 1 times.
When did Clay County, Kansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Clay County, Kansas voted Democratic was 1932.
How many people live in Clay County, Kansas?
Clay County, Kansas has a population of 8,048 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clay County, Kansas?
Median household income in Clay County, Kansas is $66,176 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kansas state median is $74,275.
What is the political history of Clay County, Kansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clay County, Kansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 2 went Democratic and 31 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.