Clay County, Arkansas

Major highways

• Future Interstate 57
• U.S. Highway 49
• U.S. Highway 62
• U.S. Highway 67
• Highway 90
• Highway 119
• Highway 139

Adjacent counties

• Butler County, Missouri (north)
• Dunklin County, Missouri (east)
• Greene County (south)
• Randolph County (west)
• Ripley County, Missouri (northwest)

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 14,552. The median age was 43.9 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.2 males age 18 and over.^[18][19]

The racial makeup of the county was 94.4% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.^[19]

Less than 0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.^[20]

There were 6,176 households in the county, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.5% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[18]

There were 7,470 housing units, of which 17.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.0% were owner-occupied and 29.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.4%.^[18]

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,^[21] there were 17,609 people, 7,417 households, and 5,073 families residing in the county. The population density was 28 people per square mile (11 people/km²). There were 8,498 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.1% from two or more races. 0.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,417 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 28.4% 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 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,345, and the median income for a family was $32,558. Males had a median income of $24,375 versus $17,146 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,512. About 13.4% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

County Government

The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the Constitution of Arkansas and the Arkansas Code. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called justices of the peace and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Clay County Quorum Court has nine members. Presiding over quorum court meetings is the county judge, who serves as the chief executive officer of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.^[22][23]

District Judge: David Copelin

The composition of the Quorum Court after the 2024 elections is 7 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:^[26][27]

• District 1: Neal Smith (R)
• District 2: Joseph C. Henderson (D)
• District 3: Patrick Patterson (R)
• District 4: D. David Cagle (R)
• District 5: Brad Green (R)
• District 6: Dennis Haines (R)
• District 7: Randy Kingston (R)
• District 8: George E. Lowe (D)
• District 9: David Hatcher (R)

Additionally, the townships of Clay County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the Constitution of Arkansas. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.^[28] The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:^[26][29]

• Bennett & Lemmons: Jeff Bradish (R)
• Bradshaw & Haywood: Shain Casebier (R)
• Clark: James W. Harmon (R)
• Cleveland & North Kilgore: Michael Gleghorn (R)
• East Oak Bluff: James Todd Watson (R)
• Liddell & Chalk Bluff: Matthew Vancil (R)
• North St. Francis: Andrew Rathel (R)
• Payne & Swain: David Dean Taylor (R)
• Pollard: Rob Chandler (R)
• South St. Francis: Tim Boyd (R)
• West Oak Bluff: Terry Robertson (R)

Politics

While Clay County was once a Democratic stronghold, in recent decades it has swung hard towards the Republicans. The county voted Democratic in every presidential election from Reconstruction until 1960 with comfortable margins. It shifted back and forth during the latter part of the 20th century, with four Republican wins in 1960, 1968, 1972, and 1984. Since 1992, however, the county has shifted to the right in every presidential election. Flipping red in 2004, each successive Republican has garnered a greater share of the vote, culminating in Donald Trump's nearly 80% win in 2024, the highest share ever for a Republican candidate.

Cities

Towns

• Datto
• McDougal
• Nimmons
• Success

Unincorporated community

• Scatterville
• Moark
• Palatka

Townships

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. The townships of Clay County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township. ^[33][34]