Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Clayton (1.3%) than in 92% of U.S. towns
Clayton grades A for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 82% of U.S. towns. Only 2% work in Clayton; the top destination outside it is Dover (18%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Clayton in brief
Stores, warehouses and trucking
62% of the jobs in Clayton are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Clayton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Delaware. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Clayton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clayton is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #5 of 37 in Delaware. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clayton could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The kinds of work in Clayton
749 jobs are based in Clayton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clayton, 2013 → 2023: 638 → 749. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Clayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Clayton spends getting to work: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clayton workers work from home, vs 15% across Delaware. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,846 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Delaware: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who works in Clayton, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,493 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 715 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,700 people are in Clayton on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.49 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Clayton to work: where people go
Where Clayton clocks in
18% of workers
15% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Clayton’s commute, mile by mile
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Clayton walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clayton is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns, #34 of 37 in Delaware. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.9% across Delaware.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,081 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.5% of Clayton households have no vehicle (Delaware 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Clayton’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Clayton is 384th of 3,862 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 284 | New Castle DE | 5,726 | $89K | 4.7% | 1.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 382 | Ixonia WI | 5,083 | $89K | 1.9% | 2.1% | 6% | A |
| 383 | Hunter OH | 3,551 | $127K | 3.0% | 4.2% | <1% | A |
| 384 | Clayton DE | 4,527 | $107K | 5.3% | 1.3% | 2% | A |
| 385 | Creswell OR | 5,566 | $100K | 4.3% | 0.8% | 8% | A |
| 386 | Mantua Township OH | 4,617 | $78K | 3.4% | 0.6% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 401 | Greenville DE | 3,713 | $143K | 4.0% | 4.2% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 627 | Rising Sun-Lebanon DE | 4,163 | $114K | 8.0% | 0.9% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Clayton, the top three, the last and three more from Delaware.
The towns next door employ 15% of Clayton
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Smyrna. Darker towns draw more of Clayton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Clayton: questions
What is the median household income in Clayton?
$107,307 (±$7,933) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $84,954 across Delaware and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clayton?
5.3%, against 10.4% across Delaware and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clayton?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Delaware and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clayton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dover (18%, 10 mi), Smyrna (15%, 2 mi), Middletown (7%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clayton walkable?
Clayton is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clayton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clayton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.