Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,032.
Clay Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $227K for a typical one, or 3.6 years of the Kokomo metro’s $64K median household income. It grades A− overall, 164th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, the median household earns $104K. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. Only 62 of Indiana’s 1,043 towns score lower on civic life. Henry W. Smith House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Clay Township beats most towns.
Where Clay Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Clay Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,042 in 2000, 4,036 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1859 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Clay Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Clay Township.
Clay Township pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and sends most of its workers to Kokomo and beyond, but it trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
Against the 7,943 U.S. towns with household incomes like Clay Township’s, it is less healthy than 98%, so it trails even them.
31% of Clay Township adults feel lonely. Two figures for adults in the town: 15% have diabetes, 41% have high blood pressure.
| Clay Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 21% | 19% |
| What stands out | Clay Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 19.4% | 15.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 10% | 8.1% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.2% | 3.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $227K.
The largest public high school is Northwestern Senior High School, with 541 students. Public schools: Northwestern School Corp. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 665 | B+ |
| Northwestern Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 541 | A |
| Northwestern Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 324 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
FEMA puts 41% of Clay Township’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 22% to tornadoes. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 84% of U.S. communities. Since 2003, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out here.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clay Township has 339 jobs for its 1,730 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
2.8% of residents live below the poverty line in Clay Township, where Indiana’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. For most workers, Clay Township is a place to come home to: only 3% work in town. The average commute for Clay Township comes to 21 minutes. The top destinations are Kokomo (44%), Indianapolis (11%) and Carmel (3%).
| Clay Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.7% | 11% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Indiana has 30% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 35%. Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (23% statewide); children under 18 are 30% of residents (23% statewide). 13% of residents are 65 or older in Clay Township.
| Clay Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 22% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
About 113 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Clay Township | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.4% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 16.4% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.1% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.2% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.8% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.2% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.3% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.4% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.5% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.2% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.6% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,000, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Clay Township. Close and well known come first.
39 mi Stadium & arenaRoss–Ade Stadium26 mi LandmarkWabash and Erie Canal
34 mi State parkProphetstown State Park
38 mi MuseumConner Prairie35 mi Theme parkIndiana Beach
38 mi TheatreRuoff Music CenterRoss–Ade Stadium: Tstuddud at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Prophetstown State Park: Flickr user: Dan https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwmizell/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Conner Prairie: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Ruoff Music Center: TownePost Network, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Clay Township
About 5 of every 100 Clay Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
Township in Indiana, United States
Clay Township is one of eleven townships in Howard County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,036, up from 3,885 in 2010. This township also contains a small portion of Kokomo. The population of the Kokomo portion, however, is zero.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Clay Township.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Harrison Township (A−) comes closest.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | #164 | A− | A | — | A− | C− |
| Harrison Township | #175 | A− | B | — | A | C+ |
| Monroe Township | — | — | B+ | — | A | B |
| Center Township | #492 | C | A− | — | C | C− |
| Ervin Township | — | — | A | — | A− | C− |
| Howard Township | — | — | A− | — | A− | C− |
| Kokomo | #561 | C− | B+ | C− | C | C− |
| Jackson Township | #325 | B | A | — | B | C− |
Monroe Township, Ervin Township and Howard Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Clay Township, Harrison Township, Monroe Township, Center Township, Ervin Township, Howard Township and Jackson Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Clay Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Clay Township grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #164 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C− for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
