Photo: Unknown professional photographer paid by the Clay County Commissioners · CC BY-SA 4.0In Clay Center, 63% of adult citizens voted for president in 2024, more than across Kansas
Clay Center’s city government spent $5 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,208 per resident. The airport ($67,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Clay Center is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
Clay Center Unified School District 379
Clay Center’s K–12 school district, shared with Green, Longford, Morganville, Oak Hill, Wakefield and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $17,478 per pupil, $10,854 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Kansas districts overall: 28% local, 61% state, 11% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $1,208 per resident a year, or $3.31 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 18%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison or trend for Clay Center yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample), and Clay Center’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars). It reported 2024 only (2022 and 2023 are estimates), so there is no trend yet either. The next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, up from 28 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
The typical homeowner pays $2,319 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.61% of the home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Clay Center’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Clay Center’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Clay Center →
Who’s in charge in Clay Center
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Clay Center’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on CityOfClayCenter.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 118 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (4,123).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
How Clay Center voted in 2024
Official results for Clay Center’s own voters, as certified after the November 5, 2024 general election, with the county and the state beside them.
Donald J TrumpRepublican72.0%1,405 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat25.7%501 votesOthers: 2.4% (46 votes).
Most votes in Clay Center: Donald J Trump
Clay County: Trump 76.6%, Harris 21.1% · Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%
of Clay Center’s 3,093 adult citizens voted for president in 2024. Across Kansas: 62%.
Votes ÷ citizens of voting age (Census CVAP, 2020–24 ACS).
Most votes in the district: Tracey Mann
Whole-district result
President, 2024: Clay Center, its county and the state
| Trump | Harris | Others | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Center | 72.0% | 25.7% | 2.4% | 1,952 |
| Clay County | 76.6% | 21.1% | 2.3% | 4,113 |
| Kansas | 57.2% | 41.0% | 1.8% | 1,327,591 |
Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Clay Center.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: CityOfClayCenter.com ↗
- 2Kansas HouseState representatives
- 3Kansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Kansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Clay Center’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Clay Center’s government
How much does Clay Center spend per resident?
About $1,208 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Clay Center?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $2,319 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.61% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.29% across Kansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see CityOfClayCenter.com.
Who runs Clay Center’s government?
See CityOfClayCenter.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Clay Center yet.
How did Clay Center vote in 2024?
For president, Donald J Trump 72.0%, Kamala D Harris 25.7% (1,952 votes, official results). Clay County: Trump 76.6%, Harris 21.1%. Kansas: Trump 57.2%, Harris 41.0%.
How many people work for Clay Center?
35 full-time and 7 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $178,083 (about $2.1M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Clay Center in the state legislature?
State Senate District 36 (Elaine Bowers) and State House District 64 (Bill Bloom). The House district also covers 46 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Clay Center’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →