Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,268.
Clay Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 399th of 697 graded towns in Michigan, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 70% of Michigan towns. A typical home there costs about $308K, 4 years of the Detroit metro’s $77K median household income. Clay Township’s average trip to work is 39 minutes, above both Michigan’s towns (25 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The biggest place to walk is Saint Clair Flats State Wildlife Area, 11,068 acres with 12.6 miles of trail. On the outdoors, just 60 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do better.
Where Clay Township beats most towns.
55.4% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Clay Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 19 old photos and papers going back to 1988 and 5 maps from 1914 on.
4 places 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 Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Clay Township.
Clay Township is a second-home town and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Michigan, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its 28,952 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Michigan towns.
26 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Saint Clair Flats State Wildlife Area | 12.6 mi | 11,068 |
| 2. St. John's Marsh State Wildlife Area | 6.5 mi | 2,676 |
| 3. Algonac State Park | 4.6 mi | 1,222 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Algonac Community School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Algonac JuniorSenior High School, with 644 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algonquin Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–6 | Grades 2–6 | 445 | C+ |
| Algonac JuniorSenior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 644 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Clay Township has 1,040 jobs for its 3,590 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 38.5 minutes, against 24.2 across Michigan.
Most working residents leave Clay Township for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2011, Clay Township has lost 106 jobs, to 1,040 in 2021. The top destinations are Detroit (7%), Chesterfield Township (5%) and Warren (5%).
| Clay Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $87,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.6% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Clay Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Clay Township is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
387 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 18 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 387 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clay Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clay Township's reported crime rate is well below Michigan's. Clay Township’s property crime rate is 4.4 per 1,000 residents. 26 violent crimes were reported in 2022.
| Clay Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 10.5 | 14.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.9 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
84% of adults had a checkup this year in Clay Township. Clay Township beats the Michigan average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 4.9% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Clay Township.
| Clay Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 36% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 80% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Clay Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.7% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 8.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.4% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Clay Township. Close and well known come first.
11 mi LakeLake Saint Clair
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaFord Field
29 mi Stadium & arenaComerica Park
29 mi TheatreFox Theatre
38 mi MuseumThe Henry Ford1.8M visitors a year
26 mi GardenBelle Isle ParkLake Saint Clair: Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Ford Field: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Comerica Park: City of Detroit, Public domain · Fox Theatre: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Henry Ford: Alvintrusty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Belle Isle Park: WMrapids, CC0
None within 15 miles of Clay Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Clay Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
Where Clay Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
4 places in Clay Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Civil township in Michigan, United States
Clay Township is a civil township of St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,446 at the 2020 census. The township is located along the mouth of the St. Clair River at Lake St. Clair. The river delta includes numerous islands, in which Harsens Island is the largest. The township mostly surrounds the city of Algonac, but the two are administered autonomously since Algonac incorporated as a city in 1967. Most of Algonac State Park is located within Clay Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Clay Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | #399 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B− |
| Ira Township | #393 | B− | C | — | A− | B |
| Cottrellville Township | #223 | B+ | B | — | A− | B− |
Clay Township, Ira Township and Cottrellville Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Clay Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Clay Township grades B− overall, better than 50% of U.S. towns and #399 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B− for health and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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