20992 Sycamore Road farmhouse, 2016
Clay Township’s story
Clay Township in pictures
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2007.
Explore the history →
Clay TownshipOH
A town of 1,518. 86% more nonprofits per person than the typical Ohio town.
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Population
1,518
2025 Census estimate · −1.1% since 2020
Median home value
$247K
Census ACS
Household income
$69K
median
Median age
48.5
years
Jobs based here
113
A commuter town
Is Clay Township a good place to live?
Clay Township’s best subject grades are an A+ for civic life and an A for history. Among 994 Ohio towns, just 3 have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Clay Township. A typical home costs about $247K, 3.3 years of the Mount Vernon area’s $74K median household income. On civic life, just 72 of Ohio’s 1,560 towns do better. Clay Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Clay Township stand out
Where Clay Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
Clay Township7.2
Typical U.S. town3.7
Typical OH town3.9
Civic lifeA+
86% more nonprofits per person
than the typical Ohio town
Charities, civic groups and human services; churches not counted.
0historic places
HistoryA
0 historic places
A long history
Listed for their history, architecture or both.
Natural hazardsA
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Clay Township for work
Where Clay Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
113jobs based in Clay Township
2%of working residents work in town
18 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Clay Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Clay Township is from typical.
Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 18% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listAOpen →Cost of livingB+Open →Jobs & income$69K median household incomeBOpen →HealthKnox Community Hospital 10.7 miles awayBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 3.9 of 20; 2.1% of households have no car; 12.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitB−Open →SchoolsBehind 51% of Ohio districts on tests and graduationB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 0% conserved landD−Open →HistoryAOpen →Civic life7.2 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsA+Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Clay Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clay Township, and how to reach them.
PowerAEP Ohio19.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterMartinsburg Village PWSNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers93% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Clay Township’s trash rules yet
SchoolsNorth Fork Local School DistrictEast Knox Local School District2 districts serve Clay Township; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Ohio you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereDirector, Knox County Board of ElectionsKnox County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2020
ZIP codes43080, 43022, 43037, 4300543080 42% · 43022 29% · 43037 21% · 43005 5%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Clay Township.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A
Natural hazards: very low risk in Clay Township, mostly inland flooding
Compared with just over four fifths of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Clay Township is lower. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 61% come from inland flooding and 9% from tornadoes.
18risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
With only 0.2 jobs per working resident, most people in Clay Township work out of town
Half commute less than 18 miles. Jobs in Clay Township fell by 25 from 2013 to 2023, to 113. Also worth knowing: in Clay Township, the typical journey to work is 21 minutes. The share of working residents in Clay Township who work locally is 1.8%, below both Ohio’s towns (6.9%) and U.S. towns (8%).
2%work in town
| Clay Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 6.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Clay Township2%
Mount Vernon18%
Newark9%
Columbus5%
Miller Township4%
18 mi
median commute distance
113
jobs based in Clay Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers: that is Clay Township’s year
Clay Township’s midsummer high stands at 83°F.
26″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter22–38°
Spring39–61°
Summer59–82°
Fall42–64°
Oct 8
typical first frost
May 2
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB
Residents of Clay Township are healthier than 60% of U.S. towns
The share of adults in Clay Township who have high blood pressure is 33%, against 38% in Ohio’s towns and 35% across U.S. towns. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Clay Township is ahead of Ohio on 8 and behind on 2. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression locally.
60%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Clay Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 80% | 79% |
32 measures vs. Ohio
8 better22 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Clay Township | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.5% | 8.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.3% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 76.3% | 79.2% |
Knox Community Hospital
10.7 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsD−
Open space protected for good: 0.2% of Clay Township
1.4 miles of trail. Clay Township’s trail density comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile.
0.2%conserved
| Clay Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
0.2%
conserved · 25 of 15,998 acres
1.4 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Clay Township
18pages on Clay Township
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Clay Township
Kenyon CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Gambier7.6 mi$71,520 tuitionMount Vernon Nazarene UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Mount Vernon9.9 mi$37,158 tuition
About 2 of every 100 Clay Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
About Clay Township
Township in Ohio, US
Clay Township is one of the twenty-two townships of Knox County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,542 people in the township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 25 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,096 ft
Clay Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Clay Township.
Morgan TownshipJackson TownshipHarrison TownshipEden TownshipWashington TownshipClay Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Township | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B |
| Morgan Township | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Jackson Township | — | — | A | — | B | C+ |
| Harrison Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eden Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | C |
| Washington Township | #504 | B | A | — | C+ | C+ |
Clay Township, Morgan Township, Jackson Township and Eden Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Clay Township, Morgan Township, Jackson Township, Eden Township and Washington Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Harrison Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Clay Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Clay Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Clay Township, OH a good place to live?
86% more nonprofits per person than the typical Ohio town.
Is Clay Township, OH expensive?
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 B+.