Official Federal Data
Clay County, Minnesota
FIPS 27027 · Fargo, ND-MN · Population 66,059
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$81,172 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.4% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$2.9B ▲
GDP
39.3% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$81,172 ▲
Per Capita
$39,936 ▲
Mean Household
$99,798 ▲
Poverty Rate
13.3% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Clay County$81,172
Minnesota$89,062
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 24.7%
18-34 · 26.8%
35-54 · 24.5%
55-64 · 10.1%
65+ · 14%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
95.3%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +5.7 pts
39.3%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +3.6 pts
12.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 1.6 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
66,059
Population
36,156
Labor Force
Employed
34,573
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.4% ▲ +0.8 pts YoY
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.8%
Key Takeaways
- Young population: Median age of 34 is materially below the U.S. norm, a workforce pipeline asset.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 3,432 workers (25.7% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $47,170.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $2.9B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $112,692 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $20,926, a 5.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
Seeing a change here?
Get Deeper Trends
EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.
Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
1,392
Cluster Employment
2.22x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Crop Production
3.72x 247
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.70x 355
Educational Services
2.42x 987
Social Assistance
2.22x 1,392
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
1.81x 94
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
1.80x 86
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
1.55x 65
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.24x
Administrative and Support Services
252 employed
0.34x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
111 employed
0.38x
Real Estate
86 employed
0.41x
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
552 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Crop Production concentrates at 3.72x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 7 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$265,500 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,019 ▲
Rent/Mo
65.9% ▼
Owner-Occ
4.1% ▼
Vacancy
3.3x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$768/mo
1 Bedroom
$917/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,112/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,547/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,865/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,029/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.3x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,029/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
40,496 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
11.8%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
86.1%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
39.3% ▲
HS Diploma+
95.3% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
49,702/yr
14,847/yr
13,676/yr
12,870/yr
3,728/yr
2,468/yr
2,113/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
16.4%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
42.8%
Service
17.6%
Sales & Office
19.1%
Construction / Maint.
8.7%
Production / Transport
11.8%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 34,573 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Short commutes: 19.7-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 41,393 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Clay County shows meaningful potential for crop production attraction, with a 3.72x concentration and 247 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across crop production, gasoline stations and fuel dealers, and educational services creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example
Take it further
AI Insights: Built into ExecutivePulse. Continuous analysis tied to your own pipeline: industry-shift signals, prospect matches, retention prompts.
Managed Services: Prefer to hand it off? Our team delivers the analysis and consulting for you.
Schedule a DemoAvailable as premium offerings.
Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Clay County, Minnesota, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Clay County, Minnesota?
66,059 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Clay County, Minnesota?
$81,172 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Clay County, Minnesota?
3.4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Clay County, Minnesota?
$2.9B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
Clay County, MN: Public data. Imagine the full platform.
Get a Demo →