Official Federal Data
Clay County, Missouri
FIPS 29047 · Kansas City, MO-KS · Population 258,122
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$88,468 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.8% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$17.3B ▲
GDP
36.5% ▲
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
$88,468 ▲
Per Capita
$43,986 ▲
Mean Household
$108,962 ▲
Poverty Rate
8.5% ▲
Median Income Comparison
Clay County$88,468
Missouri$70,702
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.5%
18-34 · 22.1%
35-54 · 27.1%
55-64 · 12%
65+ · 15.3%
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+
94.2%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.6 pts
36.5%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +0.8 pts
12.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 1.3 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
258,122
Population
141,315
Labor Force
Employed
135,672
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.8% ▲ +0.5 pts YoY
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.9%
Key Takeaways
- Broadly in line with U.S. norms across income, poverty, and education.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 16,196 workers (18.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $90,516.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $17.3B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services averages $126,077 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $27,313, a 4.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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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
Manufacturing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
11,623
Cluster Employment
8.25x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
8.25x 10,191
Printing and Related Support Activities
3.17x 776
Paper Manufacturing
2.62x 656
Truck Transportation
2.51x 2,637
Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries
2.07x 2,811
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
1.76x 2,740
Building Material and Garden Supply Retailers
1.65x 1,609
Support Activities for Transportation
1.59x 928
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.15x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
94 employed
0.17x
Air Transportation
68 employed
0.22x
Wood Product Manufacturing
63 employed
0.27x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
93 employed
0.28x
Telecommunications
120 employed
0.30x
Machinery Manufacturing
231 employed
0.33x
Educational Services
755 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Transportation Equipment Manufacturing concentrates at 8.25x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 8 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
$275,600 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,243 ▲
Rent/Mo
69.5% ▲
Owner-Occ
5.2% ▼
Vacancy
3.1x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,095/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,197/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,358/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,769/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,103/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,212/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.1x 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 (~$2,212/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
157,947 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 4 min below national avg
22.8 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.9%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
85.6%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
36.5% ▲
HS Diploma+
94.2% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
31,975/yr
9,503/yr
6,224/yr
5,730/yr
3,677/yr
3,445/yr
3,396/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.7%
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
14%
Sales & Office
20.3%
Construction / Maint.
7.2%
Production / Transport
15.7%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 135,672 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 21,457 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 strong potential for transportation equipment manufacturing attraction, with a 8.25x concentration and 10,191 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across transportation equipment manufacturing, printing and related support activities, and paper manufacturing 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
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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, Missouri, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Clay County, Missouri?
258,122 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Clay County, Missouri?
$88,468 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Clay County, Missouri?
3.8% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Clay County, Missouri?
$17.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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