Clay County, Tennessee

• Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
• Elevated poverty: At 24.2%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 24.2 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
• Aging population: Median age of 48 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 205 workers (26.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $46,266.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $330M (2024).
• Wage stratification: Transportation and Warehousing averages $48,817 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $18,650, a 2.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries concentrates at 5.02x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.4x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 74.4% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 13% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$999/mo).

• Succession risk is real: 27.7% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 47.1% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
• Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 17,588 annual credentials.

Clay County shows strong potential for amusement, gambling, and recreation industries attraction, with a 5.02x concentration and 82 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 27.7% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.