Living in Clay Center, KS
Clay Center is a small town of 4,132 people in Clay County, Kansas. It's about 31 miles from Manhattan, KS and 139 miles from Kansas City, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 91°F and winter highs 39°F, with about 11 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $144k and rent runs about $983 a month.
4,132people
$144kTypical home
$983/moRent
91° / 39°Summer / winter
11"Snow
265Sunny days
78Rain/snow days
Is Clay Center right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 4,132
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,295 people per sq mi
- 139 mi to Kansas City, MO
- 31 mi to Manhattan, KS
- 29 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $144k (≈$906/mo)
- Median rent $983/mo
- Median household income $63k
- Property tax about 1.6% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 91°F
- Winter highs around 39°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 64°F)
- 265 sunny days a year (111 totally clear)
- 100 cloudy days a year
- 32 of 90 winter days are gray
- 78 days a year with rain or snow
- 11" of snow a year
- 5 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- 8 days a year over 100°F
- 17 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Low violent crime (248 per 100k)
- Low property crime (966 per 100k)
People
- Median age 42
- 32% of households have kids
- 24% are 65 or older
- 24% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 5% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 1% walk or take transit to work
- 30 mi to MHK airport
- 129 mi to MCI (major hub)
- 82 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 87% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1959
- 92% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,237 ft
- 675 mi to the ocean
- 265 mi to a big lake
- 21 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 115 mi to the nearest ski area
- 21 mi to the nearest campground
- 6 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 3 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 6 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 2 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 21 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 42% of Kansas districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 5 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 33 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 30 mi to the nearest vet
- 30 mi to the nearest dog park
- 20 congregations per 10k people
- 31 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Clay County: R+56 in 2024
- Kansas: R+16 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- High heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk