Clay, New York


Clay is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 58,206, making it Syracuse's largest suburb. The town was named after American attorney and statesman Henry Clay.
Clay is north of Syracuse, New York. It is the largest town in the county, contains part of the village of North Syracuse, and is a suburb of Syracuse. It contains the major retail strip of Syracuse's northern suburbs, along New York State Route 31, including the Great Northern Mall.

History

Prior to European settlement in the area, Clay was inhabited by the Onondaga Nation, part of the Iroquois Confederacy, some of whose descendants still live in the area today.
Clay was within the Central New York Military Tract. The town was first settled by outsiders around 1791 and was previously known as West Cicero. The Town of Clay was formed in 1827 from the Town of Cicero, one of the original townships of the military tract.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and of it is water.
The northern town line is the border of Oswego County, New York, marked by the Oneida River. The Seneca River marks the western town line. Both these rivers join into the Oswego River near the community of Three Rivers. The renovated Erie Canal follows the rivers around the border of Clay.
New York State Route 31 is an east–west highway through the town. New York State Route 481 intersects NY-31 west of Euclid.

Communities and locations

As of the census of 2000, there were 58,805 people, 22,294 households, and 15,940 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,224.9 people per square mile. There were 23,398 housing units at an average density of 487.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 92.13% White, 3.50% African-American, 0.47% Native American, 2.01% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.39% of the population.
There were 22,294 households, out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $90,412, and the median income for a family was $97,493. Males had a median income of $40,387 versus $27,996 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,011. About 4.1% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Fire departments

Parts of Clay are covered by Moyers Corners Fire Department and Clay Fire Department.

Notable people