Clay County, Kentucky - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2011, there were 21,000 people, 8,556 households, and 6,442 families residing in the county. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

was 52 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 9,439 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.92% White

White American

White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

, 4.80% Black or African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.21% Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, 0.12% Asian

Asian American

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

, 0.02% Pacific Islander

Pacific Islander American

Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...

, 0.23% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 1.36% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

of any race.

There were 8,556 households out of which 36.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples

Incest

Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.

The age distribution was 25.40% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 111.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $16,271, and the median income for a family was $18,925. Males had a median income of $24,164 versus $17,816 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the county was $9,716. About 35.40% of families and 39.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 47.60% of those under age 18 and 31.30% of those age 65 or over. The county's per-capita income

Per capita income

and median household income make it one of the poorest counties in the United States. Among counties whose population contains a non-Hispanic white majority, it is the poorest by per-capita income and second to another county in the same Kentucky region

Eastern Mountain Coal Fields

The Eastern Mountain Coal Fields is part of the Central Appalachian bituminous coal field, covering all or parts of 30 Kentucky counties and adjoining areas in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. It covers an area from the Allegheny Mountains in the east across the Cumberland Plateau and...

, Owsley County

Owsley County, Kentucky

Owsley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 4,858. Its county seat is Booneville. The county is named for William Owsley, the Governor of Kentucky from 1844 to 1848. It is a prohibition or dry county...

, by median household income.

Elections

The county has been solidly Republican for decades. In the last 16 years the only Republican to receive less than 60% was Bob Dole

Bob Dole

Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...

, who still won the county by nearly 25%. In 2008 John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

received 77.5% of the vote.

Death of census worker

In 2009, a census worker, Bill Sparkman

Death of Bill Sparkman

William Edwin "Bill" Sparkman, Jr. was an American schoolteacher and Field Representative for the United States Census Bureau found dead in September 2009 under suspicious circumstances...

, was found dead, hanged from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, after conducting door-to-door interviews in the area.
On November 24, 2009, Kentucky State Police announced that their investigation revealed Mr. Sparkman had committed suicide and staged the scene to look like a homicide.

Health

In July 2010 the Washington Post named Clay county the unhealthiest county in Kentucky, and one of the unhealthiest in the Nation, The county has a high obesity rate

Cities and towns

Manchester
Manchester, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,738 people, 778 households, and 455 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,148.4 people per square mile . There were 844 housing units at an average density of 557.7 per square mile...
Oneida
Oneida, Kentucky
Oneida is an unincorporated community in Clay County, Kentucky, United States. It is the home of Oneida Baptist Institute. Goose Creek and the Red Bird River confluence to form the South Fork of the Kentucky River just a few hundred yards from the center of the town.The major road that leads from...
Burning Springs
Burning Springs, Kentucky
Burning Springs is an unincorporated community in Clay County, Kentucky, United States. It is mostly centered around U.S. Route 421. It has one school, Burning Springs Elementary. It is about 4 miles from Jackson County but about 15 miles from Manchester, the county seat...
Goose Rock
Fogertown

External links