Clay, New York

Clay, New York
—  Town  —
Clay town hall
Clay, New York
Location within the state of New York
Coordinates:
Country United States
State New York
County Onondaga
Government
 • Type Town Council
 • Town Supervisor Damian M. Ulatowski (R)
 • Town Council
Area
 • Total 48.8 sq mi (126.4 km2)
 • Land 48.0 sq mi (124.3 km2)
 • Water 0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
Elevation 377 ft (115 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 58,805
 • Density 1,224.9/sq mi (473.0/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 13041
Area code(s) 315
FIPS code 36-16067
GNIS feature ID 0978835

Clay is a town in Onondaga County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 58,805, making it Syracuse's largest suburb. The town was named after Henry Clay, statesman.

The Town of Clay is northwest of Syracuse. It is the largest town in the county and contains part of the Village of North Syracuse, New York. It contains the major retail strip of Syracuse's northwesterly suburbs, along NY-31, including the Great Northern Mall.

Contents

History

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, NY.

The Town of Clay was formed in 1827 from the Town of Cicero, one of the original townships of the military tract.

Most famous son: actor Richard Gere.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.8 square miles (126 km2), of which, 48.0 square miles (124 km2) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) of it (1.60%) is water.

The north town line is the border of Oswego County, New York, marked by the Oneida River. The Seneca River marks the west 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.

Clay is north of Onondaga Lake.

Demographics

As of the census[1] 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 (472.9/km²). There were 23,398 housing units at an average density of 487.4 per square mile (188.2/km²). 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 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 $50,412, and the median income for a family was $57,493. 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.

Communities and locations in Clay

References

  1. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Law enforcement

Onondaga County Sheriff Department

Fire departments

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

External links