Clay County, North Carolina
County seat: Hayesville · Population 12,239 (2025) · 215 sq mi
Clay County is the 92nd most populous of North Carolina's 100 counties, with 12,239 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Hayesville. It is part of the Western Region region, one of the 8 Prosperity Zones of North Carolina. The map shows its 1 city or town and the 5 neighboring counties.
Clay County facts
- County seat
- Hayesville
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 12,239 +10.4% since 2020
- Land area
- 215 sq mi 98th largest of 100
- Water area
- 6 sq mi
- Population density
- 57 per sq mi
- Established
- 1861
- Same name
- One of 18 Clay Counties in the US
- Named after
- Henry Clay American politician from Kentucky (1777-1852)
- Largest city
- Hayesville 470
- Median household income
- $56,971
- Cities and towns
- 1
- ZIP codes
- 5
- Time zone
- Eastern
- FIPS code
- 37043
Cities and towns in Clay County
Clay County has 1 incorporated place. Populations count the people living inside Clay County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hayesville (county seat) | Town | 470 |
ZIP codes in Clay County
5 ZIP codes reach into Clay County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 28734 also Macon County
- 28902 also Cherokee County
- 28904
- 28906 also Cherokee County
- 28909
Population of Clay County, 2020–2025
Clay County grew by 1,156 people (+10.4%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 386 more deaths than births and a net gain of 1,546 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 11,141 |
| 2021 | 11,376 |
| 2022 | 11,594 |
| 2023 | 11,830 |
| 2024 | 11,966 |
| 2025 | 12,239 |
Neighboring counties
- Macon County east · 39,232 people
- Cherokee County west · 30,830 people
- Towns County, Georgia south · 13,285 people
- Union County, Georgia southwest · 27,859 people
- Rabun County, Georgia southeast · 17,764 people
Printable Clay County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (92 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (67 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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