| Official Name: | Clay, New York |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New York |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Onondaga |
| Government Type: | Town Council |
| Leader Title: | Town Supervisor |
| Leader Name: | Damian M. Ulatowski (R) |
| Leader Title1: | Town Council |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 126.54 |
| Area Land Km2: | 124.21 |
| Area Water Km2: | 2.33 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 48.86 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 47.96 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.90 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 60,527 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation M: | 115 |
| Elevation Ft: | 377 |
| Coordinates: | 43.1506°N -76.1942°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 13041, 13090, 13088 |
| Area Code: | 315 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 36-16067 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0978835 |
Clay is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 60,527, making it Syracuse's most populous suburb. The town was named after American attorney and statesman Henry Clay.
Clay is north of Syracuse. 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 (NY-31), including the currently defunct Great Northern Mall.
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.[2] Clay was within the Central New York Military Tract. The town was once known as West Cicero and was founded by strangers about 1791. The Town of Clay was formed in 1827 from the Town of Cicero, one of the original townships of the military tract.
In October 2022, Micron Technology pledges $100 Billion for a giant semiconductor complex in the White Pine Commerce Park located in Clay.[3] [4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 48.8sqmi, of which 48sqmi is land and 0.8sqmi (1.60%) is water.
The northern town line is the border of Oswego County, 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.
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 1224.9sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 23,398 housing units at an average density of 487.4sp=usNaNsp=us. 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.[5]
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.[5]
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.[5]
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.[5]
Clay is covered by Moyers Corners Fire Department and Clay Fire Department, with small sections covered by North Syracuse, Caughdenoy, and Brewerton Fire Departments.
Clay maintained its own police department until 2008, when the Clay Police Department merged with the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.[6]