Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,318. Its county seat is Moorhead. Clay County is part of the Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Clay County was established in 1860 as Breckinridge County, and named for John C. Breckinridge, vice president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. After the Civil War began, Breckinridge joined the Confederate Army and in March 1862 the state Legislature replaced the name of Breckinridge with that of Henry Clay (1777–1852), who like Breckinridge was from Lexington, Ky., and was known "The Great Pacificator" or "The Great Compromiser" who helped head off civil war at least twice. The county's government was not organized until 1872, after the Northern Pacific Railway reached the area and settlement accelerated.

Clay County lies on the western side of Minnesota. Its western boundary line abuts the eastern boundary line of the state of North Dakota (across the Red River). The Red River flows northward along the western boundary line of the county, on its way to the Hudson Bay in Canada. The Buffalo River flows west-northwesterly through the center of the county, joined by the South Branch Buffalo River west of Glyndon, before discharging into the Red on the county's western border near Georgetown. The terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its eastern portion. The terrain slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near the southeastern corner, at 1,430 ft (440 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 1,053 square miles (2,730 km), of which 1,045 square miles (2,710 km) are land and 7.3 square miles (19 km) (0.7%) are covered by water.

• MATBUS

Moorhead, Minnesota
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.7     18 0     0.6     24 6     1.3     36 19     1.4     56 33     2.8     69 45     3.9     77 55     2.8     82 60     2.6     81 57     2.6     71 47     2.2     56 35     1     37 20     0.8     22 6 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     18     −8 −18     16     −4 −14     33     2 −7     35     13 1     71     21 7     99     25 13     71     28 16     65     27 14     65     22 8     55     13 2     25     3 −7     21     −6 −14 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Moorhead have ranged from a low of 0 °F (−18 °C) in January to a high of 82 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −48 °F (−44 °C) was recorded in January 1887 and a record high of 114 °F (46 °C) was recorded in July 1936, the latter also the highest recorded temperature in the history of Minnesota. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.64 inches (16 mm) in February to 3.90 inches (99 mm) in June.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	72		—
1870	92		27.8%
1880	5,887		6,298.9%
1890	11,517		95.6%
1900	17,942		55.8%
1910	19,640		9.5%
1920	21,780		10.9%
1930	23,120		6.2%
1940	25,337		9.6%
1950	30,363		19.8%
1960	39,080		28.7%
1970	46,585		19.2%
1980	49,327		5.9%
1990	50,422		2.2%
2000	51,229		1.6%
2010	58,999		15.2%
2020	65,318		10.7%
2023 (est.)	66,258		1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Clay County Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	54,424	83.32%
Black or African American (NH)	3,141	4.8%
Native American (NH)	1,032	1.6%
Asian (NH)	764	1.2%
Pacific Islander (NH)	16	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	2,930	4.5%
Hispanic or Latino	3,011	4.61%

As of the census of 2000, there were 51,229 people, 18,670 households, and 12,340 families in the county. The population density was 49.0 per square mile (18.9/km). There were 19,746 housing units at an average density of 18.9 per square mile (7.3/km). The racial makeup of the county was 93.99% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 1.44% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.67% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 3.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.4% were of Norwegian and 26.8% German ancestry.

There were 18,670 households, out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.90% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.07.

The county population contained 25.00% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 19.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,889, and the median income for a family was $49,192. Males had a median income of $34,176 versus $23,149 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,557. About 7.40% of families and 13.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.30% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

In national elections, Clay County has been a swing county for several decades. From 1992 to 2020, it voted for the winner of the presidential election. Since 1928, the only years in which Clay did not go for the election winner were 1960, 1968, 1988 and 2024.

United States presidential election results for Clay County, Minnesota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	15,965	48.56%	16,121	49.04%	788	2.40%
2020	15,043	46.66%	16,357	50.74%	839	2.60%
2016	13,543	46.07%	12,971	44.12%	2,884	9.81%
2012	12,920	44.73%	15,208	52.65%	758	2.62%
2008	11,978	40.94%	16,666	56.96%	615	2.10%
2004	14,365	51.79%	12,989	46.83%	383	1.38%
2000	11,712	50.14%	10,128	43.36%	1,518	6.50%
1996	8,764	41.11%	10,476	49.14%	2,079	9.75%
1992	9,666	41.17%	9,845	41.93%	3,967	16.90%
1988	10,380	47.82%	11,186	51.54%	139	0.64%
1984	11,565	52.62%	10,294	46.84%	119	0.54%
1980	10,447	46.41%	8,940	39.72%	3,121	13.87%
1976	10,317	47.53%	10,876	50.10%	515	2.37%
1972	11,089	54.36%	9,076	44.49%	235	1.15%
1968	7,910	47.77%	7,987	48.23%	663	4.00%
1964	6,085	37.37%	10,161	62.39%	39	0.24%
1960	8,278	53.26%	7,241	46.58%	25	0.16%
1956	6,783	52.77%	6,057	47.12%	15	0.12%
1952	7,178	58.67%	5,036	41.16%	20	0.16%
1948	4,302	38.60%	6,624	59.43%	219	1.97%
1944	4,392	45.40%	5,230	54.06%	52	0.54%
1940	4,450	41.23%	6,295	58.32%	48	0.44%
1936	2,880	29.93%	6,282	65.29%	459	4.77%
1932	2,556	29.16%	5,938	67.75%	270	3.08%
1928	5,057	61.13%	3,128	37.81%	87	1.05%
1924	3,081	44.55%	439	6.35%	3,396	49.10%
1920	4,943	73.00%	1,335	19.72%	493	7.28%
1916	1,549	44.79%	1,716	49.62%	193	5.58%
1912	549	17.99%	942	30.87%	1,561	51.15%
1908	1,857	58.69%	1,125	35.56%	182	5.75%
1904	2,185	78.15%	388	13.88%	223	7.98%
1900	1,903	59.45%	1,165	36.39%	133	4.15%
1896	1,594	44.38%	1,908	53.12%	90	2.51%
1892	959	40.19%	594	24.90%	833	34.91%

County Board of Commissioners

Position		Name	District	Term Ending
	Commissioner	Paul Krabbenhoft	District 1	2024
	Commissioner	Frank Gross	District 2	2024
	Commissioner	Jenny Mongeau	District 3	2026
	Commissioner	Kevin Campbell	District 4	2026
	Commissioner	David Ebinger	District 5	2024

State Legislature (2023–2025)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	Senate	Rob Kupec	Democratic	District 4
	House of Representatives	Heather Keeler	Democratic	District 4A
	House of Representatives	Jim Joy	Republican	District 4B

U.S Congress (2023–2025)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	House of Representatives	Michelle Fischbach	Republican	7th
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar	Democrat	N/A
	Senate	Tina Smith	Democrat	N/A

• Baker
• Oakport (part of Moorhead since 2015)

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Clay County, Minnesota

• Clay County official website

46°54′N 96°29′W / 46.90°N 96.49°W / 46.90; -96.49