Clayton, North Carolina

Geography

Clayton is in western Johnston County, with small portions extending into Wake County. In 2006, construction began on the Highway 70 Clayton Bypass, a 10.5 mi stretch from Interstate 40 along the southern portion of Clayton to Highway 70 business southeast of town. It was completed in June 2008. US 70 leads southeast 13 mi to Interstate 95 at Smithfield. Downtown Raleigh is 16 mi northwest of Clayton via US 70 Business and Interstate 40. Many local unincorporated communities outside of the town limits use Clayton mailing addresses, including Cleveland, Powhatan, and Flowers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of the 2010 census the town had an area of 35.05 sqkm, of which 34.99 sqkm were land and 0.06 sqkm, or 0.16%, were water. The town is part of the Neuse River watershed. The town limits now extend northeast to the Neuse River and beyond.

Town Hall is located at 111 East Second Street and is shared with The Clayton Center, a performing arts and conference center.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Clayton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Clayton was 107 F on August 18, 1988, while the coldest temperature recorded was -10 F on January 21, 1985.

|Jan record high F = 81 |Feb record high F = 83 |Mar record high F = 91 |Apr record high F = 97 |May record high F = 96 |Jun record high F = 103 |Jul record high F = 103 |Aug record high F = 107 |Sep record high F = 98 |Oct record high F = 96 |Nov record high F = 86 |Dec record high F = 81

|Jan avg record high F = 71.4 |Feb avg record high F = 74.4 |Mar avg record high F = 81.1 |Apr avg record high F = 86.2 |May avg record high F = 90.6 |Jun avg record high F = 94.6 |Jul avg record high F = 96.0 |Aug avg record high F = 94.8 |Sep avg record high F = 90.7 |Oct avg record high F = 85.4 |Nov avg record high F = 78.8 |Dec avg record high F = 72.6 |year avg record high F = 97.3

|Jan avg record low F = 14.3 |Feb avg record low F = 18.8 |Mar avg record low F = 23.9 |Apr avg record low F = 32.8 |May avg record low F = 43.4 |Jun avg record low F = 54.3 |Jul avg record low F = 61.7 |Aug avg record low F = 59.8 |Sep avg record low F = 49.9 |Oct avg record low F = 35.1 |Nov avg record low F = 25.2 |Dec avg record low F = 20.4 |year avg record low F = 13.0

|Jan record low F = -10 |Feb record low F = 4 |Mar record low F = 11 |Apr record low F = 24 |May record low F = 33 |Jun record low F = 44 |Jul record low F = 52 |Aug record low F = 48 |Sep record low F = 40 |Oct record low F = 20 |Nov record low F = 12 |Dec record low F = 5

|access-date = February 27, 2023 |access-date = February 27, 2023

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 26,307 residents living within the Town of Clayton. There were 9,579 households (62% Increase), with an average of 3.04 persons per household.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 16,116 residents living within the Town of Clayton. There were 5,944 households, with an average of 2.57 persons per household. The population density was 1,192.8 PD/sqmi with an inventory of 6,648 housing units at an average density of 492 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 69.5% White, 21.8% African American, 10.7% Hispanic or Latino 0.4% American Indian, 1.4% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander.

Of the 5,944 households in the 2010 census, 44% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30% were non-families. 25.4% of non-family households were made up of householders living alone. 16.3% of households had individuals 65 years of age or older.

The age demographics of the 2010 census determined that 32.9% were under the age of 19, 4.9% were aged 20 to 24, 32.8% aged 25 to 44, 20.8% aged 45 to 64, and 8.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.9 years. Females made up 52.5% of the population while males made up 47.5% of the population.

The median income for a household in the town was $53,101, and the median income for a family was $64,856. Males had a median income of $46,108 versus $40,839 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,234. These figures put Town of Clayton well ahead of the North Carolina averages for the same categories.

Arts and culture

Sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places include:

• Clayton Banking Company Building
• Clayton Graded School and Clayton Grammar School-Municipal Auditorium
• Clayton Historic District
• Cleveland School
• Ellington-Ellis Farm
• Walter R. and Eliza Smith Moore House
• Sanders-Hairr House
• Stallings-Carpenter House

Parks and recreation

Bailey and Sarah William Preserve has seven miles of multi-use trails for walking and biking.

Clayton Community Center is a 32,000 sq. ft. facility that has a 1/16th mile indoor track, a fitness center, large gymnasium, an art and potter classroom. It also includes a garden with a greenhouse!

Clayton Community Park is a 42-arce park, which offers a variety of activities including a 1/2 mile paved trail, three baseball fields, volleyball courts, picnic shelter, unpaved wetlands, and two playground areas.

East Clayton Community Park features soccer and baseball fields, a disc golf course, picnic areas, a walking trail, and a playground.

Clayton also has the Clayton Municipal Park, Clayton River Walk on the Neuse, Clemmons Educational State Forest, Donald "Clyde" Sinclair Park, the East Clayton Community Park, the East Clayton Dog Park, Harmony Playground, Neuse Adventures Canoe & Kayak Rentals, the Pine Hollow Golf Club, the Riverwood Golf & Athletic Club, the Sam's Branch Greenway Trail, the Neuse Country Club, and the Triangle Adventures.

Government

Town Council

Education

• Academy of Hope
• American Leadership Academy - Johnston
• Clayton High School
• Cleveland High School
• Clayton Middle School
• Cooper Academy
• Cleveland Elementary School
• East Clayton Elementary School
• Johnston Charter Academy
• Lifespring Academy
• Polenta Elementary School
• Powhatan Elementary School
• River Dell Elementary School
• Riverwood Elementary School
• Riverwood Middle School
• Swift Creek Middle
• Thales Academy
• West Clayton Elementary School

Notable people

• Chris Archer, Major League Baseball player
• Valerie Ashby, chemist and President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Sam Beddingfield (1933-2012), test pilot and a pioneering aerospace engineer
• Gary Clark, NBA player
• William Dodd (1869–1940), historian and United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937
• Johnny Dutch, USA Track & Field athlete
• Vern Duncan (1890-1954), former Major League Baseball player
• Douglas Ellington (1886-1960), architect noted for his work in the Art Deco style
• Eric Ellington (1889-1913), pioneer of military aviation and namesake of Ellington Field in Houston, Texas
• Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers and University of North Carolina running back
• Kendra "Keni" Harrison, set the world record in the women's 100 metres hurdles at the London Grand Prix
• Corey Lee, MLB player
• Jaylee Burley Mead (1929–2012), astronomer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
• Evan Philips, MLB Player
• Rodney Rowe, track and field sprinter
• Ryan Fournier, American political commentator
• James Talacek, professional aquanaut
• Kodi Whitley, Major League Baseball pitcher

References

References

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2. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". Town of Clayton, North Carolina.
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
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6. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates".
7. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Clayton town, North Carolina". U.S. Census Bureau.
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
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17. (October 24, 2022). "Charter School | Johnston 6-12 | American Leadership Academy".
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26. (Oct–Nov 1957). "Lt. Eric Lamar Ellington 1889-1913". Houston Post.
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35. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=whitle000kod Kodi Whitley]. ''Baseball-Reference''. Retrieved October 29, 2020.