Since 1990, Clay County has transformed into a largely suburban county with the third highest household median income in Florida behind neighboringSt. Johns County andSanta Rosa County.[6] This transformation has come as workers fromJacksonville, and to a smaller extent other nearby cities such asSt. Augustine andGainesville, have moved into newly built residential subdivisions. Over half of workers living in Clay County work in another county, which is the highest rate of any county in Florida. As such, the county has the third highest average commute time in the state at almost 33 minutes.[6] With the population expected to surpass 300,000 residents by 2040, projects such as theFirst Coast Expressway are being constructed to alleviate chronic congestion on major roadways in the county such asBlanding Blvd andU.S. 17.[7]
Clay County is known for its rich military history with major current and former installations such as Branan Air Field,Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs, andCamp Blanding all being located in the county. The county also attracts many tourists due to its abundance of natural water features. Many notable lakes such asKingsley Lake,Lake Asbury,Doctors Lake,Lake Geneva, and Lake Brooklyn are all located in the county.Black Creek begins at the St. Johns River just north of Green Cove Springs and runs through the central portion of the county.
The surrounding region was part ofSt. Johns culture, an early archaeological culture that spanned from 500 BC until the 17th Century, with the arrival of European explorers. At the time of first contact by French Huguenot explorerRené Goulaine de Laudonnière, the region was inhabited by theAgua Dulce people under theTimucua chiefdom of Utina. With the arrival of the Spanish colonists toSt. Augustine in the East, the wars and skirmishes with the rival tribes to the north and west, and the defeat of the Huguenots atFort Caroline by the newly arrived Spanish, the Utina chiefdom collapsed and the surviving natives fled South, leaving the area virtually uninhabited until the late 18th Century with attempts to resettle the area by the Spanish in the newly reclaimedSpanish East Florida.
In 1803,Zephaniah Kingsley, purchased the site of Laurel Grove (later rebuilt into the Town ofOrange Park) to establish a plantation for planting oranges, and coffee, and for trading slaves. In 1816,George J. F. Clarke purchased land to build a sawmill on the site that grew into the city ofGreen Cove Springs. During thePatriot War, Laurel Grove was seized by the insurgents, forcing Kingsley to flee, but not before razing the plantation in order to keep it out of rebel hands.
After the war ended and the eventual annexation of Spanish East Florida to theUnites States, the area saw an influx of tourists and settlers.
Clay County was created on December 31, 1858, from a section ofDuval County. The area was once a popular destination for tourists because of its springs and mild climate. Steamboats brought them to various hotels in Green Cove Springs, such as the St. Elmo, Clarendon, and Oakland.President Grover Cleveland was the most prominent of such tourists and had spring water shipped to the White House.[8] Clay County's popularity among tourists peaked during the last three decades of the 19th century. Tourism later waned because ofHenry Flagler's extension of theFlorida East Coast Railway to other destinations such asPalm Beach andMiami.
The military has also played an important role in Clay County history. In 1939,Camp Blanding opened onKingsley Lake in southwest Clay County. The Florida National Guard developed this 28,000-acre (110 km2) complex. DuringWorld War II, it trained over 90,000 troops and became the fourth-largest "city" in the state. In Green Cove Springs, Lee Field was a flight training center. After World War II, Lee Field became a base for the mothball fleet. Although Lee Field closed in the early 1960s, Camp Blanding continues to operate today as a base for military training. Clay County is also a popular choice of residence for military personnel stationed on bases in nearby Duval County (NAS Jacksonville,NS Mayport, and, before it closed,NAS Cecil Field).
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 644 square miles (1,670 km2), of which 604 square miles (1,560 km2) are land and 39 square miles (100 km2) (6.1%) are covered by water.[9]The average elevation in Clay County is 95 feet above sea level with the highest point, located on the western border in Camp Blanding, being 259 feet.[10] The southwestern portion of the county features many lakes which contribute to theFloridan Aquifer and are an important source of water for the surrounding region. During the 2000s, high growth rates inNortheast Florida caused many of the lakes to dry up as demand for water increased. To combat this, a project began in August 2022 to construct a pipeline fromBlack Creek in the central part of the county to Alligator Creek inKeystone Heights. This pipeline is expected to restore the water levels in the lakes to their former high points.[11]
CSX A-Line - Runs north to south through the eastern portion of the county beginning inOrange Park to the north and exiting the county south ofGreen Cove Springs
CSX S-Line - Runs very briefly through the northwest corner of the county concurrent withUS-301 nearMaxville
Before the opening of the first segment of theFirst Coast Expressway in 2019, Clay County was the largest county in Florida without alimited-access highway. Once complete, this project will connectInterstate 10 in Jacksonville withInterstate 95 in St. Johns County and will result in the replacement of the currentShands Bridge with a new, expanded bridge.[13]
US 17 is the main south to north road running through eastern Clay County.
US 301 runs south and north through western Clay County from Lawtey in Bradford County into western Duval County.
SR 16 runs west to east from Starke in Bradford County passing aroundCamp Blanding, and later throughPenney Farms. In Green Cove Springs, the route briefly joins southbound US 17 before returning to the east to cross the Shands Bridge.
SR 21 runs south to north entering Clay County twice. First from Putnam County and later from Bradford County.
A map of the racial demographics of Clay County, Florida by Census tract
Legend
Non-Hispanic White
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
>90%
According to 2022 census estimates, Clay County's population increased to 226,589. This increase was fueled exclusively by in-migration to the county. In all, 9,101 people have moved to Clay County since 2020 with over 95% of that growth coming from domestic migration.[23]
Since 2020, the county has experienced 5,643 deaths compared to 4,846 births resulting in a natural change of -797. This has corresponded with an increase in the median age to 40.5 years.[23]
As of the2020 United States census, there were 218,245 people, 75,360 households, and 57,587 families residing in the county. Hispanic or Latino residents comprised 10.6% of the population or 23,134 individuals. Among those not Hispanic or Latino, 159,922 (73.3%) wereWhite alone or in combination, 29,317 (13.4%) wereBlack alone or in combination, 9,510 (4.4%) wereAsian alone or in combination, 4,855 (2.2%) wereAmerican Indian or Alaska Native alone or in combination, and 3,234 (1.5%) were some other race alone or in combination.
There were 85,049 housing units of which 78,939 (92.8%) were occupied.
According to the 2021ACS,[24] the median age in Clay County was 40.9 years. 25.6% of residents were 0–19 years, 11.4% were 20–29, 13% were 30–39, 13.3% were 40–49, 14.1% were 50–59, and 22.6% were 60 years and over.
There were 80,459 households in the county, of which 31.9% had children under 18 living with them, 54.6% weremarried couples living together, and 38.3% were individual householders with no spouse or partner present. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.15.
The median income for a household in the county was $76,679, and the median income for a family was $85,196. Males had a median income of $47,393 versus $35,103 for females. Theper capita income was $33,364. About 7.1% of the population were below thepoverty line including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 6% of those age 65 and over.
45% of residents were born in Florida and 46% were born in another state. The majority of in-migration comes from otherSouthern states and theNortheast. There is a growing community ofPuerto Ricans in Clay County, with the number of residents born on the island numbering 3,590.
Clay County has the second highest percentage ofFilipino immigrants in Florida, after neighboring Duval County, with 1.1% of residents hailing from thePhilippines. In total, 6.1% of residents were foreign-born with over 68% being naturalized citizens and the majority entering the United States prior to 2010.
Top countries of origin for foreign-born population in Clay County, FL[3]
Clay County's large population in unincorporated areas is served by the Clay County Sheriff's Office and Clay County Fire & Rescue. The current Sheriff, Michelle Cook (R), was elected in 2020.
Clay County's government is led by a five-member Board of County Commissioners, each elected from asingle-member district. The county commission appoints a County Manager as chief administrative officer of the county. Howard Wannamaker currently serves as the County Manager. The current office holders are:
District 1: John Sgromolo
District 2: Alexandra Compere
District 3: Jim Renninger
District 4: Betsy Condon
District 5: Kristen Burke
As of 2025, all elected County Commissioners are registered Republicans.
Politically, Clay County is one of the most reliably Republican counties in the state duringpresidential elections outside of thePanhandle. It last supported a Democrat for president in 1960, andJimmy Carter is the last Democrat to manage even 40 percent of the county's vote. However, conservative Democrats continued to hold most state and local offices well into the 1980s.
United States presidential election results for Clay County, Florida[27]
TheClay County School District operates 42 public schools, with currently 28 elementary schools, five junior high schools, six high schools, and one junior/senior high school.
The Clay County Public Library System consists of five branches:
Green Cove Springs Library
Headquarters Library (Fleming Island)
Keystone Heights Library
Middleburg-Clay Hill Library
Orange Park Library
The first public library in Clay County was made up of a small collection established by the Village Improvement Association within the county.[30] Other small libraries were established by other organizations within Clay County. In 1961, representatives from different women's organizations in the county started a movement to establish a library system within the county, and resulted in the Clay County Board of County Commissioners beginning to set aside funds to create the county library system.[30] Due to their efforts, the first public library in Clay County was opened in 1961 inGreen Cove Springs.[30] The Green Cove Springs Library purchased abookmobile in 1962 and began to provide outreach services to different areas within Clay County that same year.[30] In 1962 two more public libraries opened in Clay County, the Keystone Heights Library and the Orange Park Library.[30] A fire destroyed the Keystone Heights Library in February 1962.[30] The Keystone Heights Library was relocated to a new building in Theme Park in 1964.[30] The Headquarters Library in Green Cove Springs became open to the public in 1970 after a population boom caused the need for a new library.[30] In 1976, the Orange Park Library moved to a larger location within the town ofOrange Park.[30] The population growth experienced in the county during the late 1970s necessitated the development of the Middleburg-Clay Hill Library, which first opened in a storefront in the late 1970s.[30] The permanent facility for this library was completed and opened to the public in 1986.[30]
