Clay County is a county in West Virginia, United States, in the central part of the state along the Elk River. It had a population of 8,051 at the 2020 census and covers 344 square miles (890 km2) centred near 38\u00b028\u2032N 81\u00b004\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Clay is the county seat, and its postal code is 25043. The county has one incorporated town and roughly 54 unincorporated communities, three magisterial districts (A, B and C), and sits in the Eastern time zone.<\/p>\n
Clay County has a single incorporated town \u2014 Clay, the county seat \u2014 and dozens of small unincorporated communities scattered along the Elk River and its tributaries. Most are former post-office settlements, sawmill camps or coal-company towns with no current population count from the Census Bureau; those cells read —.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay<\/td>\n | Town · seat<\/td>\n | 396<\/td>\n | 25043<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Adonijah<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Avoca<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bickmore<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 25019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Big Otter<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bomont<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Booger Hole<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Clay Junction<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cressmont<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Crosby<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dille<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dink<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dorfee<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Duck<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dundon<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Eakle<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Elkhurst<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Enoch<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Floe<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fola<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Glen<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gould<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Groves<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hallburg<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Harrison<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hartland<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Independence<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Indore<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ira<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ivydale<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 25113<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kidtown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| King<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Little Italy<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lizemores<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lydia<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Marne<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Maysel<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 25133<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Nebo<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| O’Brion<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Oakton<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Odessa<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ossia<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ovapa<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Paxton<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Porter<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Procious<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Queen Shoals<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rouzer<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sand Fork<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Shelton<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Spread<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Swandale<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Triplett<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Two Run<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Upper Leatherwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Valley Fork<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Varneytown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wallback<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 25285<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Warfield<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wattsville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Whetstone<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Widen<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 25062<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\nZIP Codes<\/h2>\nMost of the smaller unincorporated communities listed above have no post office of their own and are served by one of the ZIPs above or by an adjoining county’s post office.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nClay County lies in the hill country of central West Virginia, drained by the Elk River, which runs the length of the county from southeast to northwest on its way to Charleston. Terrain is steep and forested outside the narrow river bottoms, and most settlement follows the Elk River and its creeks \u2014 Big Otter, Buffalo, and Sand Fork among them.<\/p>\n Clay County borders Calhoun County<\/a> to the north, Braxton County<\/a> to the northeast, Nicholas County<\/a> to the southeast, Kanawha County<\/a> to the west, and Roane County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n Clay County had a population of 8,051 at the 2020 census, a density of roughly 24 people per square mile. The town of Clay, with 396 residents, is the largest incorporated place; unincorporated Ivydale and Maysel are among the county’s next-largest settlements, though the Census Bureau does not report separate population counts for them. Median household income in Clay County trails the West Virginia median of $55,948, one of the lower county figures in the state.<\/p>\n Government, healthcare, and county schools are the largest employers today, alongside logging and natural-gas work. Widen was once a company-owned coal town, built and run by the Elk River Coal and Lumber Company, and was among the last privately operated coal towns in West Virginia before it closed in the 1960s. Clay County is also known as the birthplace of the Golden Delicious apple, first grown on the Mullins family farm near Odessa in the early 1900s; the county holds an annual Golden Delicious Festival in Clay each September.<\/p>\n Clay County was organized on March 29, 1858, from parts of neighboring counties, and named \u2014 like its county seat \u2014 for Henry Clay, the Kentucky senator and U.S. secretary of state. Before 1880 the Elk River was the county’s main transportation route; the Coal and Coke Railway reached Clay in 1905 and opened the county to wider trade. In June 2016, severe flooding on the Elk River caused significant damage in Clay and other river communities.<\/p>\n Interstate 79 crosses the western edge of the county with exits near Big Otter and Wallback; West Virginia Routes 4, 16 and 36 connect Clay to the rest of the county.<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is Yeager Airport in Charleston.<\/p>\n Where is Clay County, West Virginia?<\/strong> What is the population of Clay County?<\/strong> How big is Clay County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Clay County?<\/strong> How many towns are in Clay County?<\/strong> What ZIP codes are in Clay County?<\/strong> |