Clay County Florida   Located in North East Florida

Clay County Cities

Land area (rank): 592 square miles (46)
Population 1993 (rank): 114,918 (27)
Population density 1990 (rank): 194 persons per square mile (21)
Growth 1980-1990 (rank): 58.1% (13)

Physical Characteristics

Clay County is in northeast Florida and is bordered by St. Johns, Duval, Baker, Bradford, and Putnam counties. The county has 51 square miles of water. The average January temperature is 55.4 degrees F, and the average August temperature is 81.3 degrees F. The average annual rainfall is 53.42 inches.

History

Clay County was established in 1858 from a portion of Duval County and named for Kentuckian Henry Clay, Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams. In the late 1800s the St. Johns River and Green Cove Springs were popular tourist spots.

Population

In 1993, 86% of Clay County's population was in unincorporated areas. The largest incorporated place is the town of Orange Park (1993 population of 9,456) followed by the historic city of Green Cove Springs (1993 population of 4,688). Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace grew rapidly in the 1970s and had a 1980 population of 12,144. The population of Lakeside, on Doctor's Lake south of Orange Park, nearly tripled during the 1980s reaching 29,137 in 1990. Clay County is part of the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties. In 1993, 93% of Clay County's population was white and 7% was nonwhite. In 1990, 2.6% of the population was Hispanic. Of the population increase between 1980 and 1990, 81.1% was due to net migration. The 1992 birth rate for the county was 14.4 live births per 1,000 persons, and the 1992 death rate was 6.5 deaths per 1,000 persons. In 1992 the infant mortality rate was 9.3 per 1,000. The leading causes of death in 1993 were heart disease, cancer, and accidents.

Education

Of all 1992 high school graduates, 71.7% planned to continue their education. The 1992 high school dropout rate for the county was 2.9%. In 1990, 81.2% of persons in the county were high school graduates, and 17.9% had completed four or more years of college. Colleges and universities. Served by St. Johns River Community College (Putnam County).

Economy

The per capita income in Clay County in 1993 was $18,264 (23rd highest in the state). In 1989 the median household income was $34,860. In 1989, 5.4% of families had incomes below the poverty level. In 1990, 14.1% of personal income in Clay County was derived from transfer payments. In 1992 the greatest numbers of persons in Clay County were employed in the retail trade, services, and government sectors. In the retail trade sector eating and drinking establishments and general merchandise stores employed the greatest numbers of persons. Medical and other health services employed the greatest number of persons in the services sector. In 1992 there were 210 farms in the county, totalling 86,026 acres (23% of land in the county). Clay County's major agricultural products are chickens, cattle, and hay. In 1991, 24,376 thousand board feet of softwood logs, 96,921 cords of softwood for pulp, and 4,835 cords of hardwood for pulp were produced. In 1991, 1,936 pounds of fish and 19,839 pounds of shellfish were landed.

Median value of a single-family home 1990: $82,100
Median monthly rent 1990: $404
Mobile homes as a % of total housing: 18.1
Housing starts 1992: 937
Housing starts 1993: 1027

In 1992 the price level index for Clay County was 92.71 (48th highest in the state).

Local Government

Clay County is a charter county. In 1993, the ad valorem millage rate was 8.4585, and the total taxable value of property was $2,651,898,353. Taxable sales totalled $775.70 million in 1992 and $837.80 million in 1993. Lottery sales totalled $12,610 thousand in 1992-93. In 1990-91 Clay County's revenues totalled $68,408 thousand ($613.8 per capita) and its expenditures $68,893 thousand ($636.8 per capita). Of those 18 years of age and older, 65.4% were registered to vote in 1992. Of these, 39.3% were registered Democrat and 50.5% were registered Republican. In the 1992 presidential election, 58.0% of the votes were cast for Bush, 23.3% for Clinton, and 18.5% for Perot.

Places of Interest

Clay County Courthouse, St. Mary's Church, Green Cove Springs; St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Hibernia.