Clayton is a town in Johnston County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, United States, and is considered a satellite town of

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. As of 2010, Clayton's population was 16,116, up from 6,973 at the 2000 census. By 2019 the town's estimated population was 24,887. Much of that growth can be attributed to the town's proximity to the

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...

area and access to major highways such as

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

and US 70.

History

The 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 Walter R. and Eliza Smith Moore House is a historic home located near Clayton, Johnston County, North Carolina. It was built circa 1835. It is a two-story, four-bay, single-pile, vernacular Federal style heavy timber frame dwelling. It sits ...

, Sanders-Hairr House, and Stallings-Carpenter House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geography

Clayton is in northern Johnston County, with a small portion extending northwest along US 70 Business into Wake County. In 2006, construction began on the Highway 70 Clayton Bypass, a 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 to

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

at Smithfield. Downtown

is 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 Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, Powhatan, and

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, as of the 2010 census the town had an area of , of which were land and , or 0.16%, were water. The town is part of the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in ...

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 The Clayton Center is a performing arts and conference center in Clayton, North Carolina. The center is managed by the Town of Clayton and is located in the same complex as Town Hall at 111 East 2nd Street, Clayton. The venue serves patrons in John ...

, a performing arts and conference center.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 26,307 people, 7,488 households, and 5,294 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the 2010

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, 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 Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was with an inventory of 6,648 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 69.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 21.8%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 10.7%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino 0.4% American Indian, 1.4% Asian, 0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

. 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $26,234. These figures put Town of Clayton well ahead of the North Carolina averages for the same categories.

Government

Town Council

Education

* Clayton High School (Home of the Comets) * Cleveland High School (Home of the Rams) * Clayton Middle School (Home of the Eagles) * Cooper Academy (Home of the Rockets) * Cleveland Elementary School (Home of the Rams) * East Clayton Elementary School (Home of the Explorers) * Powhatan Elementary School (Home of the Pride) * River Dell Elementary School (Home of the Racers) * Riverwood Elementary School (Home of the Rams) * Riverwood Middle School (Home of the Ravens) * West Clayton Elementary School (Home of the Bulldogs)

Notable people

Chris Archer Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Archer attended Cla ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

player *

Valerie Ashby Valerie Sheares Ashby is a chemist and university professor who currently serves as President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She was the Dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University from 2015 to 2022 and for ...

, chemist and university professor *

Sam Beddingfield Samuel T. Beddingfield (October 28, 1933 – June 13, 2012) was an American test pilot and a pioneering aerospace engineer and who had a long career with NASA during its manned space programs. Biography Beddingfield was born in Clayton, Nor ...

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

and a pioneering aerospace engineer * Gary Clark, NBA player * William Dodd (1869–1940), historian who served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937 during the Nazi era *

Vern Duncan Vernon Van Duke Duncan (January 6, 1890 – June 1, 1954) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He began his major league career late in the season with the Philadelphia Phillies, then jumped to the new Federal League during the offseason. ...

, former Major League Baseball player *

Douglas Ellington Douglas Dobell Ellington (26 June 1886 – 27 August 1960) was an American architect who is noted for his work in the Art Deco style. Biography Ellington studied architecture at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsy ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

noted for his work in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

style *

Eric Ellington Eric Ellington (May 15, 1889 – November 24, 1913) was a United States Naval and later Army officer. He was one of the first U. S. servicemen to be killed in an airplane crash. A United States Naval Academy graduate, his nickname at the Academy wa ...

, pioneer of military aviation and namesake of

Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis ...

in Houston, Texas * Kendra "Keni" Harrison, set the world record in the women's 100 metres hurdles with a time of 12.20 seconds on July 22, 2016, at the London Grand Prix * Jaylee Burley Mead (1929–2012), astronomer who spent career at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

* Rodney Rowe, track and field sprinter *

James Talacek James Raymond Talacek is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He serves as Oceanographic Field Operations Manager at Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory. Early ...

, professional aquanaut *

Kodi Whitley Kodi James Whitley (born February 21, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cardinals. He made his MLB debut in 2020. Amateur career ...

, Major League Baseball pitcherKodi Whitley
''Baseball-Reference''. Retrieved October 29, 2020.

References

External links

*
Clayton Chamber of Commerce

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, North Carolina 1869 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1869 Populated places on the Neuse River Towns in Johnston County, North Carolina Towns in Wake County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina