The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Clay County is a county of South Dakota with 15,219 residents. Its economy produced $877 million in 2024 (ranked #15 of 66 counties) and had 6,066 jobs with an average annual pay of $48,924 (#33 for pay). The unemployment rate was 1.5% in 2026M09. It is part of the Vermillion, SD micropolitan area (central county).
Clay County produced about $877 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 1.1% of the combined output of the 66 counties of South Dakota that BEA reports (about 1.7% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 15th of 66 on that measure. Per resident that is $57,630, 32% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $84,630. In current dollars output grew 2.8% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation. The gap between its output rank (15th) and its output-per-resident rank (50th) shows that population is large relative to the value of what is produced here.
BLS counts 6,066 jobs located in Clay County on average in 2024, spread over 471 employer sites (about 13 jobs per site). That is 0.40 jobs for every resident, above the 0.37 of the typical county in South Dakota, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $48,924, 16% below the average of all counties in the state ($48,924 against $58,062). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 0.5% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are retail trade (28.1% of private jobs, $32,698 a year on average), health care and social assistance (23.3% of private jobs, $40,694 a year on average), manufacturing (8.2% of private jobs, $73,554 a year on average). Together they hold 59.5% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is wholesale trade at $90,693 a year, followed by professional and technical services ($74,443). Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($32,698). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Clay County was 1.5%, 10% below the average of the state's counties (1.5% against 1.7%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 8,179. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 1.5% (2026M03) to 2.6% (2025M12); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $56,850 (ACS 2020–2024), 24% below the state median ($56,850 against $75,081). The guide covers 1 city with this as the main county: Vermillion. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate.
Counties close to Clay County in output are Beadle County, Lake County, Grant County, Turner County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 66 counties of South Dakota ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 15,219 | 14 of 66 |
| GDP 2024 | $877 million | 15 of 66 |
| GDP per resident | $57,630 | 50 of 66 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 6,066 | 14 of 66 |
| Average annual pay | $48,924 | 33 of 66 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +0.5% | 38 of 66 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 1.5% | 13 of 66 |
| Median household income | $56,850 | 57 of 66 |
Federal jobs in South Dakota (285) →All cities of South DakotaState guide: South Dakota
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Clay County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermillion | 11,878 | $50,456 | $764 | $219,000 | 50.5% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 749 | 28.1% | $32,698 | 1.24 |
| Health care and social assistance | 621 | 23.3% | $40,694 | 0.71 |
| Manufacturing | 219 | 8.2% | $73,554 | 0.44 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 214 | 8.0% | $54,807 | 0.83 |
| Construction | 156 | 5.8% | $55,550 | 0.49 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 152 | 5.7% | $52,727 | 0.83 |
| Professional and technical services | 143 | 5.4% | $74,443 | 0.34 |
| Finance and insurance | 98 | 3.7% | $65,299 | 0.40 |
| Administrative and waste services | 94 | 3.5% | $44,778 | 0.26 |
| Wholesale trade | 91 | 3.4% | $90,693 | 0.38 |
| Real estate and rental | 33 | 1.2% | $44,882 | 0.35 |
| Utilities | 30 | 1.1% | $95,062 | 1.30 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 25 | 0.9% | $54,286 | 0.51 |
| Information | 20 | 0.7% | $125,898 | 0.18 |
| Educational services | 14 | 0.5% | $24,628 | 0.11 |
| Management of companies | 11 | 0.4% | $88,706 | 0.11 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 8,179 |
| Employed residents | 8,054 |
| Unemployed residents | 125 |
| Unemployment rate | 1.5% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 6,066 |
| Employer sites | 471 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnehaha County | 203,289 | $22,447 million | $110,421 | 138,556 | $65,100 | 1.6% |
| Pennington County | 113,512 | $8,688 million | $76,541 | 62,114 | $57,286 | 1.7% |
| Lincoln County | 70,638 | $8,823 million | $124,902 | 29,694 | $65,125 | 1.6% |
| Brown County | 37,877 | $3,155 million | $83,307 | 19,808 | $54,430 | 1.6% |
| Brookings County | 35,353 | $3,062 million | $86,606 | 19,246 | $56,994 | 1.4% |
| Meade County | 30,546 | $1,305 million | $42,710 | 8,600 | $57,255 | 1.7% |
| Codington County | 28,767 | $2,111 million | $73,370 | 17,261 | $52,139 | 1.5% |
| Lawrence County | 27,233 | $1,848 million | $67,852 | 13,566 | $50,201 | 1.6% |
| Yankton County | 23,414 | $1,759 million | $75,124 | 13,091 | $55,512 | 1.7% |
| Davison County | 19,952 | $1,725 million | $86,440 | 12,546 | $53,296 | 1.5% |
| Beadle County | 19,309 | $1,236 million | $63,987 | 8,574 | $50,493 | 1.6% |
| Hughes County | 17,664 | $1,661 million | $94,006 | 10,867 | $61,739 | 1.5% |
| Union County | 17,081 | $2,261 million | $132,391 | 9,633 | $73,276 | 1.8% |
| Clay County | 15,219 | $877 million | $57,630 | 6,066 | $48,924 | 1.5% |
| Oglala Lakota County | 13,491 | $433 million | $32,076 | 3,797 | $53,583 | 3.4% |
| Lake County | 10,972 | $934 million | $85,163 | 5,221 | $56,802 | 1.5% |
| Butte County | 10,676 | $475 million | $44,472 | 2,940 | $45,795 | 1.4% |
| Roberts County | 10,221 | $563 million | $55,081 | 3,559 | $45,278 | 2.1% |
| Charles Mix County | 9,281 | $600 million | $64,604 | 3,548 | $47,616 | 1.6% |
| Todd County | 9,244 | $313 million | $33,837 | 2,946 | $49,365 | 4.0% |
| Custer County | 8,892 | $398 million | $44,719 | 2,677 | $47,494 | 1.8% |
| Turner County | 8,882 | $613 million | $68,978 | 2,389 | $46,661 | 1.5% |
| Grant County | 7,563 | $831 million | $109,877 | 3,854 | $54,491 | 1.6% |
| Hutchinson County | 7,404 | $555 million | $75,020 | 2,756 | $48,418 | 1.2% |
| Fall River County | 7,258 | $372 million | $51,260 | 2,516 | $51,214 | 2.3% |
| Bon Homme County | 7,044 | $284 million | $40,379 | 1,713 | $46,372 | 1.9% |
| Moody County | 6,397 | $486 million | $75,940 | 2,561 | $53,179 | 1.5% |
| Hamlin County | 6,373 | $425 million | $66,652 | 2,629 | $55,544 | 1.2% |
| Spink County | 6,219 | $549 million | $88,290 | 2,310 | $51,117 | 1.7% |
| McCook County | 5,751 | $406 million | $70,632 | 1,338 | $50,576 | 1.5% |
| Tripp County | 5,611 | $353 million | $62,949 | 2,331 | $49,583 | 1.5% |
| Day County | 5,437 | $381 million | $70,029 | 1,955 | $44,886 | 1.7% |
| Brule County | 5,283 | $336 million | $63,546 | 2,007 | $41,127 | 1.3% |
| Walworth County | 5,271 | $319 million | $60,576 | 2,033 | $46,774 | 1.9% |
| Kingsbury County | 5,244 | $370 million | $70,558 | 1,814 | $47,846 | 1.8% |
| Dewey County | 5,205 | $271 million | $51,979 | 2,447 | $51,085 | 2.7% |
| Marshall County | 4,344 | $454 million | $104,455 | 1,681 | $55,097 | 1.5% |
| Deuel County | 4,328 | $553 million | $127,777 | 1,536 | $53,171 | 1.4% |
| Edmunds County | 4,048 | $257 million | $63,565 | 1,214 | $52,001 | 1.6% |
| Gregory County | 4,016 | $238 million | $59,192 | 1,586 | $39,901 | 1.4% |
| Clark County | 3,917 | $337 million | $86,139 | 1,194 | $46,772 | 1.4% |
| Corson County | 3,806 | $121 million | $31,823 | 755 | $48,202 | 3.3% |
| Lyman County | 3,724 | $194 million | $52,183 | 1,369 | $37,710 | 1.9% |
| Hanson County | 3,472 | $217 million | $62,571 | 626 | $51,885 | 2.1% |
| Bennett County | 3,345 | $143 million | $42,651 | 846 | $42,513 | 2.0% |
| Hand County | 3,140 | $282 million | $89,925 | 1,449 | $43,934 | 1.6% |
| Stanley County | 3,015 | $186 million | $61,737 | 1,327 | $46,989 | 1.6% |
| Perkins County | 3,001 | $176 million | $58,526 | 1,119 | $41,738 | 1.6% |
| Douglas County | 2,828 | $269 million | $95,122 | 1,028 | $45,589 | 1.9% |
| Jackson County | 2,802 | $107 million | $38,262 | 691 | $41,313 | 2.5% |
| Aurora County | 2,642 | $156 million | $58,969 | 812 | $41,846 | 1.4% |
| Potter County | 2,388 | $149 million | $62,462 | 821 | $46,301 | 2.1% |
| Sanborn County | 2,384 | $158 million | $66,125 | 640 | $41,586 | 1.5% |
| Ziebach County | 2,377 | $56 million | $23,586 | 252 | $52,274 | 2.4% |
| Miner County | 2,300 | $177 million | $76,841 | 805 | $43,524 | 1.9% |
| McPherson County | 2,145 | $141 million | $65,720 | 560 | $41,808 | 2.0% |
| Faulk County | 2,126 | $169 million | $79,644 | 688 | $42,528 | 1.3% |
| Mellette County | 1,943 | $71 million | $36,593 | 328 | $36,865 | 2.7% |
| Buffalo County | 1,808 | $95 million | $52,808 | 538 | $50,972 | 3.5% |
| Jerauld County | 1,772 | $172 million | $96,972 | 1,559 | $47,603 | 1.5% |
| Haakon County | 1,722 | $133 million | $77,142 | 780 | $47,525 | 1.9% |
| Campbell County | 1,593 | $103 million | $64,970 | 439 | $44,880 | 2.6% |
| Sully County | 1,526 | $108 million | $71,067 | 679 | $55,514 | 1.4% |
| Hyde County | 1,191 | $173 million | $145,258 | 533 | $55,079 | 1.3% |
| Harding County | 1,148 | $91 million | $78,992 | 444 | $46,625 | 1.5% |
| Jones County | 1,004 | $85 million | $85,144 | 388 | $35,332 | 1.9% |
15,219 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$877 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
1.5% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
6,066 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $48,924 (BLS QCEW).