Clay, Alabama

Clay, Alabama
City
City Hall
Location of Clay in Jefferson County, Alabama.
Coordinates: 33°42′0″N 86°37′22″W / 33.70000°N 86.62278°W / 33.70000; -86.62278
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Jefferson
Area [1]
• Total	11.34 sq mi (29.38 km2)
• Land	11.28 sq mi (29.21 km2)
• Water	0.06 sq mi (0.17 km2)
Elevation [2]	1,004 ft (306 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,291
• Density	912.40/sq mi (352.27/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	35048
Area code(s)	205 & 659
FIPS code	01-15256
GNIS feature ID	2404063[2]
Website	http://www.clayalabama.org/

Clay is a city in northeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area in the north-central part of the state. Local government is run by a mayor and city council.

Before incorporation on June 6, 2000, it was a census-designated place (CDP). The population nearly doubled in the next decade, reaching 9,708 at the 2010 census, as it has attracted commuters to jobs in the urban areas.

The oldest church in Jefferson County, Mount Calvary Presbyterian Church, is located in Clay.^[3] The congregation has been meeting continually since 1806, when it was established by early Scots-American settlers.^[4]

On January 23, 2012, a total of 231 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed when an EF3 tornado passed through several subdivisions. Damage was heavy in downtown Center Point. Some of the homes were flattened. Trees were snapped and uprooted along the path and the Center Point Elementary School was damaged. A sixteen-year-old student from Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School died before reaching cover during the tornado.