Clayton is a medium-sized city located in the state of Missouri. With a population of 17,130 people and four associated neighborhoods, Clayton is the 43rd largest community in Missouri. Clayton has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Clayton home prices are not only among the most expensive in Missouri, but Clayton real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Clayton has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 18.38% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Clayton is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Clayton to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy.

Clayton, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Clayton spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.58 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

If knowledge is power, Clayton is a pretty powerful place. 80.54% of the adults in Clayton have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Clayton in 2018 was $70,772, which is wealthy relative to Missouri and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $283,088 for a family of four.

Clayton is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Clayton home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Clayton residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Clayton include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Eastern European.

The most common language spoken in Clayton is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Arabic.