Welcome to Clayton ...
The town of Clayton is located in Union County<1> and is the County Seat for Union County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Clayton, you might consider that their post office opened in 1888.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Clayton has a population of 2,671 people<2> (see below for details).
Clayton is 4,970 feet [1,515 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the altitude of Clayton is about 1 mile [or ~1½ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: Clayton lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you leave Clayton and travel east, you will leave Mountain Time and cross into the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT).
Clayton lies within the (575) area code.
The ZIP code for Clayton: 88415<4>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Clayton had an population of 2,671 people. This is a decrease of 10.37% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 5.82% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Clayton had a population of 2,980 people (which is 65.51% of the total population of Union County). This makes Clayton the county's most populous community.
The population of Clayton represents 0.14% of the total population of New Mexico (which has 2,059,179 people), making it the state's 38th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 2,980 people, the population of Clayton increased 18.07% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 2,524 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Clayton.
Communities Also Named Clayton ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two New Mexico communities named Clayton: This one is located in Union County and the other is located in Colfax County.
Beyond New Mexico, there are 48 communities that are also named Clayton - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California (3), Connecticut (2), Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (2), Louisiana (2), Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (3), Oklahoma (2), Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina (2), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas (2), Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin (2) and Wyoming.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Clayton.
Communities near Clayton ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Clayton.
- Texline
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texline
- Texline is located in Dallam County (TX)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 534 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Texline <5>
- Seneca
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Seneca is located in Union County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seneca <5>
- Mount Dora
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Dora
- Mount Dora is located in Union County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Dora <5>
- Moses
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moses
- Moses is located in Union County
- Sedan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
- Sedan is located in Union County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sedan <5>
- Mexhoma ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexhoma
- Mexhoma is located in Cimarron County (OK)
- Perico ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast) - Felt
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felt
- Felt is located in Cimarron County (OK)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Felt <5>
- Wheeless
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeless
- Wheeless is located in Cimarron County (OK)
- Grenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grenville have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grenville
- Grenville is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grenville <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Clayton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Clayton.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Clayton. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clayton.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Clayton. Our list includes 11 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Clayton.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Clayton ...
Looking for more information about Clayton? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Clayton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Clayton.
Adding Clayton to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Clayton in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Clayton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Clayton post office opened in 1888.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Clayton.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Clayton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of New Mexico's counties, including Union, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Clayton. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Clayton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Clayton). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Clayton or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |