Paving Services in Clay County, Florida

Clay County
County
Clay County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Motto:  In God We Trust
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida’s location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°59′N 81°52′W / 29.98°N 81.86°W / 29.98; -81.86
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	December 31, 1858
Named after	Henry Clay
Seat	Green Cove Springs
Largest city	Lakeside
Area
• Total	644 sq mi (1,667 km)
• Land	604 sq mi (1,566 km)
• Water	39 sq mi (101 km)  6.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	218,245
• Estimate  (2023)	232,439
• Density	380/sq mi (148/km)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	32003, 32043, 32065, 32068, 32073, 32079, 32091, 32234, 32656, 32666
Area code	352, 904, 324
Congressional district	4th
Website	www.claycountygov.com

Clay County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida along the west bank of the St. Johns River. As of 2020, the population was 218,245 and in 2023, that number increased to 232,439, making it the third largest county in the Jacksonville metropolitan area. While most of the county is unincorporated, there are 4 municipalities with Green Cove Springs being the county seat and the unincorporated Lakeside CDP being the largest place. It is named in honor of Henry Clay, a famous American statesman, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky, and United States Secretary of State in the 19th century.

Since 1990, Clay County has transformed into a largely suburban county with the third highest household median income in Florida behind neighboring St. Johns County and Santa Rosa County. This transformation has come as workers from Jacksonville, and to a smaller extent other nearby cities such as St. Augustine and Gainesville, have moved into newly built residential subdivisions. Over half of workers living in Clay County work in another county, which is the highest rate of any county in Florida. As such, the county has the third highest average commute time in the state at almost 33 minutes. With the population expected to surpass 300,000 residents by 2040, projects such as the First Coast Expressway are being constructed to alleviate chronic congestion on major roadways in the county such as Blanding Blvd and U.S. 17.

Clay County is known for its rich military history with major current and former installations such as Branan Air Field, Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs, and Camp Blanding all being located in the county. The county also attracts many tourists due to its abundance of natural water features. Many notable lakes such as Kingsley Lake, Lake Asbury, Doctors Lake, Lake Geneva, and Lake Brooklyn are all located in the county. Black Creek begins at the St. Johns River just north of Green Cove Springs and runs through the central portion of the county.