Clay, NY: Homes, Commutes and the Micron Construction Site
The Town of Clay lies along the northern border of Onondaga County and covers 48.8 square miles, which the county’s 2025 hazard mitigation plan annex calls the largest town in the county. The Seneca River forms its western boundary, meeting the Oswego and Oneida rivers at a point known as Three Rivers, and the Oneida River forms most of the northern boundary. The town contains part of the Village of North Syracuse, which sits on the border between two towns: about 62 percent of the village’s 2020 Census blocks are in Clay and about 38 percent in the Town of Cicero. The annex names hamlets including Belgium, Clay, Euclid, Moyers Corners and Three Rivers.
Homes in the town
The 2020-2024 American Community Survey counted about 60,000 residents. Owner-occupied homes outnumber rented ones, about 18,300 against 7,400, with margins near 520 and 490. Single detached houses are about 17,900 of some 26,300 housing units, and buildings of five to nine, ten to nineteen and twenty to forty-nine units each hold between 1,400 and 1,700 homes, with margins of 266 to 333. The survey counts about 5,900 homes built in the 1970s and 5,200 in the 1980s, the two largest decades, though those two estimates cannot be told apart, and only about 110 built in 2020 or later (margin 56).
Bedrooms and cars
Owner households most often live in three-bedroom homes, about 9,400, with four-bedroom homes next at about 6,200 (margins 539 and 425). Among renters, two-bedroom homes lead at about 3,200 and one-bedroom homes follow at about 2,400 (margins 406 and 386). Some 1,100 renting households (margin 235) report no vehicle available.
New homes counted in the county’s plan
The Clay annex of the county plan, which draws on county property data of 2024, lists single-family units built of 44 in 2019, 47 in 2020, 38 in 2021, 17 in 2022 and 29 in 2023, and multi-family units of 60 in 2021 and 96 in 2023. Those are units recorded as built, not permits, sales or listings.
Getting to work
Residents who commute averaged 21.4 minutes to work (margin 0.8). Of some 31,600 workers, about 4,100 worked from home and about 190 used public transportation, with margins of 471 and 140. The annex describes Clay as a suburb of Syracuse, close to Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
The Micron site in the town
The Governor’s office reported the groundbreaking of Micron’s first semiconductor fabrication facility in Clay on January 16, 2026, and on July 9, 2026 that workers were pouring the first foundations. A groundbreaking starts construction; it is not an operating plant. If you are moving for Micron, read our guide to choosing where to live near the site.
School districts
Two districts cover most of the town: North Syracuse Central and Liverpool Central each account for about 44 percent of its 2020 Census blocks. Baldwinsville Central accounts for about 6 percent, and Phoenix Central and Central Square Central for about 3 percent each. These are shares of Census blocks, not of land area or students.
A short history
Before European settlement the area was inhabited by the Onondaga Nation. The town was first settled by outsiders around 1791 and was previously known as West Cicero. It was formed in April 1827 from the Town of Cicero and named in honor of Henry Clay.
Homes in and around Clay
Search homes for sale in Clay, or read how we work with buyers. Owners weighing a sale can see how selling with us works, and an owner who would rather have day-to-day care of a rental house can read how our property management service works.
Questions about a home in Clay? Send our team a message or call 315-752-5522.
