Clayton, California


Clayton is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 11,585 as of the 2020 census.
WWW ci.clayton.ca.us

History

In 1857, the town of Clayton was laid out and founded by Joel Henry Clayton and his two younger brothers. Clayton was born in Bugsworth, now Buxworth, in the United Kingdom, and emigrated to the United States in 1837. After years in other states he settled down with his wife Margaret at his town at the foot of Mount Diablo, where he and his family prospered. Clayton was named after Joel Henry Clayton, although only by the flip of a coin. Joel Clayton and Charles Rhine cofounded the town, and each wanted to name it after himself. If Charles had won it would have become Rhinesville, but Joel Clayton won. Joel and his wife Margaret both died in Clayton, and were buried in Live Oak Cemetery in what is now Concord, CA.
Clayton prospered during the coal mining boom in eastern Contra Costa County. The post office opened in 1861. Following a previous incorporation attempt in 1960, Clayton incorporated in 1964 in order to stave off an annexation attempt in 1963 of the Cardinet Glen neighborhood by nearby Concord. After steady expansion during the 1970s to the east and west from its original boundaries, Clayton's land area more than doubled in 1987 to near its present-day boundaries with the annexations of the Dana Hills/Dana Ridge and Clayton Wood subdivisions, as well as the former Keller Ranch property that was developed during the 1990s with the Oakhurst Country Club.

Fires

Wildfires have been a common occurrence in recent years as California had a major drought from 2011-2017.
On September 8, 2013, fire broke out on Mount Diablo. Called the Morgan Fire, it started at the mercury mine area of Morgan Territory Road. The fire grew quickly and threatened homes and livestock. Evacuations were ordered for several areas, including Oak Hill Lane and Curry Canyon. It took over 1000 firefighters and eight aircraft to extinguish it. Full containment was announced on September 14, 2013, having burned.
On July 25, 2018, a vegetation fire broke out on Marsh Creek Rd near Morgan Territory. One home and 3 out buildings were destroyed. Evacuations were ordered for that evening. By July 28 the fire was 100% contained.
On August 16, 2020, Lightning strikes caused many fires across the state, one of which was another Morgan Fire which became part of the SCU Lightning Complex fires.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all land.
Clayton is located at the foot of Mt. Diablo.

Climate

This region experiences hot and dry summers. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Clayton has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.
On December 7, 2009, snow fell in Clayton and Concord for the first time since the 1970s.

Education

It is in the Mount Diablo Unified School District.
The public schools which the K-12 students of Clayton attend include: Mt. Diablo Elementary School, Highlands Elementary School, Diablo View Middle School, Pine Hollow Middle School, and Clayton Valley Charter High School.

Public libraries

The Clayton branch of the Contra Costa County Library system is located in Clayton.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Clayton had a population of 11,070. The population density was. The racial makeup of Clayton was 73.6% White, 1.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 9.4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.6% from other races, and 12.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.2% of the population.
There were 4,089 households, out of which 31.9% included children under the age of 18, 68.6% were married-couple households, 3.2% were cohabiting couple households, 20.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 7.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 17.6% of households were one person, and 11.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.70. There were 3,214 families.
The age distribution was 20.6% under the age of 18, 7.6% aged 18 to 24, 17.4% aged 25 to 44, 32.3% aged 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 48.6years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 14.1% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 85.8% spoke only English at home, 3.9% spoke Spanish, 5.4% spoke other Indo-European languages, 3.6% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.2% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 98.5% were high school graduates and 58.8% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income was $172,226, and the per capita income was $73,228. About 1.4% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line.
YearDemocraticRepublican
202457.5% 4,07939.3% 2,787
202060.2% 4,60537.7% 2,882
201654.9% 3,50038.9% 2,479
201250.5% 3,21047.6% 3,020
200855.1% 3,62543.5% 2,862
200446.7% 2,97952.6% 3,357
200044.1% 2,65352.6% 3,161
199644.2% 2,23248.2% 2,430
199238.0% 1,78140.7% 1,906
198834.3% 1,27765.0% 2,421
198428.0% 65771.5% 1,680
198024.9% 50464.5% 1,306
197639.3% 45559.1% 684
197233.9% 21063.5% 393
196839.8% 21256.2% 299
196456.6% 15943.4% 122

Politics

According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2025, Clayton has 8,621 registered voters. Of those, 3,653 are registered Democrats, 2,611 are registered Republicans, and 1,722 are No Party Preference.

Media

The city of Clayton is served by the daily newspaper East Bay Times published by Bay Area News Group-East Bay, and by the local newspapers The Clayton Pioneer, and the Diablo Gazette, and is also served by Claycord.com, a conservative local news platform and blog covering community news and events.

Notable people