Clayton, NC

Single-footprint Census roll-up for Clayton, NC: 2 USPS ZIPs, population 54,573. Open the primary ZIP for household income, housing tenure, and commute from ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates.

U.S. Census Bureau, SimpleMaps US ZIP Code Database, delivery-area ZIP coverage

ACS city ledger plate

Sheet CLAYTON-NC · Clayton, NC 2 ZIPs · 54,573 pop · #4339/25278 · Johnston County

INC-HIGH · RANK-TOP · ABOVE-PEER · BOOK-FEW · OWN-MID · POP-SMALL · SPREAD-MOD · HOME-MID

  • INC-HIGH $100,679
  • RANK-TOP #4339/25278
  • ABOVE-PEER over Princeton
  • BOOK-FEW 2 ZIPs
  • OWN-MID 78% owners
  • POP-SMALL 54,573
  • SPREAD-MOD 27520→27527
  • HOME-MID $355,550

Nearest income peer: Princeton, NC ( $21,829 income $)

Instrument codes from this city’s ACS household income, national rank, county-peer gap, ZIP book, owner tenure, population scale, intra-city income spread, and home-value band, not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Clayton

Lowest/highest poles plus county-sharing cities nearest Clayton on average ZIP median household income. Full ladder: /cities.

median HH income

What this shows County-sharing peers only, not the full US city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the mosaic is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-25

National city placement

According to ACS 5-Year Estimates, Clayton, NC sits among US cities with an upper-quartile household income, on a small-city population base, across a handful of delivery areas.

Top 17%
household income vs 25,278 US cities
54,573
city population (Census)
2
USPS ZIP codes covered
$100,679
avg ZIP median income

Income percentile ranks this city's average ZIP median household income against 25,278 US cities with ACS income on at least one ZIP. Scale and ZIP-spread words come from Census population and USPS ZIP coverage.

High-income footprint on only 2 ZIPs: the city page and the ZIP page nearly coincide. Headline income $100,679 and home value $355,550 should be read as near-neighborhood numbers ; bachelor's attainment averages 40.2%.

Owner-occupancy sits in a mixed band (77.5%) - check the ZIP page's tenure split before treating Clayton as a pure owner town.

Within North Carolina, Indian Trail is the closest lower-income city and Colfax the closest higher-income city by average ZIP household income. Their 1 and 1 ZIP footprints are the immediate statewide comparison set for Clayton.

Within-city ZIP comparison

Where the ZIP codes inside Clayton differ

The published income range is comparatively compact across the ZIPs in Clayton: $86,322 in ZIP 27520 to $115,035 in 27527. The city average is therefore a more representative summary here, though each ZIP page still carries its own housing and demographic record.

Income high-to-low ratio
1.3×

27520 to 27527

Home-value high-to-low ratio
1.2×

27520 to 27527

Poverty-rate spread
3 points

27520 to 27527

Derived from the published ACS 2023 ZIP-level records shown on this site. A high-to-low ratio compares the highest and lowest available ZIP values; it is not a score or forecast.

Population concentration

Lead ZIP 27520 skews compact Clayton

In this 2-ZIP cluster, 27520 covers about 67% of Clayton's 54,573 residents. City averages lean toward that lead; open a thinner sibling ZIP for the contrast the mean hides.

Census ZBP business roll-up

Employer-heavy short list in Clayton

Citywide ZBP: 1,400 establishments, 19,158 employees , annual payroll $1,103,724k (~26 establishments per 1,000 residents) across 2 of 2 ZIPs. Peak business ZIP 27520 (1,000 units) ; leading NAICS Construction (289) · also Professional, scientific, and technical services · Health care and social assistance .

View your shortlist →

ZIP Codes in Clayton, NC

These ZIP codes sit in Johnston County, which covers 10 ZIP codes in all; 2 of them fall in Clayton. See the Johnston County roll-up →

No other city sharing Johnston County reports a higher average ZIP median income than Clayton. Smithfield, Selma and Benson sit below it, so a household comparing this county on income alone starts here. Micro marks the far end of that range at $44,531, 56% below Clayton.

Side-by-side: Compare 27520 vs 27527 →

ZIP Code Population Median income Establishments Density
27520 36,357 $86,322 1,000 192
27527 18,216 $115,035 400 161

Clayton roll-ups here are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial or relocation advice. ACS and Census ZBP figures are estimates; confirm the current table against Census before a money or move decision involving Clayton, .