Cost of living in Clay Center, Kansas

Clay Center, Kansas has about 4,132 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $143,600.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Clay County is $1,074 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Clay Center. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

Kansas's prices sit at 90.1 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.

Kansas taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 8.7% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Clay Center's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Kansas home paid 15.27¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Clay Center's bill.

EIA does not publish a Kansas gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the Midwest (PADD 2) all-grades price was $4.237 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,033.76 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Kansas shares this price.

Among 184 places we list in Kansas with a rent figure, 52 have higher typical rent than Clay Center.