Rank

304of 3,144

Clay, South Dakota

Score 7.17 / 10· population 15,431

About 15,400 people live in Clay, South Dakota. It ranks #304 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #50 of 66 in South Dakota. The combined sales tax is 4.2%, lower than in 92% of counties. Property tax takes about 1.13% of a home's value each year, more than in 78% of counties. Local government employs a smaller share of working residents than in 62% of counties. The homicide rate is lower than in 77% of counties. Life expectancy is about 77.3 years, longer than in 67% of counties. Air quality is better than in 63% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 39), and flood and hurricane risk is lower than in 81% of counties. On this site's state scores, South Dakota gets 8.18 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 10 of 10 for gun rights.

v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values

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Eleven factors

Government behavior

  1. Fraser Institute state ranking (state)8.2
  2. 2A (state)10.0
  3. GOP + LP vote for President4.6
  4. Sales tax6.2
  5. Property tax4.3

Environment

  1. Air quality6.1
  2. Floods / hurricanes7.1

Private behavior

  1. Homicide rate10.0
  2. Life expectancy7.3
  3. Government employees6.2
  4. Single-parent households7.4

Neighbors