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Clayton, NC is close enough to Raleigh for the North Carolina capital to cast its shadow on this Johnston County town. But the Town is not eclipsed by the bigger and more populated urban center. Clayton has been charting its own course, leading to impressive growth in both number of residents and businesses.
The population of the Town grew more than 60 percent from the 2010 Census to 2020. The county topped the state in population growth. The Town’s leadership, cognizant of these changes, has tried to keep in step – and at times stay ahead. As the red-hot housing market across much of the Southeast makes buying a home challenging, Clayton finds itself as the destination for many. Raleigh and Cary are less than 30 miles away, yet housing costs are not as expensive.
Increasingly, though, many who are moving into the Town and Johnston County may be relocating to take up a good-paying job right there. They have their pick of companies, be it AdvanceTec, Grifols, Novo Nordisk , Caterpillar, and many others. Another well-known company is coming to the area. However, it will not be located within Clayton’s town limits. Amazon is set to open a large distribution center. This center will cover 620,000 square feet and will be in the County.
These changes bring with it demand for more housing, and with more homes and businesses comes the need to upgrade the overall infrastructure. Last year, the Town approved the development of a 69-acre mixed-use community – called the The Copper District – located at Highway 70 Bypass and Highway 42.
WithersRavenel’s work in Clayton
WithersRavenel has been working with the Town on several projects in recent years, including an on-call contract, which has led to various projects where we have provided water, sewer, stormwater, environmental, survey, and construction services.
Our team is working with Clayton and with consultants representing Johnston County to expand the existing East Clayton Industrial Area pump station to better serve the Town’s pharmaceutical and industrial customers. Our work includes engineering design and construction phase services for upsizing the current 2.5 MGD pump station to a capacity of 5.0 MGD and approximately 28,000 linear feet of associated force main, routed through both densely congested residential and unobstructed rural areas.
Speaking of expanding capacity to meet the needs of businesses and people, WithersRavenel is working on a project – the largest in the history of the Town – being partly funded by the North Carolina State Water Infrastructure Authority. The $105 million in funding that WithersRavenel helped the Town garner has already allowed for extensive work at the existing Little Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, and ongoing work at the proposed new Neuse River Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), along with additional system-wide wastewater collection and conveyance improvements.
As new companies set up shop and existing ones expand in Johnston County, Clayton is working diligently to make its new residents and businesses feel at home.
About Clayton
- Year established: 1770
- Population: 28,306 (July 2021 Census Bureau estimate)
- Median price of homes in April 2022: $399.9K
- Median household income: $61,954
- Schools: Powhatan Elementary School, West Clayton Elementary School, Riverwood Elementary and Middle Schools, Cooper Academy, Clayton Middle School, Clayton High School
- Medical Facilities: Johnston Health Clayton
- Recreation: Municipal Park, All-Star Park, Mountain-to-Sea Trail, East Coast Greenway, Sam’s Branch Greenway, Clayton Community Park, East Clayton Community Park, River Walk on the Neuse, The Clayton Center, Clemmons Educational State Forest, Deep River Brewing Company, Double Barley Brewing