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Traffic heat map of Clay County, North Carolina: 74 miles of roads shaded from blue (light) to red (heavy traffic), busiest on NC 69 and US 64

Clay County, North Carolina Traffic Counts

Traffic analytics for Clay County, North Carolina, calculated from real-world mobile and sensor networks on 987 road segments (74 road miles, about 393 ft each). Its drivers are the oldest of any county in North Carolina, a median 60 years. Use the figures below to move from assumptions to certainty on retail locations, logistics and road planning.
Data sourced from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform.
Data current as of:
Q3 2026
Updated:
September 29, 2026
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Total Traffic Volume & Performance in Clay County, North Carolina

Traffic

The average number of vehicles that travel each day over any road in the road network.

vehicles per day3,857
Trucks

The percentage of the total traffic volume composed of heavy vehicles.

7.0%
Average travel time

The average time of travel averaged among all vehicles traveling on the road network.

29.1 min
Congestion ratio

The rate at which the actual travel time exceeds free-flow travel time, averaged among all roads in the network.

11.9%
Drivers’ average age

Average age of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

60.0 yrs
Drivers’ average income

Average income of residents in the geographic areas where the vehicle trips originated.

$61,010

The average monitored road in Clay County, North Carolina carries 3,857 vehicles per day. Across its 74 miles of monitored roads, that adds up to 232,318 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈84.8 million per year). About 1 in 14 vehicles is a truck, fewer than the 1 in 11 across North Carolina.

Shorter trips than 93% of counties in North Carolina

At 3,857 vehicles per day, the average monitored road in Clay carries 39% less traffic than the state average of 6,332, suggesting less demand on each road - lighter roads for freight, but less passing trade for roadside retail. Across the whole network, that travel is less than 0.1% of North Carolina's statewide total. By volume, Clay's 3,857 vehicles per day trails 58% of counties in North Carolina.

Journey times run 10% lower than the state level, at 29.1 minutes on average. 93% of counties in North Carolina have a longer average travel time than Clay's 29.1 minutes.

The congestion ratio of 11.9% is 36% lower, pointing to smoother traffic flow than the state level - fewer delays make delivery windows more reliable.

Highway vs. Non-Highway Traffic Analysis

highway traffic icon

Highway Traffic in Clay County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day7,638
Trucks7.5%
Average travel time28.6 min
Congestion ratio18.3%
Drivers’ average age60.2 yrs
Drivers’ average income$59,966

Travel in Clay County, North Carolina splits roughly evenly, with about half of it (53% of vehicle-miles) on highways. The average highway carries 7,638 vehicles per day, 224% more than the average non-highway road in the same area, which carries 2,359 vehicles per day.

With 31% of the road miles (23 miles in 280 segments), highways punch above their length, carrying 123,264 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈45.0 million per year).

Fewer highway trucks than 98% of counties in North Carolina

The concentration of trucks on highways (7.5%) is 38% lower than the state average for similar road classifications. Highways here mostly serve passenger trips, so local access matters more than long-haul routing for logistics operators.

Clay's highway truck share (7.5%) is lower than 85% of counties in North Carolina. Clay's highway truck count is lower than 98% of counties in North Carolina, at roughly 575 trucks per day.

non-highway traffic icon

Non-highway Traffic in Clay County, North Carolina

Trafficvehicles per day2,359
Trucks6.4%
Average travel time29.2 min
Congestion ratio9.4%
Drivers’ average age59.5 yrs
Drivers’ average income$61,878

Travel in Clay County, North Carolina splits roughly evenly, with about half of it (47% of vehicle-miles) on local roads. A typical local road sees 2,359 vehicles per day.

Spread over 51 miles and 707 segments, 69% of the road network, local roads carry a lighter load per mile: 109,055 vehicle-miles traveled per day (≈39.8 million per year). About 1 in 16 vehicles on non-highway roads is a truck (6.4%).

The oldest drivers of any county in North Carolina

The concentration of trucks on non-highway roads is 15% lower than on highways.

At 47% lower than the state level, the non-highway congestion ratio of 9.4% signals easier movement on local roads.

Clay's average driver income is lower than 62% of counties in North Carolina. Drivers here also skew toward the highest median age in North Carolina, at 60 years.

Time-of-Day & Seasonal Patterns

Data Finding: Hourly & Seasonal Patterns

In Clay County, North Carolina, the peak hour concentrates about 8% of the day's traffic.

Clay County vs. North Carolina Traffic Comparison

Of the four measures, average daily traffic per road differs most: Clay County runs 39% below the North Carolina average. Its highway truck share is also 38% below.

MetricClay CountyNorth Carolina averageDifference
Traffic3,8576,332-39.1%
Truck % (Total Traffic)7.0%8.7%-19.9%
Truck % (Highway)7.5%12.1%-37.7%
Avg. Travel Time29.1 min32.3 min-10.0%

How Clay County compares

Clay County against nearby counties

Clay County tracks the 4 areas around it closely - no measure in this table sets it far apart from the areas immediately next to it, though it has the fourth busiest roads of the five.

Clay County and the 4 nearest county-level areas by centroid distance, with the North Carolina average for scale.
AreaAverage daily trafficTruck shareDaily vehicle-milesAverage travel timeCongestion ratio
Clay County3,8577.0%232,31829.1 min11.9%
Towns County, Georgia6,2416.6%268,94531.2 min15.9%
Macon County, North Carolina4,0767.0%854,64631.1 min14.0%
Graham County, North Carolina2,7897.3%133,75627.5 min9.4%
Union County, Georgia5,6856.1%589,48426.1 min17.9%
North Carolina average6,3328.7%N/A32.3 min18.6%

Clay County ranked within North Carolina

No other county-level area in North Carolina records a higher average driver age than Clay County.

Clay County ranked among 100 county-level areas in North Carolina (1 = highest); measures without data in every county rank a smaller field, down to 97.
MeasureClay CountyNorth Carolina rank
Traffic volume (AADT)3,857#58 of 100
Highway vehicle-miles per day123,264#93 of 97
Truck share on highways7.5%#83 of 97
Highway trucks per day575#95 of 97
Average travel time29.1 min#93 of 100
Average driver income$61,010#62 of 100
Average driver age60.0 yrs#1 of 100

The two ends of this table sit far apart: #1 of 100 on average driver age, against #95 of 97 on highway truck volume.

Busiest roads in Clay County, North Carolina

Traffic concentrates on a few corridors: the three busiest roads average 7,253 vehicles a day, against 3,857 on the average road in Clay County.

NC 69 is the busiest road, at 10,171 vehicles a day, 622 of them trucks (6.1%). It also carries the most trucks.

Trips using Young Harris Road are long: a median of 60.5 minutes against 29.1 county-wide, the mark of a through route.

Ranked by daily traffic (AADT)

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1NC 69Trunk road · 10,171vehicles622trucks · 6.1%
Road class
Trunk road
Congestion ratio
28.0%
Median trip time
26.0 min
Drivers’ median age
60.3 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$64,499

NC 69 is one of the more congested roads here: trips take 28% longer than at free-flow speed, against 12% county-wide.

2US 64Primary road · 8,016vehicles502trucks · 6.3%
Road class
Primary road
Congestion ratio
17.3%
Median trip time
29.9 min
Drivers’ median age
59.1 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$60,422

US 64 peaks at 8,016 vehicles a day, 2.1 times the county average; trucks are 6.3% of it, below the county-wide 7.0%.

3Tusquittee StreetTertiary road · 3,571vehicles202trucks · 5.7%
Road class
Tertiary road
Congestion ratio
7.8%
Median trip time
24.8 min
Drivers’ median age
60.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$65,445

Even at its busiest, Tusquittee Street carries 7% less than the county average; trucks are 5.7% of it, below the county-wide 7.0%.

4NC 175Secondary road · 2,889vehicles166trucks · 5.7%
Road class
Secondary road
Congestion ratio
6.5%
Median trip time
32.3 min
Drivers’ median age
60.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$49,050

NC 175 is a quieter road: its busiest stretch carries 25% less than the county average; trucks are 5.7% of it, below the county-wide 7.0%.

5US 64 BusinessSecondary road · 2,345vehicles131trucks · 5.6%
Road class
Secondary road
Congestion ratio
8.2%
Median trip time
25.4 min
Drivers’ median age
60.7 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$55,012

Even at its busiest, US 64 Business carries 39% less than the county average; trucks are 5.6% of it, below the county-wide 7.0%.

Ranked by trucks per day

Cars and light vehiclesTrucks
1NC 69Trunk road · #1 by traffic10,171vehicles622trucks · 6.1%
2US 64Primary road · #2 by traffic8,016vehicles502trucks · 6.3%
3Tusquittee StreetTertiary road · #3 by traffic3,571vehicles202trucks · 5.7%
4NC 175Secondary road · #4 by traffic2,889vehicles166trucks · 5.7%
5Young Harris RoadSecondary road · 1,343vehicles142trucks · 10.6%
Road class
Secondary road
Median trip time
60.5 min
Drivers’ median age
64.8 yrs
Drivers’ average income
$74,175

Young Harris Road is a quieter road: its busiest stretch carries 65% less than the county average; trucks are 10.6% of it, above the county-wide 7.0%.

How to read these road counts
  • The first number is AADT, annual average daily traffic: the vehicles passing a point on an average day, both directions combined and trucks included. On a divided highway both carriageways are added together.
  • Traffic changes along a road, with more near interchanges and towns and less in open country. Every figure for a road describes its busiest stretch in the county, so the two rankings show the same numbers for the same road.
  • The second number is the trucks on that stretch, a part of its AADT. The bar splits the AADT into cars and light vehicles (blue) and trucks (amber).
  • See segment-level AADT for any road on TrafficZoom.

Data Sources & Methodology

The data presented on this page is derived from TrafficZoom's proprietary analytics platform, which aggregates and normalizes information from multiple sources, including:

Mobile device location data (anonymized and aggregated)

Road sensor networks and traffic counters

Historical traffic pattern databases

Public traffic count programs published by the

ClayDepartment of Transportation

Demographic Baseline for O-D Modeling

U.S. Census Bureau
All metrics represent estimates based on statistical modeling and are intended for strategic planning purposes.
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Data current as of:
Q3 2026

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Counties near Clay County

The same traffic breakdown for the areas closest to Clay County, North Carolina.

Need segment-level traffic data?

Identify traffic patterns street by street and analyze the exact corridors that matter to your project.