The Town of Clay was established in 1827 and is the northernmost town of the nineteen towns in Onondaga County. The largest town in Onondaga County, Clay is 54.6 square miles in size and includes part of the Village of North Syracuse. The Seneca River forms its western boundary, meeting with the Oswego and Oneida rivers at a point known as Three Rivers. The Oneida River forms most of the northern boundary.

A suburb of Syracuse, Clay is close to Syracuse Hancock International Airport and US Routes 81 and 90. Town Hall is located at 4401 State Route 31, between Henry Clay Boulevard and Morgan Road.

The 2000 Census estimated a population of 58,805 and the current estimate is approximately 60,000. Clay's modern development as a residential community began in 1955 with the development of the Bayberry tract on Route 57. The opening of the Great Northern Mall on Route 31 in 1988 has brought increased commercial development along the east/west corridor.