[4] Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, a citizen who donated the land for the St. Louis County courthouse.

An impressive collection of mid-century modern low and high rise structures contrast with earlier mansions, stores and flats.

Its surrounding residential neighborhoods maintain a dense, walkable character and were largely developed in the pre-war era.

These neighborhoods consist of brick walkups, apartment buildings, mansions and modest single family homes centered around several small business districts.

Clayshire is a suburban neighborhood bounded by Forest Park Parkway on the north, Interstate 170 on the east, Clayton Road on the south and the Ladue city limit to the west and includes the subdivision of Tanglewood.

Unlike Clayton's denser pre-war residential neighborhoods, Clayshire is characterized by a more post-war suburban development pattern.

A large residential neighborhood, Davis Place is characterized primarily by single family homes with some apartment buildings along Hanley Road and Brentwood Boulevard.

It is a dense and walkable neighborhood characterized by brick and limestone pre-war apartment blocks, single family homes and small commercial areas centered around DeMun Avenue and Clayton Road.

The neighborhood is home to three of the St. Louis region's six Fortune 500 headquarters; Centene Corporation, Emerson Electric, and Graybar.

[7] Additionally, the neighborhood is home to five of the region's 11 Fortune 1000 headquarters; Advantage Solutions, Belden, Caleres, Energizer Holdings, and Olin Corporation.

[9] Downtown Clayton is known for its many restaurants and cafes and hosts the St. Louis Art Fair during September each year.

[10] Recently, the neighborhood has entered a period of significant redevelopment and new construction with the opening of the Two Twelve Clayton and Ceylon apartment buildings in 2017, Centene Plaza C in 2019, and Forsyth Pointe in 2023.

[12] The boundaries of downtown Clayton are Maryland Avenue on the north, the University City limit on the east, Forest Park Parkway on the south, and Brentwood Boulevard on the west.

Like Clayton's other urban, walkable neighborhoods, the Moorlands is characterized by large, pre-war masonry apartment buildings and single family homes with high-rise apartment buildings along Hanley Road and a small commercial district at the intersection of Hanley and Wydown Boulevard.

The area is mostly made up of single family homes with office, apartment and condo buildings located primarily between Meramec Avenue and Brentwood Boulevard.

The city boasts roughly 46,000 daytime employees[21] and is home to a large and diverse group of the region's Fortune 1000 headquarters, blue chip companies, law firms, and banks.

In addition to the largest employers listed below, other companies that call Clayton home or have operations there include Bank of America, Barry-Wehmiller, Cassidy Turley, Cushman & Wakefield, JPMorgan Chase, Stifel, and Straub's Markets.

[22] Clayton is served by the Blue Line of the St. Louis region's MetroLink light rail system.

Forsyth Boulevard (which changes to Old Bonhomme between North Clayton and University City) was at one time an ancient Native American trail and was part of the route of the 1904 Olympic marathon.

[23] Other primary routes in the city include Maryland Avenue and Wydown Boulevard, the latter of which was named a Great Street by the American Planning Association in 2010.

A portion of Washington University's Danforth Campus, the South 40, is located in eastern Clayton and primarily consists of student housing.

[26] In 2007, Washington University acquired its South Campus in the DeMun neighborhood which is used primarily by intramural and club sports programs in addition to community theater groups.

[30] The St. Louis County Library operates the Mid-County Branch in Clayton, which was rebuilt and reopened on September 4, 2020.

Other routes with dedicated bicycle lanes include Maryland Avenue and Wydown Boulevard, the latter of which connects Clayton to St. Louis' Forest Park.