Welcome to Spencer! We are an Iowa city located at the confluence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. The population was 11,317 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clay County. Spencer is famous as the home of the Clay County Fair, held annually in September. The fair averages 315,000 visitors per year.

Spencer was ranked 10th best place to live in the United States by Relocate-America.com's "America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2007."

The 2008 cost of living index in Spencer is 78.6 (U.S. average is 100).

Spencer is a certified cultural district in the State of Iowa. Current cultural attractions include the Spencer Community Theater, Arts on Grand, Parker Historical Museum, public art displays, and the Bogenrief Glass Studio. The Curiel-Reynolds School of Visual Arts relocated from Detroit to Spencer in July 2007. In the next year, Spencer will receive federal recognition of the art and cultural district from the federal government, complete its art deco bridge, and convert the old middle school building into an artist's incubator and studio.

Spencer is the site of the library where Dewey Readmore Books was the cat in residence from January 18, 1988, until December 2006. His story is told in Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter.

Click here for a current map of Spencer.