Cherokee County, AL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.07, -85.65.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 50th pct · 1,503rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 78th pct · 15th of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
- 27th pct · 2,226th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 30th pct · 47th of 67 Alabama counties · median +2.2%
- US counties: not published this period
- Alabama counties: not published this period
- 38th pct · 1,967th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 30th pct · 47th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
- 18th pct · 2,626th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 4th pct · 64th of 67 Alabama counties · median $1,024
- 65th pct · 1,049th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 90th pct · 7th of 67 Alabama counties · median 3.3
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $237,211 (Aug 2026), +0.8% over one year, +13.8% over five
- 50th pct · 1,503rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 78th pct · 15th of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County, AL | $237,211 · +0.8% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Alabama counties: not published this period
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,298 a month on $237,211 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,883 a month: 33.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $237,211 × 80% = $189,769, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,298/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $896 × 52 / 12 = $3,883) = 33% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $237,211 / ($896 × 52) = 5.1
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
5,339 jobs at 554 employers (2026 Q1); -1.5% jobs and +1.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 38th pct · 1,967th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 30th pct · 47th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County, AL | 5,339 jobs · $896/wk · -1.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 961 | $681 | 1.85 | +0.6% |
| Manufacturing | 703 | $1,105 | 1.64 | -2.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 475 | $357 | 0.99 | +4.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 296 | $703 | 0.98 | -14.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 188 | $760 | 4.88 | -2.1% |
| Construction | 180 | $1,992 | 0.64 | +20.0% |
| Other services | 155 | $500 | 0.97 | +8.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 147 | $981 | 0.72 | -3.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 121 | $1,284 | 0.56 | +10.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 61 | $389 | 0.69 | -18.7% |
| Information | 38 | $1,042 | 0.39 | -9.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 21 | $1,203 | 0.26 | +31.2% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D1 moderate drought
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
10 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 10, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| ALLATOONA LAKE NEAR CARTERSVILLE, GA | 835.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 86 km |
| CARTERS RE-REGULATION LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 40.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 106 km |
| CARTERS LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 1,072 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 109 km |
| CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT MORGAN FALLS DAM, GA | 865.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 118 km |
| LAKE KEDRON NEAR PEACHTREE CITY, GA | 833.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 123 km |
| LAKE PEACHTREE HEADWATER AT PEACHTREE CITY, GA | 784.5 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 126 km |
| LAKE MCINTOSH NEAR PEACHTREE CITY, GA | 778.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 127 km |
| WEST POINT LAKE NEAR WEST POINT, GA | 624.3 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 135 km |
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
43 gauges · 0 flooding · 10 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 6 stale
Sites found: 43, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| TERRAPIN CREEK AT ELLISVILLE AL | flow 59.6 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 4 km |
| COOSA RIVER AT CENTRE, AL | stage 19.2 ft | 8 km |
| COOSA RIVER AT ADAMS FERRY BR NR BALLPLAY, AL | stage 506.0 ft | 13 km |
| COOSA RIVER AT LEESBURG AL | stage 562.9 ft | 15 km |
| COOSA RIVER AT STATE LINE, AL/GA | flow 2,930 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) | 24 km |
| LITTLE RIVER NEAR BLUE POND AL | flow 4.42 ft³/s | 25 km |
| CHATTOOGA RIVER ABOVE GAYLESVILLE AL | flow 146.0 ft³/s | 28 km |
| COOSA RIVER AT GADSDEN STEAM PLANT NR GADSDEN, AL | flow 9,640 ft³/s | 30 km |
| CEDAR CREEK NEAR CEDARTOWN, GA | flow 88.1 ft³/s · STALE | 31 km |
| COOSA RIVER AT GADSDEN AL | stage 20.6 ft | 32 km |
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.16)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$432.6 m in deposits at 8 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,327, highly concentrated. $217.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $204.1 m, grants $13.3 m), $40,732 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Southern State Bank | $145.4 m · 33.6% share · 2 offices | |
| Regions Bank | $111.8 m · 25.9% share · 1 office | |
| Peoples Bank of Alabama | $77.3 m · 17.9% share · 1 office | |
| Cherokee, AL | $217.5 m FY2026 · $40,732/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $199.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Southern State Bank | $145,407,000 | 33.6% | 2 |
| Regions Bank | $111,835,000 | 25.9% | 1 |
| Peoples Bank of Alabama | $77,292,000 | 17.9% | 1 |
| Union State Bank | $51,388,000 | 11.9% | 2 |
| The Southern Bank Company | $33,092,000 | 7.6% | 1 |
| Farmers and Merchants Bank | $13,576,000 | 3.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,327 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 33.6² + 25.9² + 17.9² + … (3 more) = 2,327
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $180,406,673 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $18,302,612 |
| Department of Transportation | $12,084,776 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,598,354 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,483,633 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,177,569 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $418,779 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$4,059 |
That is $40,732 per covered job, against 5,339 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $217.5 m / 5,339 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $40,732
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 12.28 | 2026-10-04 | -0.1% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.60 | 2026-10-05 | +0.1% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 6.00 | 2026-09-22 | -14.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 6,830.00 | 2026-08-01 | +7.4% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 96.16 | 2026-09-29 | -3.2% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.28 | 2026-10-01 | +3.6% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -88,576.00 | 2026-07-01 | -24.4% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 646,347.00 | 2026-08-01 | +1.1% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Cherokee County, AL: 8 findings, 1 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchCherokee County, AL's covered employment is -1.5% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -1.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteCherokee County, AL's average weekly wage was 1.6% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +1.6 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteCherokee County, AL's covered employment was 1.5% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -1.5 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteCherokee County, AL's typical home value rose 0.5% from $236,060 in July 2026 to $237,211 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (237211.35138290757 - 236060.1777751186) / 236060.1777751186 × 100
- 237211.35138290757 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 236060.1777751186 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteCherokee County, AL's average weekly wage of $896 ranks 64th of 67 Alabama counties, against a median of $1,024.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 5 on the 0-to-100 scale across 67 Alabama counties that published jobs.avgWeeklyWage
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 8 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.