Clarke County, AL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 31.69, -87.82.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 13th pct · 2,651st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 18th pct · 55th of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
- 47th pct · 1,621st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 59th pct · 28th of 67 Alabama counties · median +2.2%
- US counties: not published this period
- Alabama counties: not published this period
- 48th pct · 1,655th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 39th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
- 43rd pct · 1,832nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 43rd pct · 38th of 67 Alabama counties · median $1,024
- 14th pct · 2,615th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 28th pct · 48th 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 $143,457 (Aug 2026), +2.7% over one year, -12.0% over five
- 13th pct · 2,651st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 18th pct · 55th of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke County, AL | $143,457 · +2.7% 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 $785 a month on $143,457 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,372 a month: 18.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $143,457 × 80% = $114,766, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $785/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,009 × 52 / 12 = $4,372) = 18% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $143,457 / ($1,009 × 52) = 2.7
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 #
7,777 jobs at 745 employers (2026 Q1); -0.5% jobs and +0.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 48th pct · 1,655th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 39th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke County, AL | 7,777 jobs · $1,009/wk · -0.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,405 | $1,707 | 2.25 | -6.8% |
| Retail trade | 1,291 | $639 | 1.70 | -6.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 778 | $338 | 1.11 | +0.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 608 | $718 | 0.52 | +0.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 375 | $1,265 | 1.18 | +39.4% |
| Construction | 247 | $1,280 | 0.61 | +58.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 152 | $914 | 0.34 | -9.5% |
| Other services | 148 | $823 | 0.64 | +16.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 125 | $1,308 | 0.38 | -15.0% |
| Educational services | 124 | $506 | 0.74 | +7.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 101 | $1,538 | 0.34 | +20.2% |
| Utilities | 59 | $3,016 | 1.92 | +1.7% |
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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
14 gauges · 0 flooding · 2 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 1 stale
Sites found: 14, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SATILPA CREEK NEAR COFFEEVILLE AL | flow 25.8 ft³/s | 20 km |
| BASSETT CREEK AT US HIGHWAY 43 NR THOMASVILLE, AL. | flow 3.30 ft³/s | 21 km |
| TOMBIGBEE RIVER AT STEAMPLANT NR LEROY, AL | stage 1.96 ft | 24 km |
| ALABAMA RIVER AT CLAIBORNE L&D NEAR MONROEVILLE | flow 15,800 ft³/s | 27 km |
| ALABAMA RIVER BEL CLAIB. L&D NR MONROEVILLE, AL. | stage 10.5 ft | 27 km |
| TOMBIGBEE R BL COFFEEVILLE L&D NEAR COFFEEVILLE | flow 3,010 ft³/s | 30 km |
| TOMBIGBEE R AT COFFEEVILLE L&D NR COFFEEVILLE, AL. | flow 4,710 ft³/s | 30 km |
| ALABAMA RIVER AT CHOCTAW BLUFF, AL. | flow 9,270 ft³/s | 36 km |
| LIMESTONE CREEK NEAR MONROEVILLE AL | flow 113.0 ft³/s | 46 km |
| TOMBIGBEE RIVER NEAR NANAFALIA, AL. | flow 5,470 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) | 54 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 #
$757.3 m in deposits at 13 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,713, highly concentrated. $180.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $169.3 m, grants $11.1 m), $23,206 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First US Bank | $317.5 m · 41.9% share · 4 offices | |
| The Huntington National Bank | $182.6 m · 24.1% share · 3 offices | |
| SmartBank | $109.8 m · 14.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Clarke, AL | $180.5 m FY2026 · $23,206/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $166.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First US Bank | $317,526,000 | 41.9% | 4 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $182,617,000 | 24.1% | 3 |
| SmartBank | $109,753,000 | 14.5% | 2 |
| Regions Bank | $85,826,000 | 11.3% | 2 |
| Community Neighbor Bank | $37,543,000 | 5.0% | 1 |
| Sweet Water State Bank | $24,053,000 | 3.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,713 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 = 41.9² + 24.1² + 14.5² + … (3 more) = 2,713
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 | $145,452,238 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $20,661,261 |
| Department of Transportation | $9,764,935 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,592,717 |
| Department of Education | $901,593 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $666,808 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $375,138 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $70,547 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$8,400 |
That is $23,206 per covered job, against 7,777 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $180.5 m / 7,777 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,206
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 | 12.69 | 2026-10-05 | +3.3% |
| 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 | 2026-10-06 | +0.0% |
| 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 #
Clarke County, AL: 5 findings, 1 at a watch level and 4 noted
watchClarke County, AL's covered employment is -0.5% 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 = -0.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteClarke County, AL's typical home value rose 0.8% from $142,255 in July 2026 to $143,457 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.8% = (143457.30460063624 - 142254.79701918192) / 142254.79701918192 × 100
- 143457.30460063624 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 142254.79701918192 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteClarke County, AL's covered employment was 0.5% 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
- -0.5 % = 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
noteClarke County, AL's average weekly wage was 0.2% 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
- +0.2 % = 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Clarke County, AL is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.