Macon County, AL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 32.39, -85.69.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 10th pct · 2,755th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 7th pct · 62nd of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 53rd pct · 1,432nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 65th pct · 24th of 67 Alabama counties · median +2.2%
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Alabama counties: not published this period
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 37th pct · 2,017th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 27th pct · 49th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 63rd pct · 1,170th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 69th pct · 21st of 67 Alabama counties · median $1,024
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 7th pct · 2,828th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 6th pct · 63rd of 67 Alabama counties · median 3.3
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $134,014 (Aug 2026), +3.2% over one year, +8.3% over five
- 10th pct · 2,755th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 7th pct · 62nd of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Macon County, AL | $134,014 · +3.2% 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
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $734 a month on $134,014 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,797 a month: 15.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $134,014 × 80% = $107,211, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $734/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,107 × 52 / 12 = $4,797) = 15% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $134,014 / ($1,107 × 52) = 2.3
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 #
5,030 jobs at 329 employers (2026 Q1); +4.5% jobs and -2.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 37th pct · 2,017th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 27th pct · 49th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
- counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Auburn-Opelika metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Macon County, AL | 5,030 jobs · $1,107/wk · +4.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 337 | $535 | 0.69 | -5.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 140 | $563 | 0.49 | -8.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 108 | $902 | 1.40 | +9.1% |
| Construction | 72 | $1,394 | 0.27 | +14.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 46 | $1,049 | 0.22 | -39.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 29 | $1,012 | 0.14 | -3.3% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Information | withheld |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
4 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 4, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| WEST POINT LAKE NEAR WEST POINT, GA | 624.3 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 76 km |
| WALTER F. GEORGE RESERVOIR NEAR FORT GAINES, GA | 189.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 km |
| CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NEAR COLUMBIA, AL | 102.7 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 137 km |
| LAKE MCINTOSH NEAR PEACHTREE CITY, GA | 778.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 150 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 #
27 gauges · 0 flooding · 2 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 7 stale
Sites found: 27, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| UPHAPEE CREEK NEAR TUSKEGEE AL | flow 41.6 ft³/s | 10 km |
| TALLAPOOSA RIVER AT MILSTEAD AL | stage 5.47 ft · no flooding | 20 km |
| CUBAHATCHEE CREEK AT US 80 NEAR SHORTER, AL | flow 21.9 ft³/s · STALE | 26 km |
| LINE CREEK ON MACON COUNTY RD, NR CECIL, AL | flow 29.4 ft³/s · STALE | 26 km |
| CHEWACLA CREEK AT CHEWACLA STATE PARK NR AUBURN | flow 10.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 27 km |
| Tallapoosa River at Yates Dam | no readings | 28 km |
| SOUGAHATCHEE CREEK AT CO RD 188 NR LOACHAPOKA, AL. | flow 25.2 ft³/s | 28 km |
| Tallapoosa River at Martin Dam | no flooding | 38 km |
| LITTLE SANDY CREEK AT CAMP HILL, AL | stage 9.53 ft · STALE | 45 km |
| TALLAPOOSA RIVER NEAR MONT.-MONT. WATER WORKS | flow 1,660 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) · no flooding | 48 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 #
3 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 3, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-322500085551201 | depth 11.3 ft · 2025-06-11 | 22 km |
| USGS-322047086214301 | depth 24.6 ft · 2025-05-09 | 63 km |
| USGS-322036084590301 | depth 54.3 ft · 2026-10-05 | 67 km |
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 (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$111.3 m in deposits at 3 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,324, highly concentrated. $247.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $143.9 m, contracts $66.4 m), $49,186 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| PNC Bank, National Association | $65.4 m · 58.7% share · 1 office | |
| Liberty Bank and Trust Company | $26.9 m · 24.1% share · 1 office | |
| AuburnBank | $19.1 m · 17.1% share · 1 office | |
| Macon, AL | $247.4 m FY2026 · $49,186/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $122.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| PNC Bank, National Association | $65,368,000 | 58.7% | 1 |
| Liberty Bank and Trust Company | $26,884,000 | 24.1% | 1 |
| AuburnBank | $19,086,000 | 17.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,324 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 58.7² + 24.1² + 17.1² = 4,324
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 | $99,107,958 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $85,566,265 |
| Department of Education | $28,038,589 |
| Department of Agriculture | $13,665,196 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $7,106,776 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $4,310,369 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,303,403 |
| Department of Defense | $2,007,716 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $1,000,000 |
| National Science Foundation | $965,923 |
| Department of the Interior | $777,311 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $286,387 |
That is $49,186 per covered job, against 5,030 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $247.4 m / 5,030 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $49,186
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 #
Macon County, AL: 10 findings, 1 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchMacon County, AL's average weekly wage is -2.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, 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.avgWeeklyWage = -2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteMacon County, AL's covered employment was 4.5% 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
- +4.5 % = 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
noteMacon County, AL's average weekly wage was 2.0% 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
- -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
noteMacon County, AL's typical home value rose 0.7% from $133,095 in July 2026 to $134,014 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.7% = (134013.76801181774 - 133095.18538215064) / 133095.18538215064 × 100
- 134013.76801181774 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 133095.18538215064 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteMacon County, AL's years of wages of 2.3 ranks 63rd of 67 Alabama counties, against a median of 3.3.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 6 on the 0-to-100 scale across 67 Alabama counties that published yearsOfWages
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 10 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.