Winston County, AL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.15, -87.37.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 39th pct · 1,852nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 65th pct · 24th of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
- 75th pct · 740th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 90th pct · 7th of 67 Alabama counties · median +2.2%
- US counties: not published this period
- Alabama counties: not published this period
- 49th pct · 1,626th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 38th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
- 49th pct · 1,619th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 57th pct · 29th of 67 Alabama counties · median $1,024
- 40th pct · 1,826th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 65th pct · 24th 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 $207,502 (Aug 2026), +5.4% over one year, +17.5% over five
- 39th pct · 1,852nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 65th pct · 24th of 67 Alabama counties · median $183,308
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Winston County, AL | $207,502 · +5.4% 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 $1,136 a month on $207,502 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,498 a month: 25.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $207,502 × 80% = $166,001, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,136/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,038 × 52 / 12 = $4,498) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $207,502 / ($1,038 × 52) = 3.8
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 #
8,066 jobs at 581 employers (2026 Q1); -1.1% jobs and +4.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 49th pct · 1,626th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 38th of 67 Alabama counties · median 10,118
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Winston County, AL | 8,066 jobs · $1,038/wk · -1.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3,506 | $1,235 | 5.40 | +0.2% |
| Retail trade | 824 | $736 | 1.05 | -1.7% |
| Health care and social assistance | 781 | $758 | 0.64 | -2.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 278 | $1,299 | 0.90 | -1.4% |
| Construction | 240 | $1,381 | 0.57 | -2.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 115 | $1,029 | 0.35 | -2.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 100 | $1,241 | 0.18 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 77 | $838 | 0.17 | -9.4% |
| Other services | 76 | $980 | 0.32 | -47.2% |
| Information | 36 | $926 | 0.24 | +5.9% |
| Real estate and rental | 25 | $1,115 | 0.20 | +8.7% |
| Management of companies | 11 | $1,756 | 0.08 | +0.0% |
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 #
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 #
26 gauges · 0 flooding · 2 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 2 stale
Sites found: 26, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CLEAR C AT NEW HOPE CHURCH NR POPLAR SPRINGS, AL. | flow 32.9 ft³/s | 10 km |
| SIPSEY FORK NEAR GRAYSON AL | flow 6.94 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 15 km |
| BLACKWATER CREEK NEAR MANCHESTER AL | flow 40.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 29 km |
| Black Warrior River at Smith Dam | no readings | 33 km |
| BEAR CREEK NEAR HACKLEBURG AL | flow 8.20 ft³/s | 40 km |
| WEST FLINT CREEK NEAR OAKVILLE AL | flow 0.60 ft³/s · STALE | 41 km |
| LOST CREEK NEAR OAKMAN AL | flow 27.2 ft³/s · no flooding | 43 km |
| SIPSEY FORK AT SIPSEY, ALA | flow 71.2 ft³/s | 46 km |
| LOST CREEK ABOVE PARRISH, AL. | flow 148.0 ft³/s · STALE | 46 km |
| FLINT CREEK NEAR FALKVILLE AL | flow 9.97 ft³/s | 47 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 #
4 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 4, 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-342718087285601 | depth 5.28 ft · 2025-05-27 | 35 km |
| USGS-335929087021001 | depth 38.6 ft · 2025-02-01 | 35 km |
| USGS-333204087324601 | depth 42.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 71 km |
| USGS-340618086344001 | depth 46.9 ft · 2017-11-15 | 73 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 #
$453.7 m in deposits at 10 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,380, highly concentrated. $163.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $158.1 m, grants $5.0 m), $20,278 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| BankFirst Financial Services | $285.3 m · 62.9% share · 5 offices | |
| First National Bank | $74.5 m · 16.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Traditions Bank | $44.5 m · 9.8% share · 1 office | |
| Winston, AL | $163.6 m FY2026 · $20,278/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $157.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| BankFirst Financial Services | $285,295,000 | 62.9% | 5 |
| First National Bank | $74,538,000 | 16.4% | 2 |
| Traditions Bank | $44,489,000 | 9.8% | 1 |
| Premier Bank of the South | $24,965,000 | 5.5% | 1 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $24,401,000 | 5.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,380 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 62.9² + 16.4² + 9.8² + … (2 more) = 4,380
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 | $137,742,562 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $17,700,965 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,331,428 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,777,363 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,475,339 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,248,259 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $187,569 |
| Department of Justice | $108,700 |
| Federal Communications Commission | -$11,258 |
That is $20,278 per covered job, against 8,066 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $163.6 m / 8,066 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $20,278
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 | 3.00 | 2026-10-06 | -50.0% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| 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 | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| 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 #
Winston County, AL: 6 findings, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchWinston County, AL's covered employment is -1.1% 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 = -1.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteWinston County, AL's average weekly wage was 4.4% 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
- +4.4 % = 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
noteWinston County, AL's covered employment was 1.1% 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
- -1.1 % = 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
noteWinston County, AL's typical home value rose 0.6% from $206,273 in July 2026 to $207,502 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (207501.68004562936 - 206273.12962103877) / 206273.12962103877 × 100
- 207501.68004562936 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 206273.12962103877 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteWinston County, AL's typical home value of +5.4% ranks 7th of 67 Alabama counties, against a median of +2.2%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 91 on the 0-to-100 scale across 67 Alabama counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 6 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.