Hot Spring County, AR
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.32, -92.94.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 21st pct · 2,401st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 42nd pct · 43rd of 74 Arkansas counties · median $169,663
- 8th pct · 2,803rd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 9th pct · 67th of 74 Arkansas counties · median +3.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Arkansas counties: not published this period
- 47th pct · 1,676th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 28th of 75 Arkansas counties · median 5,609
- 31st pct · 2,208th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 66th pct · 26th of 75 Arkansas counties · median $912
- 27th pct · 2,223rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 38th pct · 46th of 74 Arkansas counties · median 3.6
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 $165,205 (Aug 2026), -2.5% over one year, +5.1% over five
- 21st pct · 2,401st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 42nd pct · 43rd of 74 Arkansas counties · median $169,663
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Spring County, AR | $165,205 · -2.5% 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
- Arkansas 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 $904 a month on $165,205 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,151 a month: 21.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $165,205 × 80% = $132,164, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $904/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $958 × 52 / 12 = $4,151) = 22% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $165,205 / ($958 × 52) = 3.3
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 #
7,598 jobs at 627 employers (2026 Q1); -1.1% jobs and +1.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 47th pct · 1,676th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 28th of 75 Arkansas counties · median 5,609
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Spring County, AR | 7,598 jobs · $958/wk · -1.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,303 | $1,239 | 2.13 | -1.5% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,003 | $1,039 | 0.88 | +0.0% |
| Retail trade | 932 | $632 | 1.26 | +0.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 565 | $350 | 0.83 | -4.2% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 491 | $1,188 | 1.53 | -11.2% |
| Construction | 249 | $767 | 0.63 | +7.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 172 | $1,323 | 0.56 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | 152 | $2,994 | 5.07 | +2.7% |
| Other services | 137 | $638 | 0.60 | +1.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 111 | $1,139 | 0.38 | +20.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 103 | $783 | 0.24 | -12.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 94 | $848 | 0.18 | -8.7% |
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 #
D2 severe 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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$559.2 m in deposits at 11 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,956, highly concentrated. $232.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $211.0 m, grants $21.4 m), $30,583 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Malvern National Bank | $323.9 m · 57.9% share · 5 offices | |
| Southern Bancorp Bank | $92.0 m · 16.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Bank OZK | $76.6 m · 13.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Hot Spring, AR | $232.4 m FY2026 · $30,583/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $207.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Malvern National Bank | $323,900,000 | 57.9% | 5 |
| Southern Bancorp Bank | $92,049,000 | 16.5% | 2 |
| Bank OZK | $76,608,000 | 13.7% | 2 |
| Farmers Bank & Trust Company | $66,602,000 | 11.9% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 3,956 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 57.9² + 16.5² + 13.7² + … (1 more) = 3,956
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 | $180,642,870 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $25,436,424 |
| Department of Transportation | $20,163,771 |
| Department of Education | $2,301,330 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,688,280 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,385,612 |
| Department of Agriculture | $590,099 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $140,133 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $38,789 |
| National Credit Union Administration | $16,500 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of the Interior | $0 |
That is $30,583 per covered job, against 7,598 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $232.4 m / 7,598 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $30,583
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 | -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 #
Hot Spring County, AR: 9 findings, 3 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchHot Spring County, AR's typical home value is -2.5% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.yoyPct = -2.525689107683214 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchHot Spring County, AR'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
watchHot Spring County, AR's average weekly wage of $958 scores 31 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 66 across Arkansas counties, a gap of 35 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 35 = |31 across US counties - 66 across Arkansas counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteHot Spring County, AR's average weekly wage was 1.3% 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
- +1.3 % = 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
noteHot Spring County, AR'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
Read all 9 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.