Butte County, CA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.67, -121.60.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 85th pct · 435th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 40th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 23rd pct · 2,355th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 49th pct · 30th of 58 California counties · median +0.3%
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 53rd pct · 657th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 4th pct · 47th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 88th pct · 362nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 52nd pct · 28th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 70th pct · 957th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 35th pct · 38th of 58 California counties · median $1,206
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 85th pct · 453rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 31st pct · 40th of 58 California counties · median 7.4
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico 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 $398,201 (Aug 2026), +0.3% over one year, +0.5% over five
- 85th pct · 435th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 40th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | $398,201 · +0.3% 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 #
Typical rent $1,529/mo (Aug 2026), +1.8% over one year; price-to-rent 21.7
- 53rd pct · 657th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 4th pct · 47th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | $1,529/mo · +1.8% 1-yr |
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 $2,180 a month on $398,201 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,983 a month: 43.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $398,201 × 80% = $318,561, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,180/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,150 × 52 / 12 = $4,983) = 44% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $398,201 / ($1,150 × 52) = 6.7
- price-to-rent = $398,201 / ($1,529 × 12) = 21.7
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 #
79,184 jobs at 9,484 employers (2026 Q1); +1.8% jobs and +3.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 88th pct · 362nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 52nd pct · 28th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- counties in the Chico metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Chico metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Butte County, CA | 79,184 jobs · $1,150/wk · +1.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 19,430 | $1,150 | 1.63 | +3.2% |
| Retail trade | 8,769 | $805 | 1.14 | -0.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 6,956 | $568 | 0.98 | -5.3% |
| Other services | 3,858 | $786 | 1.63 | +3.3% |
| Construction | 3,542 | $1,465 | 0.85 | -0.4% |
| Manufacturing | 3,395 | $1,384 | 0.53 | -2.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 2,752 | $904 | 0.61 | +6.4% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 2,384 | $1,161 | 4.17 | +1.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,060 | $1,389 | 0.38 | -3.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,784 | $1,571 | 0.59 | -2.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,303 | $2,394 | 0.40 | +0.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,132 | $1,202 | 0.34 | -0.2% |
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 #
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 #
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 #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$7.0 bn in deposits at 38 offices of 13 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,355, moderately concentrated. $1.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.3 bn, contracts $119.6 m), $18,840 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Column National Association | $1.5 bn · 21.7% share · 1 office | |
| Tri Counties Bank | $1.3 bn · 18.8% share · 9 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $900.1 m · 12.8% share · 4 offices | |
| Butte, CA | $1.5 bn FY2026 · $18,840/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Column National Association | $1,529,576,000 | 21.7% | 1 |
| Tri Counties Bank | $1,324,710,000 | 18.8% | 9 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $900,144,000 | 12.8% | 4 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $805,787,000 | 11.4% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $776,474,000 | 11.0% | 3 |
| Golden Valley Bank | $499,131,000 | 7.1% | 3 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $382,573,000 | 5.4% | 4 |
| Mechanics Bank | $325,866,000 | 4.6% | 4 |
| BMO Bank National Association | $212,089,000 | 3.0% | 3 |
| Five Star Bank | $121,310,000 | 1.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,355 across 13 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 13 banks with deposits in the county = 21.7² + 18.8² + 12.8² + … (10 more) = 1,355
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 | $1,033,811,566 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $128,017,710 |
| Department of Agriculture | $114,586,318 |
| Department of Education | $70,576,187 |
| Department of Transportation | $48,548,743 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $32,288,171 |
| Department of Defense | $27,113,151 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $22,297,030 |
| Department of the Interior | $4,547,336 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $4,462,027 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $3,646,698 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $1,649,959 |
That is $18,840 per covered job, against 79,184 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.5 bn / 79,184 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $18,840
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 #
Butte County, CA: 11 findings, 5 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchButte County, CA's typical home value of $398,201 scores 86 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 32 across California counties, a gap of 54 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 54 = |86 across US counties - 32 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchButte County, CA's years of wages of 6.7 scores 85 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 32 across California counties, a gap of 54 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 54 = |85 across US counties - 32 across California counties|
- 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
watchButte County, CA's typical asking rent of $1,529 scores 53 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 4 across California counties, a gap of 49 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 49 = |53 across US counties - 4 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchButte County, CA's covered employment of 79,184 scores 89 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 53 across California counties, a gap of 36 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 36 = |89 across US counties - 53 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchButte County, CA's average weekly wage of $1,150 scores 70 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 35 across California counties, a gap of 35 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 35 = |70 across US counties - 35 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 11 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.