Humboldt County, CA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.71, -123.93.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 88th pct · 348th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 42nd pct · 34th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- 9th pct · 2,766th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 3rd pct · 56th of 58 California counties · median +0.3%
- 64th pct · 496th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 8th pct · 45th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- 84th pct · 488th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 34th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- 62nd pct · 1,209th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 21st pct · 46th of 58 California counties · median $1,206
- 90th pct · 281st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 52nd pct · 28th of 58 California counties · median 7.4
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 $425,502 (Aug 2026), -2.2% over one year, -9.1% over five
- 88th pct · 348th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 42nd pct · 34th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | $425,502 · -2.2% 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 #
Typical rent $1,677/mo (Aug 2026), +1.9% over one year; price-to-rent 21.1
- 64th pct · 496th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 8th pct · 45th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | $1,677/mo · +1.9% 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 $2,329 a month on $425,502 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,767 a month: 48.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $425,502 × 80% = $340,401, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,329/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,100 × 52 / 12 = $4,767) = 49% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $425,502 / ($1,100 × 52) = 7.4
- price-to-rent = $425,502 / ($1,677 × 12) = 21.1
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 #
52,806 jobs at 7,531 employers (2026 Q1); +2.8% jobs and +1.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 84th pct · 488th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 34th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, CA | 52,806 jobs · $1,100/wk · +2.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 11,800 | $1,074 | 1.49 | +6.6% |
| Retail trade | 5,734 | $781 | 1.11 | -1.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 4,372 | $532 | 0.92 | -2.0% |
| Construction | 2,781 | $1,476 | 1.00 | +9.5% |
| Manufacturing | 2,027 | $1,163 | 0.48 | -0.5% |
| Other services | 1,949 | $870 | 1.24 | -7.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,339 | $1,378 | 0.37 | +0.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,117 | $888 | 0.37 | -8.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,098 | $1,689 | 0.51 | -4.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 923 | $1,452 | 0.46 | -2.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 532 | $923 | 0.66 | +0.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 532 | $428 | 0.61 | -7.2% |
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 #
$2.4 bn in deposits at 20 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,764, moderately concentrated. $283.9 m federal obligations in FY2026 (grants $253.5 m, contracts $30.3 m), $5,376 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Redwood Capital Bank | $504.9 m · 21.2% share · 4 offices | |
| Columbia Bank | $477.1 m · 20.1% share · 5 offices | |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $443.2 m · 18.6% share · 4 offices | |
| Humboldt, CA | $283.9 m FY2026 · $5,376/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $731.1 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redwood Capital Bank | $504,886,000 | 21.2% | 4 |
| Columbia Bank | $477,124,000 | 20.1% | 5 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $443,218,000 | 18.6% | 4 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $413,188,000 | 17.4% | 2 |
| Tri Counties Bank | $301,232,000 | 12.7% | 3 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $238,334,000 | 10.0% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,764 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 21.2² + 20.1² + 18.6² + … (3 more) = 1,764
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 | $641,518,127 |
| Department of Transportation | $176,936,833 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $69,119,457 |
| Department of Education | $64,599,237 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $48,688,214 |
| Department of the Interior | $40,688,066 |
| Department of Agriculture | $30,400,017 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $20,917,509 |
| Department of Defense | $6,222,689 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $3,126,485 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,784,024 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,309,267 |
That is $5,376 per covered job, against 52,806 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $283.9 m / 52,806 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $5,376
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 #
Humboldt County, CA: 18 findings, 8 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchHumboldt County, CA's typical home value is -2.2% 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 = -2.1778136112791175 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchHumboldt County, CA's years of wages of 7.4 ranks 281st of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; 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: yearsOfWages percentile = 90.85564990202482 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchHumboldt County, CA's typical asking rent of $1,677 scores 65 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 8 across California counties, a gap of 56 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 56 = |65 across US counties - 8 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHumboldt County, CA's typical home value of $425,502 scores 89 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 42 across California counties, a gap of 47 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 47 = |89 across US counties - 42 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHumboldt County, CA's covered employment of 52,806 scores 85 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 42 across California counties, a gap of 43 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 43 = |85 across US counties - 42 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 12 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.