Bay County, FL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 30.16, -85.53.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 78th pct · 660th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 62nd pct · 26th of 67 Florida counties · median $307,929
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 18th pct · 2,509th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 54th pct · 31st of 67 Florida counties · median -0.8%
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 69th pct · 426th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 26th pct · 35th of 47 Florida counties · median $1,898
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 89th pct · 351st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 62nd pct · 26th of 67 Florida counties · median 43,443
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 59th pct · 1,290th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 52nd pct · 32nd of 67 Florida counties · median $1,084
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 79th pct · 620th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 69th pct · 21st of 67 Florida counties · median 5.4
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach 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 $344,049 (Aug 2026), -0.4% over one year, +17.7% over five
- 78th pct · 660th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 62nd pct · 26th of 67 Florida counties · median $307,929
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bay County, FL | $344,049 · -0.4% 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 #
Typical rent $1,745/mo (Aug 2026), +1.4% over one year; price-to-rent 16.4
- 69th pct · 426th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 26th pct · 35th of 47 Florida counties · median $1,898
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bay County, FL | $1,745/mo · +1.4% 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 $1,883 a month on $344,049 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,710 a month: 40.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $344,049 × 80% = $275,239, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,883/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,087 × 52 / 12 = $4,710) = 40% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $344,049 / ($1,087 × 52) = 6.1
- price-to-rent = $344,049 / ($1,745 × 12) = 16.4
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 #
82,757 jobs at 7,010 employers (2026 Q1); -1.4% jobs and +3.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 89th pct · 351st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 62nd pct · 26th of 67 Florida counties · median 43,443
- counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Panama City-Panama City Beach metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bay County, FL | 82,757 jobs · $1,087/wk · -1.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 13,466 | $596 | 1.81 | -1.5% |
| Retail trade | 11,933 | $764 | 1.48 | -1.6% |
| Health care and social assistance | 10,218 | $1,219 | 0.82 | +2.2% |
| Construction | 6,648 | $1,255 | 1.53 | -4.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 4,988 | $1,639 | 0.87 | -2.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,550 | $965 | 0.97 | -0.4% |
| Manufacturing | 3,338 | $1,515 | 0.50 | -11.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 2,857 | $1,026 | 2.25 | +2.3% |
| Other services | 2,462 | $871 | 1.00 | -0.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 2,429 | $1,238 | 0.77 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,724 | $1,973 | 0.51 | -0.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,563 | $895 | 0.45 | +7.9% |
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 #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
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 #
2 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 2, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LAKE SEMINOLE NEAR CHATTAHOOCHEE, FL | 77.4 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 89 km |
| CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NEAR COLUMBIA, AL | 102.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 129 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 #
55 gauges · 0 flooding · 5 with quality panels averaging 90 % · 6 stale
Sites found: 55, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| IWW EAST OF GULF CO CANAL NEAR PORT ST JOE, FL | flow 4,440 ft³/s · quality 75 % (4) | 41 km |
| IWW WEST OF GULF CO CANAL NEAR PORT ST JOE, FL | flow 1,870 ft³/s · quality 75 % (4) | 40 km |
| Cooks Bayou at Parker Branch (in MHHW) | no flooding | 3 km |
| Pelican Point at Cooks Bayou (in MHHW) | no flooding | 4 km |
| East Bay at Callaway Bayou (in MHHW) | no flooding | 4 km |
| MARTIN BAYOU AT US 98 AT SPRINGFIELD, FL | flow 3.80 ft³/s · out of service · STALE | 8 km |
| Parker at East Bay (in MHHW) | no flooding | 8 km |
| Parker City Pier at Dupont Bridge (in MHHW) | no flooding | 9 km |
| East Bay at Watson Bayou Pier (in MHHW) | no flooding | 10 km |
| Pearl Bayou in East Bay (in MHHW) | no flooding | 10 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 #
37 wells in 2 named aquifers: Floridan aquifer system, Surficial aquifer system
Sites found: 37, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Floridan aquifer system | depth 3.14 ft · 1973-05-02 | 13 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth 24.6 ft · 1973-05-14 | 15 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth 1.61 ft · 1973-10-31 | 16 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth -3.20 ft · 1964-07-08 | 17 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth 15.7 ft · 1984-06-20 | 26 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth -3.03 ft · 1973-05-14 | 28 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth 21.1 ft · 1973-10-31 | 31 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth -11.8 ft · 1973-05-14 | 34 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 (0.04)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.10 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$4.7 bn in deposits at 51 offices of 18 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,186, moderately concentrated. $2.3 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.4 bn, contracts $716.4 m), $28,119 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Regions Bank | $949.3 m · 20.0% share · 9 offices | |
| Trustmark Bank | $843.9 m · 17.8% share · 7 offices | |
| Hancock Whitney Bank | $536.2 m · 11.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Bay, FL | $2.3 bn FY2026 · $28,119/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.4 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regions Bank | $949,347,000 | 20.0% | 9 |
| Trustmark Bank | $843,918,000 | 17.8% | 7 |
| Hancock Whitney Bank | $536,187,000 | 11.3% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $419,720,000 | 8.9% | 3 |
| Ameris Bank | $412,563,000 | 8.7% | 3 |
| Centennial Bank | $403,580,000 | 8.5% | 5 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $375,319,000 | 7.9% | 2 |
| Truist Bank | $238,927,000 | 5.0% | 2 |
| Community Bank of Mississippi | $158,468,000 | 3.3% | 2 |
| First Federal Bank | $98,048,000 | 2.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,186 across 18 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 18 banks with deposits in the county = 20.0² + 17.8² + 11.3² + … (15 more) = 1,186
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 | $1,013,295,713 |
| Department of Defense | $470,031,281 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $392,261,491 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $184,129,420 |
| Department of Transportation | $118,985,921 |
| General Services Administration | $56,275,534 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $41,362,202 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $23,359,394 |
| Department of Education | $16,863,054 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $4,391,608 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,197,639 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,368,522 |
That is $28,119 per covered job, against 82,757 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $2.3 bn / 82,757 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $28,119
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 | -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 #
Bay County, FL: 9 findings, 5 at a watch level and 4 noted
watchBay County, FL's covered employment is -1.4% 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 = -1.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchBay County, FL's typical home value is -0.4% 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 = -0.39406150800438905 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchBay County, FL's typical asking rent of $1,745 scores 70 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 26 across Florida counties, a gap of 44 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 44 = |70 across US counties - 26 across Florida counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchBay County, FL's typical home value of -0.4% scores 18 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 55 across Florida counties, a gap of 36 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 36 = |18 across US counties - 55 across Florida counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchBay County, FL's price-to-rent ratio of 16.4 scores 43 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 76 across Florida counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |43 across US counties - 76 across Florida counties|
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.