Ben Hill County, GA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 31.74, -83.15.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 8th pct · 2,815th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 6th pct · 148th of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
- 8th pct · 2,795th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 3rd pct · 153rd of 159 Georgia counties · median +2.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- Georgia counties: not published this period
- 39th pct · 1,949th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 44th pct · 88th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- 17th pct · 2,668th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 22nd pct · 123rd of 159 Georgia counties · median $964
- 14th pct · 2,610th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 14th pct · 136th of 159 Georgia counties · median 4.3
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 $126,673 (Aug 2026), -2.4% over one year, +23.5% over five
- 8th pct · 2,815th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 6th pct · 148th of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Hill County, GA | $126,673 · -2.4% 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
- Georgia 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 $693 a month on $126,673 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,848 a month: 18.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $126,673 × 80% = $101,338, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $693/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $888 × 52 / 12 = $3,848) = 18% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $126,673 / ($888 × 52) = 2.7
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 #
5,450 jobs at 368 employers (2026 Q1); -3.8% jobs and +2.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 39th pct · 1,949th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 44th pct · 88th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Hill County, GA | 5,450 jobs · $888/wk · -3.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,651 | $1,071 | 3.77 | -0.7% |
| Retail trade | 680 | $627 | 1.28 | +0.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 342 | $1,127 | 1.10 | -8.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 302 | $879 | 7.67 | -6.2% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 139 | $1,085 | 0.61 | -35.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 126 | $1,310 | 0.60 | +1.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 101 | $1,341 | 0.45 | -1.0% |
| Other services | 90 | $628 | 0.55 | +3.4% |
| Construction | 66 | $1,158 | 0.23 | +15.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 62 | $682 | 0.16 | +21.6% |
| Information | 33 | $1,326 | 0.33 | +10.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 18 | $568 | 0.22 | +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 #
13 gauges · 0 flooding · 4 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 1 stale
Sites found: 13, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ALAPAHA RIVER AT GA 125/32 NEAR IRWINVILLE, GA | flow 349.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 28 km |
| OCMULGEE RIVER AT ABBEVILLE, GA | flow 1,070 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 31 km |
| TURNPIKE CREEK NEAR MCRAE, GA | flow 30.4 ft³/s · no flooding | 35 km |
| ALAPAHA RIVER NEAR ALAPAHA, GA | flow 548.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 40 km |
| LITTLE OCMULGEE RIVER AT GA 149, AT SCOTLAND, GA | flow 26.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 47 km |
| OCMULGEE RIVER AT LUMBER CITY, GA | flow 1,670 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 49 km |
| LITTLE RIVER AT UPPER TY TY ROAD, NEAR TIFTON, GA | flow 1.07 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · out of service · STALE | 50 km |
| ALTAMAHA RIVER AT US 221, NR CHARLOTTEVILLE, GA | flow 3,070 ft³/s · no flooding | 64 km |
| TUCSAWHATCHEE CREEK NEAR HAWKINSVILLE, GA | flow 20.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 65 km |
| OCMULGEE RIVER AT US 341, AT HAWKINSVILLE, GA | flow 1,150 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 67 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 #
9 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 9, 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-312711083293101 | depth 129.5 ft · 2026-08-09 | 46 km |
| USGS-312711083293102 | depth 38.6 ft · 2009-07-28 | 46 km |
| USGS-312712082593301 | depth 144.4 ft · 2026-10-05 | 46 km |
| USGS-312716083304801 | depth 142.3 ft · 1986-11-19 | 47 km |
| USGS-314829083501101 | depth 26.7 ft · 2003-10-14 | 66 km |
| USGS-313146083491601 | depth 223.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 68 km |
| USGS-320226082301101 | depth 110.0 ft · 2026-10-05 | 69 km |
| USGS-310813083260301 | depth 184.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 72 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 #
$834.5 m in deposits at 3 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,858, highly concentrated. $113.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $110.8 m, grants $2.6 m), $20,789 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Colony Bank | $590.0 m · 70.7% share · 1 office | |
| Community Banking Company | $244.4 m · 29.3% share · 2 offices | |
| Ben Hill, GA | $113.3 m FY2026 · $20,789/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $99.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colony Bank | $590,030,000 | 70.7% | 1 |
| Community Banking Company | $244,428,000 | 29.3% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 5,858 across 2 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 2 banks with deposits in the county = 70.7² + 29.3² = 5,858
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 | $81,765,803 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $13,113,387 |
| Department of Agriculture | $10,633,481 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $4,908,601 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,639,569 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,163,041 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $621,014 |
| Department of Transportation | -$542,626 |
That is $20,789 per covered job, against 5,450 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $113.3 m / 5,450 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $20,789
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 #
Ben Hill County, GA: 16 findings, 1 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 12 noted
alertBen Hill County, GA's covered employment is -3.8% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, 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 = -3.8 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchBen Hill County, GA's covered employment is -3.8% 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 = -3.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchBen Hill County, GA's typical home value is -2.4% 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 = -2.4477152881570365 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchBen Hill County, GA's momentum index is -0.33, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, 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: momentum = -0.3314879905624052 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteBen Hill County, GA's covered employment was 3.8% 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
- -3.8 % = 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 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.