Elbert County, GA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.12, -82.84.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 30th pct · 2,136th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 37th pct · 100th of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
- 72nd pct · 847th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 72nd pct · 45th of 159 Georgia counties · median +2.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- Georgia counties: not published this period
- 41st pct · 1,887th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 46th pct · 85th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- 85th pct · 467th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 94th pct · 9th of 159 Georgia counties · median $964
- 14th pct · 2,632nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 12th pct · 139th 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 $184,154 (Aug 2026), +5.0% over one year, +38.8% over five
- 30th pct · 2,136th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 37th pct · 100th of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Elbert County, GA | $184,154 · +5.0% 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 $1,008 a month on $184,154 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,664 a month: 17.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $184,154 × 80% = $147,323, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,008/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,307 × 52 / 12 = $5,664) = 18% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $184,154 / ($1,307 × 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 #
5,858 jobs at 538 employers (2026 Q1); -2.3% jobs and +46.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 41st pct · 1,887th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 46th pct · 85th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Elbert County, GA | 5,858 jobs · $1,307/wk · -2.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,361 | $1,013 | 2.89 | -14.4% |
| Retail trade | 619 | $522 | 1.08 | +1.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 601 | $1,216 | 2.68 | -0.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 360 | $7,052 | 1.51 | +106.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 296 | $316 | 0.56 | -4.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 156 | $598 | 0.47 | -3.7% |
| Construction | 143 | $902 | 0.47 | -8.3% |
| Other services | 109 | $579 | 0.62 | -7.6% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 105 | $1,076 | 5.03 | -31.4% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 61 | $1,017 | 1.44 | -1.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 59 | $1,040 | 0.24 | -7.8% |
| Information | 24 | $1,168 | 0.22 | +118.2% |
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 #
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 #
16 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 16, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RUSSELL LAKE ABOVE CALHOUN FALLS, SC | 473.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 21 km |
| HARTWELL LAKE NEAR ANDERSON, SC | 649.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 44 km |
| THURMOND LAKE NEAR PLUM BRANCH, SC | 320.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 55 km |
| LAKE GREENWOOD NEAR CHAPPELLS, SC | 438.8 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 87 km |
| SAVANNAH RVR AT STEVENS CREEK DAM NR MORGANA, SC | 186.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 96 km |
| BUTLER CREEK RESERVOIR AT FORT GORDON, GA | 27.4 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 km |
| RANDY POYNTER LAKE AT SPILLWAY, NEAR MILSTEAD, GA | 731.7 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 110 km |
| LAKE SIDNEY LANIER NEAR BUFORD, GA | 1,064 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 114 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 #
40 gauges · 0 flooding · 3 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 7 stale
Sites found: 40, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BEAVERDAM CREEK ABOVE ELBERTON, GA | flow 9.33 ft³/s · no flooding | 8 km |
| BROAD RIVER ABOVE CARLTON, GA | flow 173.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 16 km |
| BROAD RIVER NEAR BELL, GA | flow 181.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| SOUTH FORK BROAD RIVER AT CARLTON, GA | flow 104.0 ft³/s · out of service · STALE | 18 km |
| CLOUDS CREEK AT WATSON MILL PARK NR CARLTON, GA | flow 16.1 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · out of service · STALE | 23 km |
| SAVANNAH RIVER BELOW HARTWELL LK NR HARTWELL, GA | flow 11.0 ft³/s · STALE | 27 km |
| Savannah River at Hartwell Dam | observation not current | 27 km |
| LITTLE RIVER NEAR MT. CARMEL, SC | flow 23.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 32 km |
| ROCKY RIVER NR STARR, SC | flow 10.5 ft³/s · no flooding | 38 km |
| BLUE HILL CREEK AT ABBEVILLE, SC | flow 0.86 ft³/s · STALE | 44 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 #
6 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 6, 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-340224083125101 | depth 32.0 ft · 2006-12-03 | 35 km |
| USGS-340204083132601 | depth 17.3 ft · 2026-10-06 | 36 km |
| USGS-341020083201701 | depth 13.3 ft · 2002-04-25 | 46 km |
| USGS-335336082214600 | depth 38.4 ft · 2026-10-06 | 51 km |
| USGS-343714082285600 | depth 3.91 ft · 2026-10-05 | 65 km |
| USGS-332808083010201 | depth 5.63 ft · 2026-10-06 | 74 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 #
moderate (0.32)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$601.1 m in deposits at 6 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,301, highly concentrated. $161.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $137.9 m, grants $17.0 m), $27,491 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Vallant Bank | $423.2 m · 70.4% share · 3 offices | |
| Northeast Georgia Bank | $77.7 m · 12.9% share · 1 office | |
| Regions Bank | $76.3 m · 12.7% share · 1 office | |
| Elbert, GA | $161.0 m FY2026 · $27,491/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $134.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallant Bank | $423,207,000 | 70.4% | 3 |
| Northeast Georgia Bank | $77,710,000 | 12.9% | 1 |
| Regions Bank | $76,258,000 | 12.7% | 1 |
| Oconee State Bank | $23,898,000 | 4.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 5,301 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 = 70.4² + 12.9² + 12.7² + … (1 more) = 5,301
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 | $118,497,975 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $18,749,033 |
| Department of Transportation | $16,867,760 |
| Department of Energy | $2,042,393 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,957,118 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,415,305 |
| Department of Defense | $917,598 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $215,299 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $214,297 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $167,110 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $27,491 per covered job, against 5,858 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $161.0 m / 5,858 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,491
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 #
Elbert County, GA: 6 findings, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchElbert County, GA's covered employment is -2.3% 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 = -2.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteElbert County, GA's average weekly wage was 46.9% 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
- +46.9 % = 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
noteElbert County, GA's covered employment was 2.3% 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
- -2.3 % = 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
noteElbert County, GA's average weekly wage of $1,307 ranks 9th of 159 Georgia counties, against a median of $964.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 95 on the 0-to-100 scale across 159 Georgia counties that published jobs.avgWeeklyWage
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Elbert County, GA is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
Read all 6 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.