Lanier County, GA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 31.04, -83.06.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 44th pct · 1,711th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 79th of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 63rd pct · 1,120th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 66th pct · 54th of 159 Georgia counties · median +2.6%
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Georgia counties: not published this period
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 9th pct · 2,909th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 9th pct · 144th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 13th pct · 2,773rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 19th pct · 128th of 159 Georgia counties · median $964
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 62nd pct · 1,145th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 62nd pct · 61st of 159 Georgia counties · median 4.3
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta 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 $220,018 (Aug 2026), +4.1% over one year, +42.0% over five
- 44th pct · 1,711th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 79th of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lanier County, GA | $220,018 · +4.1% 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
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $1,204 a month on $220,018 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,753 a month: 32.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $220,018 × 80% = $176,014, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,204/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $866 × 52 / 12 = $3,753) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $220,018 / ($866 × 52) = 4.9
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 #
1,345 jobs at 138 employers (2026 Q1); -1.0% jobs and -0.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 9th pct · 2,909th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 9th pct · 144th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- counties in the Valdosta metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Valdosta metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lanier County, GA | 1,345 jobs · $866/wk · -1.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 140 | $1,000 | 1.99 | -4.1% |
| Retail trade | 120 | $590 | 0.92 | +18.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 107 | $357 | 0.89 | -7.8% |
| Manufacturing | 74 | $753 | 0.68 | +1.4% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 54 | $1,106 | 5.56 | -11.5% |
| Health care and social assistance | 36 | $1,093 | 0.18 | -20.0% |
| Other services | 29 | $785 | 0.72 | +16.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 14 | $607 | 0.15 | -17.6% |
| Real estate and rental | 5 | $705 | 0.24 | +25.0% |
| Unclassified | 3 | $540 | 1.05 | -25.0% |
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld |
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 #
D1 moderate 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 #
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 #
31 gauges · 0 flooding · 12 with quality panels averaging 98 % · 12 stale
Sites found: 31, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| MADISON BLUE SPRING NR BLUE SPRINGS, FL | flow 76.2 ft³/s · quality 75 % (4) | 64 km |
| WITHLACOOCHEE R AT SKIPPER BRIDGE RD,NR BEMISS, GA | flow 452.0 ft³/s | 22 km |
| WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER AT US 41 NEAR VALDOSTA, GA | flow 75.2 ft³/s | 29 km |
| ALAPAHA RIVER AT STATENVILLE, GA | flow 390.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 37 km |
| LITTLE RIVER AT GA 122, NEAR HAHIRA, GA | flow 402.0 ft³/s | 38 km |
| ALAPAHA RIVER NEAR ALAPAHA, GA | flow 477.0 ft³/s | 41 km |
| WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER AT US 84, NEAR QUITMAN, GA | flow 193.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (5) | 46 km |
| LITTLE RIVER NEAR ADEL, GA | flow 1,150 ft³/s | 48 km |
| ALAPAHA RIVER NEAR JENNINGS FLA | flow 491.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) | 49 km |
| WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER NEAR PINETTA, FLA. | flow 153.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) | 53 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 #
17 wells in 1 named aquifer: Floridan aquifer system
Sites found: 17, 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-305241083154401 | depth 128.4 ft · 1983-09-29 | 26 km |
| USGS-305149083172801 | depth 94.8 ft · 1984-09-29 | 29 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth 131.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 31 km |
| USGS-310813083260301 | depth 184.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 37 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | depth 98.4 ft · 1973-11-05 | 48 km |
| Floridan aquifer system | level 41.7 ft · 2026-10-04 | 56 km |
| USGS-312711083293101 | depth 129.5 ft · 2026-08-09 | 62 km |
| USGS-312711083293102 | depth 38.6 ft · 2009-07-28 | 62 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 (0.17)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.02 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$140.6 m in deposits at 1 offices of 1 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 10,000, highly concentrated. $51.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $51.7 m, loans $27,998), $37,903 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Farmers and Merchants Bank | $140.6 m · 100.0% share · 1 office | |
| Lanier, GA | $51.0 m FY2026 · $37,903/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $49.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmers and Merchants Bank | $140,556,000 | 100.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 10,000 across 1 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 1 banks with deposits in the county = 100.0² = 10,000
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 | $37,587,932 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $11,368,219 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,333,006 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $392,006 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $137,323 |
| Department of Education | $6,031 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $3,750 |
| Federal Communications Commission | -$1,351 |
| Department of Transportation | -$847,341 |
That is $37,903 per covered job, against 1,345 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $51.0 m / 1,345 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $37,903
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 #
Lanier County, GA: 7 findings, 2 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchLanier County, GA's covered employment is -1.0% 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 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchLanier County, GA's average weekly wage is -0.9% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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.avgWeeklyWage = -0.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteLanier County, GA's covered employment was 1.0% 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
- -1 % = 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
noteLanier County, GA's average weekly wage was 0.9% 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
- -0.9 % = 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
noteLanier County, GA's covered employment of 1,345 ranks 144th of 159 Georgia counties, against a median of 7,095.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 9 on the 0-to-100 scale across 159 Georgia counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 7 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.