Union County, GA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.83, -83.99.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 83rd pct · 499th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 86th pct · 23rd of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
- 20th pct · 2,444th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 18th pct · 129th of 159 Georgia counties · median +2.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- Georgia counties: not published this period
- 49th pct · 1,636th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 55th pct · 72nd of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- 31st pct · 2,190th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 48th pct · 82nd of 159 Georgia counties · median $964
- 91st pct · 252nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 93rd pct · 12th 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 $382,351 (Aug 2026), -0.1% over one year, +24.1% over five
- 83rd pct · 499th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 86th pct · 23rd of 159 Georgia counties · median $219,820
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, GA | $382,351 · -0.1% 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
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 $2,093 a month on $382,351 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,160 a month: 50.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $382,351 × 80% = $305,880, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,093/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $960 × 52 / 12 = $4,160) = 50% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $382,351 / ($960 × 52) = 7.7
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 #
7,965 jobs at 814 employers (2026 Q1); +2.2% jobs and +3.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 49th pct · 1,636th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 55th pct · 72nd of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, GA | 7,965 jobs · $960/wk · +2.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 1,317 | $649 | 1.70 | +0.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 861 | $431 | 1.20 | -1.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 760 | $1,041 | 0.63 | +0.0% |
| Manufacturing | 570 | $1,197 | 0.89 | +5.4% |
| Construction | 426 | $924 | 1.02 | +4.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 261 | $2,112 | 0.48 | -3.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 226 | $1,314 | 0.74 | +9.2% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 204 | $1,081 | 0.61 | +0.5% |
| Other services | 185 | $787 | 0.78 | +8.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 151 | $1,483 | 0.47 | +13.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 106 | $906 | 0.87 | -6.2% |
| Information | 43 | $1,418 | 0.29 | -2.3% |
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 #
9 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 9, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CARTERS LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 1,072 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 67 km |
| CARTERS RE-REGULATION LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 40.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 69 km |
| LAKE SIDNEY LANIER NEAR BUFORD, GA | 1,064 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 75 km |
| ALLATOONA LAKE NEAR CARTERSVILLE, GA | 835.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 101 km |
| CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT MORGAN FALLS DAM, GA | 865.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 km |
| HARTWELL LAKE NEAR ANDERSON, SC | 649.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 110 km |
| LAKE LOGAN AT DAM NEAR HAZELWOOD, NC | 52.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 117 km |
| RANDY POYNTER LAKE AT SPILLWAY, NEAR MILSTEAD, GA | 731.7 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 123 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 #
87 gauges · 0 flooding · 12 with quality panels averaging 96 % · 13 stale
Sites found: 87, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nottely River near Blairsville | no flooding | 5 km |
| USGS-03550500 | flow 61.1 ft³/s · no flooding | 5 km |
| Nottely River at Nottely Dam | no readings | 17 km |
| USGS-03548330 | flow 14.0 ft³/s · STALE | 23 km |
| USGS-03558000 | flow 190.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 23 km |
| Nottely River at Nottely River/Cook Bridge | no readings | 24 km |
| USGS-03544970 | flow 31.8 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 25 km |
| USGS-03544947 | flow 0.87 ft³/s · STALE | 26 km |
| Hiwassee River near Streak Hill Road near Hiawassee | no flooding | 26 km |
| Hiwassee River above Mission Dam at Brasstown | no readings | 26 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 #
4 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 4, 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-344314083433201 | depth 6.22 ft · 2026-10-05 | 27 km |
| USGS-351117083545001 | depth 27.7 ft · 2009-10-04 | 40 km |
| USGS-351121083545002 | depth 6.77 ft · 2026-10-05 | 40 km |
| USGS-342125084083301 | depth 30.6 ft · 2026-07-10 | 55 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 (0.01)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.04 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.3 bn in deposits at 6 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,923, highly concentrated. $292.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $287.7 m, grants $4.6 m), $36,676 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $711.4 m · 56.1% share · 2 offices | |
| Bank OZK | $325.1 m · 25.6% share · 1 office | |
| Vallant Bank | $95.7 m · 7.6% share · 1 office | |
| Union, GA | $292.1 m FY2026 · $36,676/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $285.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $711,432,000 | 56.1% | 2 |
| Bank OZK | $325,073,000 | 25.6% | 1 |
| Vallant Bank | $95,732,000 | 7.6% | 1 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $75,376,000 | 5.9% | 1 |
| River City Bank | $59,958,000 | 4.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,923 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 56.1² + 25.6² + 7.6² + … (2 more) = 3,923
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 | $253,432,135 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $30,857,265 |
| Department of Transportation | $2,336,648 |
| Appalachian Regional Commission | $2,000,000 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,541,229 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,386,408 |
| Department of Agriculture | $748,145 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $277,656 |
| Department of the Interior | $45,833 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Defense | -$503,683 |
That is $36,676 per covered job, against 7,965 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $292.1 m / 7,965 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $36,676
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 #
Union County, GA: 5 findings, 2 at a watch level and 3 noted
watchUnion County, GA's years of wages of 7.7 ranks 252nd 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 = 91.8027433050294 >= 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
watchUnion County, GA's typical home value is -0.1% 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 = -0.07550036489653486 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteUnion County, GA's average weekly wage was 3.8% 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
- +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
noteUnion County, GA's covered employment was 2.2% 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
- +2.2 % = 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Union 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
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.