Benton County, IN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.60, -87.31.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 38th pct · 1,892nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 29th pct · 65th of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 59th pct · 1,256th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 38th pct · 57th of 92 Indiana counties · median +4.2%
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Indiana counties: not published this period
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 16th pct · 2,696th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 5th pct · 87th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 68th pct · 1,021st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 69th pct · 29th of 92 Indiana counties · median $1,045
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 30th pct · 2,121st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 23rd pct · 71st of 92 Indiana counties · median 4.2
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 $203,988 (Aug 2026), +3.8% over one year, +43.2% over five
- 38th pct · 1,892nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 29th pct · 65th of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Benton County, IN | $203,988 · +3.8% 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
- Indiana counties: not published this period
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette 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 $1,117 a month on $203,988 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,923 a month: 22.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $203,988 × 80% = $163,190, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,117/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,136 × 52 / 12 = $4,923) = 23% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $203,988 / ($1,136 × 52) = 3.5
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 #
2,010 jobs at 215 employers (2026 Q1); -1.6% jobs and +3.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 16th pct · 2,696th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 5th pct · 87th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Benton County, IN | 2,010 jobs · $1,136/wk · -1.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 371 | $955 | 2.29 | +0.5% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 196 | $920 | 13.50 | +3.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 175 | $1,742 | 2.27 | +3.6% |
| Retail trade | 141 | $548 | 0.72 | -5.4% |
| Construction | 79 | $1,220 | 0.75 | -1.2% |
| Other services | 76 | $1,373 | 1.27 | -2.6% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | withheld | |||
| Professional and technical services | withheld | |||
| Administrative and waste services | 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 #
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 |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-03350400 | 23,400 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 122 km |
| USGS-03351700 | 21,980 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 137 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 #
45 gauges · 0 flooding · 5 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 15 stale
Sites found: 45, 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-03335690 | flow 26.0 ft³/s · STALE | 9 km |
| USGS-033356848 | flow 39.4 ft³/s | 17 km |
| USGS-05524546 | flow 7.90 ft³/s · STALE | 19 km |
| USGS-05523865 | flow 5.33 ft³/s | 23 km |
| USGS-033356786 | flow 1.15 ft³/s · STALE | 26 km |
| USGS-03335677 | flow 0.01 ft³/s · STALE | 27 km |
| USGS-03335679 | flow 4.30 ft³/s · STALE | 27 km |
| USGS-05524500 | flow 204.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (5) | 30 km |
| USGS-03335678 | flow 0.95 ft³/s · STALE | 30 km |
| USGS-03335680 | flow 7,680 ft³/s | 32 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 0 named aquifers:
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-402851087213501 | depth 15.0 ft · 2026-10-05 | 14 km |
| USGS-402734087033401 | depth 117.9 ft · 2025-02-27 | 27 km |
| USGS-402734087033402 | depth 21.2 ft · 2026-10-06 | 27 km |
| USGS-405105087173301 | depth 16.0 ft · 2009-09-29 | 28 km |
| USGS-402558087351501 | depth 23.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 30 km |
| USGS-405902087141501 | depth 40.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 43 km |
| USGS-405959087282901 | depth 63.1 ft · 2025-03-10 | 46 km |
| USGS-405959087282902 | depth 13.2 ft · 2025-03-10 | 46 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 #
$289.7 m in deposits at 5 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,651, highly concentrated. $53.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $53.3 m, grants $45,247), $26,545 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Farmers and Merchants Bank | $136.2 m · 47.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Fowler State Bank | $89.3 m · 30.8% share · 1 office | |
| Alliance Bank | $64.2 m · 22.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Benton, IN | $53.4 m FY2026 · $26,545/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $47.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Farmers and Merchants Bank | $136,152,000 | 47.0% | 2 |
| Fowler State Bank | $89,317,000 | 30.8% | 1 |
| Alliance Bank | $64,194,000 | 22.2% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 3,651 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 47.0² + 30.8² + 22.2² = 3,651
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 | $43,403,870 |
| Department of Agriculture | $5,261,412 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $4,173,040 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $275,436 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $200,080 |
| Department of Transportation | $40,975 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $26,545 per covered job, against 2,010 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $53.4 m / 2,010 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,545
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 #
Benton County, IN: 5 findings, 1 at a watch level and 4 noted
watchBenton County, IN's covered employment is -1.6% 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 = -1.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteBenton County, IN's average weekly wage was 3.2% 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
- +3.2 % = 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
noteBenton County, IN's covered employment was 1.6% 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
- -1.6 % = 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
noteBenton County, IN's covered employment of 2,010 ranks 87th of 92 Indiana counties, against a median of 12,958.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 5 on the 0-to-100 scale across 92 Indiana counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Benton County, IN 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.