Blackford County, IN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.47, -85.32.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 15th pct · 2,603rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 1st pct · 91st of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
- 80th pct · 584th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 76th pct · 22nd of 92 Indiana counties · median +4.2%
- US counties: not published this period
- Indiana counties: not published this period
- 22nd pct · 2,484th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 6th pct · 86th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- 32nd pct · 2,169th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 19th pct · 74th of 92 Indiana counties · median $1,045
- 18th pct · 2,502nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 8th pct · 84th of 92 Indiana counties · median 4.2
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 $147,173 (Aug 2026), +6.1% over one year, +44.9% over five
- 15th pct · 2,603rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 1st pct · 91st of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Blackford County, IN | $147,173 · +6.1% 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
- Indiana 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 $806 a month on $147,173 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,173 a month: 19.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $147,173 × 80% = $117,738, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $806/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $963 × 52 / 12 = $4,173) = 19% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $147,173 / ($963 × 52) = 2.9
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 #
2,809 jobs at 244 employers (2026 Q1); -2.5% jobs and +1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 22nd pct · 2,484th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 6th pct · 86th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Blackford County, IN | 2,809 jobs · $963/wk · -2.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 802 | $1,323 | 3.55 | -2.0% |
| Retail trade | 243 | $465 | 0.89 | -17.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 94 | $1,023 | 0.59 | +0.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 85 | $1,253 | 0.79 | -8.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 80 | $1,112 | 0.70 | +1.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 16 | $803 | 0.37 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Information | 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 | 23,420 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 76 km |
| USGS-03351700 | 21,970 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 84 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 #
71 gauges · 0 flooding · 5 with quality panels averaging 98 % · 20 stale
Sites found: 71, 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-03326070 | flow 19.0 ft³/s · STALE | 6 km |
| USGS-03324200 | flow 4.06 ft³/s · no flooding | 25 km |
| USGS-03348020 | flow 2.50 ft³/s · STALE | 28 km |
| USGS-03324300 | flow 87.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 29 km |
| USGS-03347000 | flow 50.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 30 km |
| USGS-03326500 | flow 187.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 31 km |
| USGS-03322900 | flow 253.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 31 km |
| USGS-03322985 | flow 12.0 ft³/s · STALE | 32 km |
| USGS-03323000 | flow 265.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 33 km |
| USGS-03325519 | flow 31.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 33 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 #
21 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 21, 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-402848085340201 | depth 20.3 ft · 2025-02-02 | 21 km |
| USGS-404006085244801 | depth 26.6 ft · 2025-06-11 | 23 km |
| USGS-401532085085301 | depth 13.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 28 km |
| USGS-403836085374401 | depth 117.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 32 km |
| USGS-404331085064701 | depth 24.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 33 km |
| USGS-403948085414601 | depth 45.6 ft · 2025-06-11 | 38 km |
| USGS-401308085394101 | depth 5.82 ft · 2026-06-23 | 40 km |
| USGS-404858085284301 | depth 70.7 ft · 2003-09-29 | 40 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 + 0.2×0.02 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$222.8 m in deposits at 4 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,017, highly concentrated. $83.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $84.4 m, loans $22,650), $29,605 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens State Bank of New Castle, Indiana | $117.9 m · 52.9% share · 2 offices | |
| First Financial Bank | $104.8 m · 47.1% share · 2 offices | |
| Blackford, IN | $83.2 m FY2026 · $29,605/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $79.1 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens State Bank of New Castle, Indiana | $117,943,000 | 52.9% | 2 |
| First Financial Bank | $104,821,000 | 47.1% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 5,017 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 = 52.9² + 47.1² = 5,017
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 | $70,609,864 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $8,187,776 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,402,518 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $852,255 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $317,033 |
| Department of Transportation | $313,103 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $228,342 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | -$1,751,790 |
That is $29,605 per covered job, against 2,809 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $83.2 m / 2,809 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $29,605
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 | 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 #
Blackford County, IN: 8 findings, 1 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchBlackford County, IN's covered employment is -2.5% 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 = -2.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteBlackford County, IN's covered employment was 2.5% 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
- -2.5 % = 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
noteBlackford County, IN's average weekly wage was 1.2% 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
- +1.2 % = 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
noteBlackford County, IN's typical home value rose 0.6% from $146,284 in July 2026 to $147,173 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (147172.9033460398 - 146284.3003352119) / 146284.3003352119 × 100
- 147172.9033460398 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 146284.3003352119 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteBlackford County, IN's typical home value of $147,173 ranks 91st of 92 Indiana counties, against a median of $234,055.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 1 on the 0-to-100 scale across 92 Indiana counties that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 8 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.