Wayne County, IN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.86, -85.01.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 27th pct · 2,222nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 14th pct · 79th of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
- 82nd pct · 527th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 79th pct · 20th of 92 Indiana counties · median +4.2%
- 4th pct · 1,334th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 5th pct · 35th of 37 Indiana counties · median $1,174
- 77th pct · 733rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 74th pct · 24th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- 51st pct · 1,556th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 50th pct · 46th of 92 Indiana counties · median $1,045
- 26th pct · 2,242nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 18th pct · 75th 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 $178,379 (Aug 2026), +6.4% over one year, +41.2% over five
- 27th pct · 2,222nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 14th pct · 79th of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, IN | $178,379 · +6.4% 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 #
Typical rent $917/mo (Aug 2026), +8.7% over one year; price-to-rent 16.2
- 4th pct · 1,334th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 5th pct · 35th of 37 Indiana counties · median $1,174
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, IN | $917/mo · +8.7% 1-yr |
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 $976 a month on $178,379 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,528 a month: 21.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $178,379 × 80% = $142,703, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $976/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,045 × 52 / 12 = $4,528) = 22% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $178,379 / ($1,045 × 52) = 3.3
- price-to-rent = $178,379 / ($917 × 12) = 16.2
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 #
29,070 jobs at 1,515 employers (2026 Q1); -0.8% jobs and +0.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 77th pct · 733rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 74th pct · 24th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, IN | 29,070 jobs · $1,045/wk · -0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 6,215 | $1,223 | 1.42 | -3.9% |
| Manufacturing | 5,728 | $1,279 | 2.45 | +1.8% |
| Retail trade | 3,153 | $655 | 1.11 | +0.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,869 | $385 | 1.10 | +2.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,148 | $748 | 0.69 | +14.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 795 | $1,842 | 0.67 | +0.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 736 | $1,305 | 0.66 | -1.3% |
| Construction | 714 | $1,046 | 0.47 | -19.2% |
| Other services | 709 | $703 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| Educational services | 705 | $702 | 1.13 | -9.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 675 | $1,416 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 443 | $1,245 | 0.22 | +3.7% |
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$2.3 bn in deposits at 20 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,332, highly concentrated. $513.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $435.4 m, grants $75.5 m), $17,647 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Bank Richmond | $807.3 m · 35.0% share · 7 offices | |
| Merchants Bank of Indiana | $505.5 m · 21.9% share · 2 offices | |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $489.7 m · 21.2% share · 3 offices | |
| Wayne, IN | $513.0 m FY2026 · $17,647/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $420.1 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Bank Richmond | $807,338,000 | 35.0% | 7 |
| Merchants Bank of Indiana | $505,466,000 | 21.9% | 2 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $489,675,000 | 21.2% | 3 |
| Wayne Bank and Trust Co. | $224,595,000 | 9.7% | 4 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $183,166,000 | 7.9% | 2 |
| First Financial Bank | $95,643,000 | 4.1% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 2,332 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 35.0² + 21.9² + 21.2² + … (3 more) = 2,332
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 | $376,552,438 |
| Department of Transportation | $66,507,653 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $34,968,889 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $13,994,481 |
| Department of Education | $9,747,086 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $6,992,013 |
| Department of Defense | $1,830,755 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,167,055 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,141,081 |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $260,616 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $230,422 |
| Department of Justice | $24,805 |
That is $17,647 per covered job, against 29,070 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $513.0 m / 29,070 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $17,647
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 | -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 #
Wayne County, IN: 10 findings, 2 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchWayne County, IN's covered employment is -0.8% 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 = -0.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchWayne County, IN's typical asking rent is +8.7% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 8 percent above a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZORI; 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 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: rent.yoyPct = 8.718611784388745 >= 8
arithmetic on Zillow ZORI; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteWayne County, IN's covered employment was 0.8% 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
- -0.8 % = 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
noteWayne County, IN's typical asking rent rose 0.7% from $910 in July 2026 to $917 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.7% = (917.2380952380953 - 910.4727158384329) / 910.4727158384329 × 100
- 917.2380952380953 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 910.4727158384329 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteWayne County, IN's average weekly wage was 0.7% 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
- +0.7 % = 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
Read all 10 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.