Wells County, IN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.74, -85.21.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 56th pct · 1,323rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 61st pct · 36th of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 75th pct · 765th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 65th pct · 32nd of 92 Indiana counties · median +4.2%
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Indiana counties: not published this period
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 57th pct · 1,375th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 53rd of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 42nd pct · 1,856th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 30th pct · 64th of 92 Indiana counties · median $1,045
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 61st pct · 1,171st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 72nd pct · 26th of 92 Indiana counties · median 4.2
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne 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 $253,985 (Aug 2026), +5.3% over one year, +36.2% over five
- 56th pct · 1,323rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 61st pct · 36th of 92 Indiana counties · median $234,055
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells County, IN | $253,985 · +5.3% 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 Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne 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 $1,390 a month on $253,985 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,359 a month: 31.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $253,985 × 80% = $203,188, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,390/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,006 × 52 / 12 = $4,359) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $253,985 / ($1,006 × 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 #
11,184 jobs at 723 employers (2026 Q1); +0.4% jobs and +3.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 57th pct · 1,375th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 53rd of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- counties in the Fort Wayne metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Fort Wayne metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells County, IN | 11,184 jobs · $1,006/wk · +0.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3,096 | $1,197 | 3.44 | +1.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,161 | $1,191 | 2.46 | -2.8% |
| Retail trade | 1,082 | $589 | 0.99 | -2.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 560 | $343 | 0.56 | +1.1% |
| Construction | 545 | $1,248 | 0.93 | +15.0% |
| Other services | 452 | $1,003 | 1.35 | +4.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 244 | $1,042 | 0.32 | +0.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 188 | $1,554 | 0.41 | +1.1% |
| Real estate and rental | 165 | $1,706 | 0.96 | +3.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 163 | $900 | 2.02 | -13.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 162 | $758 | 0.25 | +0.0% |
| Information | 51 | $1,006 | 0.25 | +4.1% |
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) | 102 km |
| USGS-03351700 | 21,970 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 113 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 · 13 with quality panels averaging 97 % · 24 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-03323000 | flow 265.0 ft³/s | 4 km |
| USGS-03322985 | flow 12.0 ft³/s · STALE | 7 km |
| USGS-03323090 | stage 63.8 ft | 15 km |
| USGS-03322900 | flow 253.0 ft³/s | 18 km |
| USGS-03324300 | flow 87.3 ft³/s | 20 km |
| USGS-03324000 | flow 92.2 ft³/s | 25 km |
| USGS-04181500 | flow 182.0 ft³/s | 26 km |
| USGS-03323500 | stage 13.5 ft · quality 100 % (1) | 27 km |
| USGS-405327084555402 | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 29 km |
| USGS-04182000 | flow 183.0 ft³/s | 29 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 #
27 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 27, 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-404331085064701 | depth 24.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 9 km |
| USGS-404006085244801 | depth 26.6 ft · 2025-06-11 | 18 km |
| USGS-404858085284301 | depth 70.7 ft · 2003-09-29 | 24 km |
| USGS-405520085310801 | depth 101.8 ft · 2025-06-11 | 33 km |
| USGS-403836085374401 | depth 117.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 37 km |
| USGS-410428085171701 | depth 18.3 ft · 2025-06-11 | 38 km |
| USGS-410337085264201 | depth 53.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 41 km |
| USGS-402848085340201 | depth 20.3 ft · 2025-02-02 | 41 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 + 0.2×0.03 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$620.9 m in deposits at 7 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,098, highly concentrated. $181.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $170.4 m, grants $10.9 m), $16,194 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Bank of Berne | $212.4 m · 34.2% share · 1 office | |
| First Merchants Bank | $106.1 m · 17.1% share · 1 office | |
| The Farmers & Merchants State Bank | $100.4 m · 16.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Wells, IN | $181.1 m FY2026 · $16,194/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $167.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Bank of Berne | $212,391,000 | 34.2% | 1 |
| First Merchants Bank | $106,074,000 | 17.1% | 1 |
| The Farmers & Merchants State Bank | $100,361,000 | 16.2% | 2 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $91,079,000 | 14.7% | 1 |
| 1st Source Bank | $56,830,000 | 9.2% | 1 |
| Flagstar Bank, National Association | $54,152,000 | 8.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,098 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 = 34.2² + 17.1² + 16.2² + … (3 more) = 2,098
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 | $153,642,798 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $13,009,858 |
| Department of Transportation | $10,753,790 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,627,208 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,014,196 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $954,636 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $71,396 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $45,059 |
| Department of the Interior | $0 |
That is $16,194 per covered job, against 11,184 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $181.1 m / 11,184 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,194
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 #
Wells County, IN: 4 findings, 4 noted
noteWells County, IN's average weekly wage was 3.0% 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 % = 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
noteWells County, IN's typical home value rose 0.8% from $252,076 in July 2026 to $253,985 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.8% = (253984.665701367 - 252076.23306324866) / 252076.23306324866 × 100
- 253984.665701367 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 252076.23306324866 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteWells County, IN's covered employment was 0.4% 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
- +0.4 % = 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 Wells 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.