Buena Vista County, IA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.74, -95.14.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 32nd pct · 2,076th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 55th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
- 21st pct · 2,409th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 4th pct · 95th of 99 Iowa counties · median +4.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- Iowa counties: not published this period
- 55th pct · 1,433rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 75th pct · 25th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- 68th pct · 1,012th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 73rd pct · 26th of 99 Iowa counties · median $1,057
- 24th pct · 2,309th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 34th pct · 65th of 99 Iowa counties · median 3.5
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 $188,912 (Aug 2026), +0.1% over one year, +23.3% over five
- 32nd pct · 2,076th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 55th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista County, IA | $188,912 · +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
- Iowa 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 $1,034 a month on $188,912 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,927 a month: 21.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $188,912 × 80% = $151,130, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,034/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,137 × 52 / 12 = $4,927) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $188,912 / ($1,137 × 52) = 3.2
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 #
10,201 jobs at 593 employers (2026 Q1); -1.8% jobs and +7.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 55th pct · 1,433rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 75th pct · 25th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista County, IA | 10,201 jobs · $1,137/wk · -1.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3,374 | $1,387 | 4.11 | -1.5% |
| Retail trade | 1,037 | $609 | 1.04 | -7.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 688 | $322 | 0.75 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 496 | $1,498 | 6.73 | +9.5% |
| Construction | 261 | $1,494 | 0.49 | +14.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 253 | $1,675 | 0.61 | -5.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 248 | $960 | 0.43 | +10.2% |
| Wholesale trade | 246 | $1,746 | 0.63 | -5.4% |
| Other services | 120 | $1,071 | 0.39 | -4.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 82 | $780 | 0.19 | -1.2% |
| Information | 56 | $978 | 0.30 | +7.7% |
| Utilities | 49 | $2,589 | 1.22 | -9.3% |
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 #
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 #
$969.0 m in deposits at 14 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,278, highly concentrated. $124.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $120.0 m, grants $4.7 m), $12,203 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Central Bank | $312.7 m · 32.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Security Trust & Savings Bank | $239.4 m · 24.7% share · 3 offices | |
| The Citizens First National Bank of Storm Lake | $183.9 m · 19.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Buena Vista, IA | $124.5 m FY2026 · $12,203/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $95.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Bank | $312,669,000 | 32.3% | 3 |
| Security Trust & Savings Bank | $239,416,000 | 24.7% | 3 |
| The Citizens First National Bank of Storm Lake | $183,878,000 | 19.0% | 2 |
| United Bank of Iowa | $143,028,000 | 14.8% | 3 |
| Community State Bank | $61,335,000 | 6.3% | 2 |
| First Community Bank | $28,682,000 | 3.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,278 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 = 32.3² + 24.7² + 19.0² + … (3 more) = 2,278
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 | $86,425,379 |
| Department of Agriculture | $19,750,457 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $8,688,313 |
| Department of Education | $5,066,140 |
| Department of Transportation | $2,772,820 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,504,348 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $229,193 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $139,582 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | -$98,211 |
That is $12,203 per covered job, against 10,201 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $124.5 m / 10,201 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $12,203
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 #
Buena Vista County, IA: 6 findings, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchBuena Vista County, IA's covered employment is -1.8% 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 = -1.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteBuena Vista County, IA's average weekly wage was 7.6% 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
- +7.6 % = 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
noteBuena Vista County, IA's covered employment was 1.8% 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
- -1.8 % = 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
noteBuena Vista County, IA's typical home value fell 0.3% from $189,520 in July 2026 to $188,912 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (188912.04841696794 - 189519.54182640355) / 189519.54182640355 × 100
- 188912.04841696794 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 189519.54182640355 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteBuena Vista County, IA's typical home value of +0.1% ranks 95th of 99 Iowa counties, against a median of +4.6%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 4 on the 0-to-100 scale across 99 Iowa counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 6 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.