Humboldt County, IA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.78, -94.20.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 22nd pct · 2,367th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 25th pct · 74th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
- 73rd pct · 821st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 60th pct · 40th of 99 Iowa counties · median +4.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- Iowa counties: not published this period
- 28th pct · 2,301st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 24th pct · 75th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- 50th pct · 1,579th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 45th pct · 54th of 99 Iowa counties · median $1,057
- 22nd pct · 2,387th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 25th pct · 74th 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 $167,793 (Aug 2026), +5.1% over one year, +21.6% over five
- 22nd pct · 2,367th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 25th pct · 74th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, IA | $167,793 · +5.1% 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 $918 a month on $167,793 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,515 a month: 20.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $167,793 × 80% = $134,235, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $918/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,042 × 52 / 12 = $4,515) = 20% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $167,793 / ($1,042 × 52) = 3.1
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 #
3,534 jobs at 358 employers (2026 Q1); -3.3% jobs and +2.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 28th pct · 2,301st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 24th pct · 75th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Humboldt County, IA | 3,534 jobs · $1,042/wk · -3.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 744 | $1,189 | 2.62 | -5.7% |
| Retail trade | 386 | $508 | 1.12 | -3.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 292 | $1,372 | 2.16 | +1.7% |
| Construction | 242 | $1,153 | 1.31 | +19.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 140 | $1,177 | 0.94 | -1.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 110 | $1,170 | 0.45 | -0.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 98 | $1,356 | 0.68 | +2.1% |
| Utilities | 93 | $2,282 | 6.66 | +1.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 82 | $1,029 | 0.41 | -39.3% |
| Other services | 59 | $661 | 0.56 | +18.0% |
| Information | 33 | $483 | 0.51 | -10.8% |
| Management of companies | 21 | $1,758 | 0.35 | -12.5% |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
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 #
21 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 5 stale
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-05479000 | flow 457.0 ft³/s | 7 km |
| USGS-05476750 | flow 703.0 ft³/s | 7 km |
| USGS-05476735 | stage 3.63 ft | 21 km |
| USGS-05480820 | flow 154.0 ft³/s | 22 km |
| USGS-05480080 | stage 6.12 ft | 29 km |
| USGS-05480500 | flow 1,880 ft³/s | 30 km |
| USGS-05478265 | flow 188.0 ft³/s | 33 km |
| USGS-05480930 | stage 85.2 ft | 41 km |
| USGS-05480603 | flow 15.5 ft³/s · STALE | 42 km |
| USGS-05449500 | flow 118.0 ft³/s | 48 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 #
8 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 8, 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-424539094152401 | depth 0.48 ft · 2004-05-23 | 5 km |
| USGS-424539094152405 | depth 37.8 ft · 2004-05-25 | 5 km |
| USGS-424539094152402 | depth 37.9 ft · 2004-06-15 | 5 km |
| USGS-424539094152403 | depth 42.1 ft · 2004-05-17 | 5 km |
| USGS-422610093474203 | depth 63.3 ft · 2004-06-15 | 51 km |
| USGS-422610093474202 | depth 52.0 ft · 2004-06-15 | 51 km |
| USGS-430159093403201 | depth 11.0 ft · 2017-10-10 | 51 km |
| USGS-430510093425101 | depth 3.32 ft · 2026-10-06 | 52 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 #
$371.2 m in deposits at 5 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,083, highly concentrated. $66.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $65.5 m, loans $668,831), $18,853 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bank Iowa | $204.8 m · 55.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Northwest Bank | $107.4 m · 28.9% share · 1 office | |
| First State Bank | $52.2 m · 14.1% share · 1 office | |
| Humboldt, IA | $66.6 m FY2026 · $18,853/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $56.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Iowa | $204,832,000 | 55.2% | 2 |
| Northwest Bank | $107,382,000 | 28.9% | 1 |
| First State Bank | $52,236,000 | 14.1% | 1 |
| West Iowa Bank | $6,771,000 | 1.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,083 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 55.2² + 28.9² + 14.1² + … (1 more) = 4,083
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 | $51,388,274 |
| Department of Agriculture | $9,700,879 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $4,673,494 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $656,704 |
| Department of Transportation | $160,804 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $30,939 |
| Department of Education | $15,575 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $18,853 per covered job, against 3,534 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $66.6 m / 3,534 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $18,853
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 #
Humboldt County, IA: 7 findings, 1 at an alert level, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
alertHumboldt County, IA's covered employment is -3.3% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -3.3 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchHumboldt County, IA's covered employment is -3.3% 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 = -3.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteHumboldt County, IA's covered employment was 3.3% 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
- -3.3 % = 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
noteHumboldt County, IA's average weekly wage was 2.0% 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
- +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
noteHumboldt County, IA's momentum index of -0.07 ranks 90th of 99 Iowa counties, against a median of 0.24.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 9 on the 0-to-100 scale across 99 Iowa counties that published momentum
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 7 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.