Plymouth County, IA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.74, -96.22.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 68th pct · 970th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 90th pct · 10th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
- 74th pct · 781st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 61st pct · 39th of 99 Iowa counties · median +4.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- Iowa counties: not published this period
- 57th pct · 1,357th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 22nd of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- 74th pct · 833rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 81st pct · 19th of 99 Iowa counties · median $1,057
- 60th pct · 1,202nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 87th pct · 13th 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 $294,954 (Aug 2026), +5.2% over one year, +32.7% over five
- 68th pct · 970th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 90th pct · 10th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Plymouth County, IA | $294,954 · +5.2% 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 $1,614 a month on $294,954 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,118 a month: 31.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $294,954 × 80% = $235,963, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,614/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,181 × 52 / 12 = $5,118) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $294,954 / ($1,181 × 52) = 4.8
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 #
11,407 jobs at 853 employers (2026 Q1); -2.1% jobs and -1.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 57th pct · 1,357th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 22nd of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Plymouth County, IA | 11,407 jobs · $1,181/wk · -2.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3,056 | $1,462 | 3.33 | +0.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,150 | $1,355 | 2.39 | +7.7% |
| Retail trade | 1,049 | $682 | 0.94 | -2.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 820 | $838 | 0.48 | -3.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 715 | $311 | 0.70 | -8.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 401 | $1,481 | 0.92 | -8.4% |
| Construction | 344 | $1,108 | 0.58 | +2.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 330 | $1,127 | 0.51 | -4.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 305 | $1,485 | 0.66 | -2.2% |
| Other services | 189 | $743 | 0.55 | -39.8% |
| Educational services | 165 | $782 | 0.67 | -2.9% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 122 | $235 | 0.65 | +4.3% |
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 #
$1.4 bn in deposits at 15 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,047, highly concentrated. $169.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $166.4 m, grants $5.0 m), $14,881 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| American Bank, National Association | $445.0 m · 31.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Primebank | $384.3 m · 27.0% share · 1 office | |
| Iowa State Bank | $184.5 m · 12.9% share · 5 offices | |
| Plymouth, IA | $169.8 m FY2026 · $14,881/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $143.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Bank, National Association | $445,029,000 | 31.2% | 2 |
| Primebank | $384,339,000 | 27.0% | 1 |
| Iowa State Bank | $184,528,000 | 12.9% | 5 |
| Northwest Bank | $104,488,000 | 7.3% | 1 |
| Midstates Bank, National Association | $98,280,000 | 6.9% | 2 |
| United Bank of Iowa | $83,346,000 | 5.8% | 1 |
| Peoples Bank | $79,740,000 | 5.6% | 2 |
| The Security National Bank of Sioux City, Iowa | $45,448,000 | 3.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,047 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 31.2² + 27.0² + 12.9² + … (5 more) = 2,047
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 | $133,138,884 |
| Department of Agriculture | $23,143,569 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $9,976,577 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,861,086 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $436,514 |
| Department of Defense | $248,994 |
| Department of Energy | $203,597 |
| Department of Education | $145,112 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $104,249 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $39,808 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,855 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $14,881 per covered job, against 11,407 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $169.8 m / 11,407 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,881
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 | 2026-10-07 | +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 #
Plymouth County, IA: 9 findings, 2 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchPlymouth County, IA's covered employment is -2.1% 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 = -2.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchPlymouth County, IA's average weekly wage is -1.9% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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.avgWeeklyWage = -1.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
notePlymouth County, IA's covered employment was 2.1% 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
- -2.1 % = 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
notePlymouth County, IA's average weekly wage was 1.9% 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
- -1.9 % = 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
notePlymouth County, IA's typical home value rose 0.5% from $293,542 in July 2026 to $294,954 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (294953.6057081109 - 293541.76538100076) / 293541.76538100076 × 100
- 294953.6057081109 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 293541.76538100076 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 9 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.