Sac County, IA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.39, -95.11.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 26th pct · 2,241st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 33rd pct · 66th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
- 97th pct · 77th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 95th pct · 5th of 99 Iowa counties · median +4.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- Iowa counties: not published this period
- 24th pct · 2,443rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 15th pct · 84th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- 43rd pct · 1,819th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 26th pct · 73rd of 99 Iowa counties · median $1,057
- 28th pct · 2,180th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 42nd pct · 57th 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 $177,029 (Aug 2026), +11.3% over one year, +39.7% over five
- 26th pct · 2,241st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 33rd pct · 66th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Sac County, IA | $177,029 · +11.3% 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
- 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 $969 a month on $177,029 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,381 a month: 22.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $177,029 × 80% = $141,624, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $969/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,011 × 52 / 12 = $4,381) = 22% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $177,029 / ($1,011 × 52) = 3.4
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 #
2,968 jobs at 379 employers (2026 Q1); +3.3% jobs and -3.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 24th pct · 2,443rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 15th pct · 84th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Sac County, IA | 2,968 jobs · $1,011/wk · +3.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 610 | $1,177 | 2.55 | +22.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 442 | $927 | 0.99 | -1.1% |
| Retail trade | 329 | $605 | 1.14 | +2.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 198 | $2,333 | 1.74 | -7.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 165 | $277 | 0.62 | +29.9% |
| Construction | 96 | $965 | 0.62 | -17.9% |
| Other services | 91 | $789 | 1.03 | +12.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 83 | $969 | 0.66 | -17.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 49 | $1,200 | 0.24 | -16.9% |
| Information | 36 | $1,226 | 0.66 | -2.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 17 | $243 | 0.35 | +13.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 13 | $936 | 0.08 | +44.4% |
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 #
$551.2 m in deposits at 13 offices of 10 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,800, moderately concentrated. $81.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $75.5 m, grants $5.7 m), $27,369 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa State Bank | $187.5 m · 34.0% share · 3 offices | |
| United Bank of Iowa | $96.7 m · 17.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Bank Midwest | $57.5 m · 10.4% share · 1 office | |
| Sac, IA | $81.2 m FY2026 · $27,369/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $61.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State Bank | $187,476,000 | 34.0% | 3 |
| United Bank of Iowa | $96,652,000 | 17.5% | 2 |
| Bank Midwest | $57,494,000 | 10.4% | 1 |
| Iowa Trust & Savings Bank | $46,693,000 | 8.5% | 1 |
| State Bank of Schaller | $34,940,000 | 6.3% | 1 |
| Westside State Bank | $31,986,000 | 5.8% | 1 |
| Farmers State Bank | $31,481,000 | 5.7% | 1 |
| The Citizens First National Bank of Storm Lake | $26,610,000 | 4.8% | 1 |
| First State Bank | $23,741,000 | 4.3% | 1 |
| The Shelby County State Bank | $14,154,000 | 2.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,800 across 10 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 10 banks with deposits in the county = 34.0² + 17.5² + 10.4² + … (7 more) = 1,800
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 | $56,563,301 |
| Department of Agriculture | $14,008,718 |
| Department of Transportation | $5,674,539 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $4,584,059 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $298,769 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $53,029 |
| Department of Education | $24,287 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $23,203 |
| Department of Defense | $2,299 |
That is $27,369 per covered job, against 2,968 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $81.2 m / 2,968 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,369
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 #
Sac County, IA: 8 findings, 1 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchSac County, IA's average weekly wage is -3.5% 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 = -3.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteSac County, IA's average weekly wage was 3.5% 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
- -3.5 % = 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
noteSac County, IA's covered employment was 3.3% 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
- +3.3 % = 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
noteSac County, IA's typical home value rose 0.9% from $175,479 in July 2026 to $177,029 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.9% = (177029.3813465115 - 175479.1576245957) / 175479.1576245957 × 100
- 177029.3813465115 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 175479.1576245957 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteSac County, IA's typical home value of +11.3% ranks 77th of 3,063 US counties, against a median of +2.9%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 98 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3063 US counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 8 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.