Washington County, IA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 41.33, -91.73.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 50th pct · 1,502nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 72nd pct · 28th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 76th pct · 726th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 65th pct · 35th of 99 Iowa counties · median +4.6%
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Iowa counties: not published this period
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 50th pct · 1,579th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 69th pct · 31st of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 36th pct · 2,041st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 19th pct · 79th of 99 Iowa counties · median $1,057
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 58th pct · 1,286th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 83rd pct · 17th of 99 Iowa counties · median 3.5
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City 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 $237,308 (Aug 2026), +5.5% over one year, +29.0% over five
- 50th pct · 1,502nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 72nd pct · 28th of 99 Iowa counties · median $194,976
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Washington County, IA | $237,308 · +5.5% 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
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City 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 $1,299 a month on $237,308 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,238 a month: 30.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $237,308 × 80% = $189,847, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,299/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $978 × 52 / 12 = $4,238) = 31% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $237,308 / ($978 × 52) = 4.7
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 #
8,492 jobs at 864 employers (2026 Q1); -2.8% jobs and -8.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 50th pct · 1,579th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 69th pct · 31st of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- counties in the Iowa City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Iowa City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Washington County, IA | 8,492 jobs · $978/wk · -2.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,044 | $1,243 | 1.53 | -6.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,042 | $653 | 1.37 | -5.4% |
| Retail trade | 1,027 | $609 | 1.24 | +3.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,005 | $707 | 0.79 | -7.2% |
| Construction | 825 | $1,046 | 1.85 | +1.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 453 | $1,553 | 1.39 | -8.7% |
| Other services | 265 | $697 | 1.04 | -5.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 198 | $1,646 | 0.57 | +5.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 189 | $1,429 | 0.32 | -4.1% |
| Educational services | 75 | $464 | 0.41 | +13.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 72 | $787 | 0.15 | +0.0% |
| Information | 70 | $1,198 | 0.45 | -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 #
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 #
41 gauges · 0 flooding · 9 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 7 stale
Sites found: 41, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| English River at Kalona, IA | flow 1,540 ft³/s | 16 km |
| Iowa River near Lone Tree, IA | flow 11,500 ft³/s | 23 km |
| Skunk River at Merrimac, IA | flow 655.0 ft³/s · STALE | 27 km |
| Iowa River at Columbus Junction, IA | flow 35,900 ft³/s | 32 km |
| Old Mans Creek near Iowa City, IA | flow 403.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 32 km |
| Cedar River near Conesville, IA | flow 26,200 ft³/s | 37 km |
| Big Creek North of Mount Pleasant, IA | flow 97.5 ft³/s | 39 km |
| Iowa River at Iowa City, IA | flow 8,990 ft³/s | 39 km |
| Clear Creek near Coralville, IA | flow 241.0 ft³/s | 40 km |
| South Branch Ralston Creek at Iowa City, IA | flow 0.04 ft³/s | 40 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 #
45 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 45, 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-411843092105101 | depth 13.2 ft · 2018-09-30 | 38 km |
| USGS-405451091483301 | depth 13.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 47 km |
| USGS-414315091252002 | depth 13.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 50 km |
| USGS-414709091515801 | depth 7.98 ft · 1992-09-29 | 52 km |
| USGS-415216091400202 | depth 795.8 ft · 1990-11-28 | 60 km |
| USGS-415216091400208 | level 796.2 ft · 1992-12-21 | 60 km |
| USGS-415216091400203 | depth 829.8 ft · 1990-10-23 | 60 km |
| USGS-415216091400207 | level 655.1 ft · 1992-05-31 | 60 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 #
$991.6 m in deposits at 12 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,076, highly concentrated. $158.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $138.9 m, grants $19.5 m), $18,651 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Washington State Bank | $401.7 m · 40.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Hills Bank and Trust Company | $348.4 m · 35.1% share · 3 offices | |
| Federation Bank | $116.0 m · 11.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Washington, IA | $158.4 m FY2026 · $18,651/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $132.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington State Bank | $401,723,000 | 40.5% | 2 |
| Hills Bank and Trust Company | $348,369,000 | 35.1% | 3 |
| Federation Bank | $116,034,000 | 11.7% | 3 |
| CBI Bank & Trust | $67,954,000 | 6.9% | 2 |
| White State Bank | $29,016,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
| Farmers and Merchants Savings Bank | $28,506,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,076 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 = 40.5² + 35.1² + 11.7² + … (3 more) = 3,076
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 | $121,798,868 |
| Department of Transportation | $19,433,049 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $10,711,369 |
| Department of Agriculture | $5,651,693 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $415,578 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $285,065 |
| Department of Education | $55,272 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $35,049 |
That is $18,651 per covered job, against 8,492 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $158.4 m / 8,492 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $18,651
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 | 12.28 | 2026-10-04 | -0.1% |
| 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 | 2026-10-05 | +0.1% |
| 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 #
Washington County, IA: 9 findings, 3 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchWashington County, IA's average weekly wage is -8.3% 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 = -8.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchWashington County, IA's covered employment is -2.8% 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 = -2.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchWashington County, IA's momentum index is -0.43, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: momentum = -0.42997120816419904 <= -0.25
- 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%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteWashington County, IA's average weekly wage was 8.3% 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
- -8.3 % = 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
noteWashington County, IA's covered employment was 2.8% 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
- -2.8 % = 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
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.