Ellsworth County, KS
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.70, -98.21.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 16th pct · 2,562nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 47th pct · 56th of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
- 99th pct · 13th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 100th pct · 1st of 105 Kansas counties · median +4.4%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kansas counties: not published this period
- 18th pct · 2,609th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 44th pct · 59th of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
- 59th pct · 1,301st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 86th pct · 15th of 105 Kansas counties · median $943
- 13th pct · 2,642nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 28th pct · 75th of 105 Kansas counties · median 3.2
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 $151,609 (Aug 2026), +16.2% over one year, +49.9% over five
- 16th pct · 2,562nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 47th pct · 56th of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ellsworth County, KS | $151,609 · +16.2% 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
- Kansas 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 $830 a month on $151,609 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,702 a month: 17.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $151,609 × 80% = $121,288, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $830/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,085 × 52 / 12 = $4,702) = 18% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $151,609 / ($1,085 × 52) = 2.7
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 #
2,331 jobs at 193 employers (2026 Q1); +0.4% jobs and +2.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 18th pct · 2,609th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 44th pct · 59th of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ellsworth County, KS | 2,331 jobs · $1,085/wk · +0.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 271 | $1,176 | 1.45 | -8.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 236 | $975 | 0.67 | +15.7% |
| Retail trade | 142 | $449 | 0.63 | -2.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 105 | $1,332 | 0.65 | +5.0% |
| Construction | 91 | $2,064 | 0.74 | -56.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 71 | $952 | 0.80 | -1.4% |
| Information | 41 | $1,643 | 0.95 | +7.9% |
| Other services | 40 | $722 | 0.57 | +8.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 34 | $762 | 0.26 | -8.1% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld |
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 #
D1 moderate drought
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 #
5 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 5, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| KANOPOLIS LK NR KANOPOLIS, KS | 60,190 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 23 km |
| WILSON LK NR WILSON, KS | 197,400 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 38 km |
| CHENEY RE NR CHENEY, KS | 155,800 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 114 km |
| MILFORD LAKE NR JUNCTION CITY, KS | 430,200 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 120 km |
| CEDAR BLUFF RE NR ELLIS, KS | 54,710 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 132 km |
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 #
25 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 67 % · 3 stale
Sites found: 25, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SMOKY HILL R AT ELLSWORTH, KS | flow 566.0 ft³/s | 4 km |
| SMOKY HILL R NR LANGLEY, KS | flow 159.0 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) | 24 km |
| SALINE R AT LINCOLN, KS | flow 69.7 ft³/s | 37 km |
| SALINE R AT WILSON DAM, KS | stage 2.81 ft | 39 km |
| COW C NR LYONS, KS | flow 7.96 ft³/s | 44 km |
| SALINE R AT TESCOTT, KS | flow 292.0 ft³/s | 44 km |
| MULBERRY C NR SALINA, KS | flow 14.1 ft³/s | 49 km |
| SMOKY HILL R AT LINDSBORG, KS | flow 117.0 ft³/s | 49 km |
| SMOKY HILL R NR BUNKER HILL, KS | flow 58.3 ft³/s · STALE | 51 km |
| SMOKY HILL R NR MENTOR, KS | flow 113.0 ft³/s | 55 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 #
1 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 1, 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-381119098435301 | level 1,863 ft · 2016-07-27 | 73 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 #
moderate (0.28)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.33 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$299.1 m in deposits at 6 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,993, highly concentrated. $45.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $43.9 m, grants $883,896), $19,543 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens State Bank and Trust Co., Ellsworth, Kansas | $133.6 m · 44.6% share · 2 offices | |
| First Bank Kansas | $64.5 m · 21.6% share · 1 office | |
| Bank of Holyrood | $58.9 m · 19.7% share · 1 office | |
| Ellsworth, KS | $45.6 m FY2026 · $19,543/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $37.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens State Bank and Trust Co., Ellsworth, Kansas | $133,554,000 | 44.6% | 2 |
| First Bank Kansas | $64,490,000 | 21.6% | 1 |
| Bank of Holyrood | $58,877,000 | 19.7% | 1 |
| The Wilson State Bank | $35,776,000 | 12.0% | 1 |
| Lyons Federal Bank | $6,423,000 | 2.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,993 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 44.6² + 21.6² + 19.7² + … (2 more) = 2,993
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 | $33,302,429 |
| Department of Agriculture | $6,342,563 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $3,707,739 |
| Department of Transportation | $778,632 |
| Department of Defense | $463,927 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $388,702 |
| Department of the Interior | $269,410 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $124,148 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $104,814 |
| Department of Education | $72,792 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $19,543 per covered job, against 2,331 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $45.6 m / 2,331 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $19,543
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 #
Ellsworth County, KS: 8 findings, 2 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchEllsworth County, KS' typical home value is +16.2% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value at least 15 percent above a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = 16.18737148547618 >= 15
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchEllsworth County, KS' typical home value of $151,609 scores 16 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 47 across Kansas counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |16 across US counties - 47 across Kansas counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteEllsworth County, KS' average weekly wage was 2.5% 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
- +2.5 % = 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
noteEllsworth County, KS' typical home value rose 1.6% from $149,275 in July 2026 to $151,609 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.6% = (151609.4301163225 - 149274.979639406) / 149274.979639406 × 100
- 151609.4301163225 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 149274.979639406 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteEllsworth County, KS' covered employment was 0.4% 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
- +0.4 % = 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 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.