Gove County, KS
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.92, -100.49.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 16th pct · 2,543rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 53rd of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
- 60th pct · 1,222nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 41st pct · 62nd of 105 Kansas counties · median +4.4%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kansas counties: not published this period
- 8th pct · 2,960th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 24th pct · 80th of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
- 24th pct · 2,443rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 40th pct · 63rd of 105 Kansas counties · median $943
- 24th pct · 2,313th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 50th pct · 53rd 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 $153,214 (Aug 2026), +3.9% over one year, +17.7% over five
- 16th pct · 2,543rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 53rd of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Gove County, KS | $153,214 · +3.9% 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 $839 a month on $153,214 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,004 a month: 20.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $153,214 × 80% = $122,571, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $839/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $924 × 52 / 12 = $4,004) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $153,214 / ($924 × 52) = 3.2
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 #
1,169 jobs at 163 employers (2026 Q1); +2.4% jobs and +2.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 8th pct · 2,960th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 24th pct · 80th of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Gove County, KS | 1,169 jobs · $924/wk · +2.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 176 | $1,233 | 1.54 | -3.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 143 | $983 | 16.94 | +10.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 109 | $203 | 1.04 | +25.3% |
| Other services | 65 | $759 | 1.86 | -3.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 47 | $438 | 0.71 | +88.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 36 | $1,211 | 0.80 | +9.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 35 | $498 | 0.20 | +0.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 8 | $1,397 | 1.92 | -38.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 4 | $753 | 0.05 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | 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 #
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 #
2 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 2, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CEDAR BLUFF RE NR ELLIS, KS | 54,710 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 68 km |
| HORSETHIEF RE NR JETMORE, KS | 5,391 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 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 #
5 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels
Sites found: 5, 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 ELKADER, KS | flow 2.18 ft³/s | 35 km |
| HACKBERRY C NR TREGO CENTER, KS | flow 0.05 ft³/s | 38 km |
| SMOKY HILL R NR ARNOLD, KS | flow 0.71 ft³/s | 42 km |
| SALINE R NR WAKEENEY, KS | flow 0.29 ft³/s | 57 km |
| BIG C NR ELLIS, KS | flow 1.81 ft³/s | 72 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 #
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 #
$149.8 m in deposits at 4 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,000, highly concentrated. $31.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $27.2 m, grants $4.3 m), $26,921 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Bank | $75.3 m · 50.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Equity Bank | $74.6 m · 49.8% share · 2 offices | |
| Gove, KS | $31.5 m FY2026 · $26,921/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $15.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bank | $75,251,000 | 50.2% | 2 |
| Equity Bank | $74,582,000 | 49.8% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 5,000 across 2 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 2 banks with deposits in the county = 50.2² + 49.8² = 5,000
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 | $14,670,281 |
| Department of Agriculture | $12,549,069 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,943,764 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $934,601 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $185,274 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $105,779 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $71,965 |
| Department of Education | $50,081 |
| Department of Justice | $0 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | -$1,040,000 |
That is $26,921 per covered job, against 1,169 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $31.5 m / 1,169 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,921
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 | -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 #
Gove County, KS: 5 findings, 1 at a watch level and 4 noted
watchGove County, KS' typical home value of $153,214 scores 17 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 50 across Kansas counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |17 across US counties - 50 across Kansas counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteGove County, KS' average weekly wage was 2.6% 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
- +2.6 % = 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
noteGove County, KS' covered employment was 2.4% 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
- +2.4 % = 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
noteGove County, KS' covered employment of 1,169 ranks 2,960th of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 8 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Gove County, KS is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.