Morton County, KS
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.19, -101.81.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 3rd pct · 2,959th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 9th pct · 95th of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
- 24th pct · 2,306th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 17th pct · 87th of 105 Kansas counties · median +4.4%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kansas counties: not published this period
- 4th pct · 3,063rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 93rd of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
- 35th pct · 2,080th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 62nd pct · 39th of 105 Kansas counties · median $943
- 4th pct · 2,918th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 8th pct · 96th 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 $104,776 (Aug 2026), +0.5% over one year, -0.7% over five
- 3rd pct · 2,959th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 9th pct · 95th of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Morton County, KS | $104,776 · +0.5% 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
- 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 $574 a month on $104,776 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,216 a month: 13.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $104,776 × 80% = $83,821, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $574/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $973 × 52 / 12 = $4,216) = 14% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $104,776 / ($973 × 52) = 2.1
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 #
782 jobs at 100 employers (2026 Q1); +7.7% jobs and +11.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 4th pct · 3,063rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 93rd of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Morton County, KS | 782 jobs · $973/wk · +7.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 70 | $376 | 0.92 | +14.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 32 | $208 | 0.46 | +18.5% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 31 | $720 | 5.49 | +14.8% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 30 | $4,390 | 10.77 | -14.3% |
| Information | 30 | $1,287 | 2.08 | +7.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 21 | $973 | 0.39 | -8.7% |
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | 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 #
0 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 1 TWDB reservoirs
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Palo Duro Reservoir | 0 % full · 61k ac-ft | 109 km |
| JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR AT CADDOA, CO | 31,150 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 140 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 #
4 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 3 stale
Sites found: 4, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CIMARRON R NR ELKHART, KS | flow 0.00 ft³/s · observation not current · STALE | 11 km |
| BEAR C NR JOHNSON, KS | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 49 km |
| Beaver River near Goodwell, OK | stage 6.83 ft · no flooding | 55 km |
| Beaver River near Guymon, OK | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 59 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 #
2 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 2, 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-370130101180902 | level 2,905 ft · 2017-11-13 | 48 km |
| USGS-370130101180903 | level 2,900 ft · 2017-09-30 | 48 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 #
high (0.59)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.3×1.00 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$99.8 m in deposits at 2 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 7,295, highly concentrated. $18.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $18.8 m, contracts $6,297), $23,999 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dream First Bank, National Association | $83.7 m · 83.9% share · 1 office | |
| TBK BANK, SSB | $16.1 m · 16.1% share · 1 office | |
| Morton, KS | $18.8 m FY2026 · $23,999/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $14.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream First Bank, National Association | $83,734,000 | 83.9% | 1 |
| TBK BANK, SSB | $16,094,000 | 16.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 7,295 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 = 83.9² + 16.1² = 7,295
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 | $13,345,440 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,688,056 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $647,467 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $150,458 |
| Department of Education | $14,701 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | -$15,910 |
| Department of Justice | -$63,103 |
That is $23,999 per covered job, against 782 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $18.8 m / 782 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,999
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 #
Morton County, KS: 12 findings, 12 noted
noteMorton County, KS' average weekly wage was 11.7% 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
- +11.7 % = 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
noteMorton County, KS' covered employment was 7.7% 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
- +7.7 % = 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
noteMorton County, KS' typical home value fell 0.3% from $105,039 in July 2026 to $104,776 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (104776.06870697202 - 105039.30740420423) / 105039.30740420423 × 100
- 104776.06870697202 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 105039.30740420423 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteMorton County, KS' covered employment of +7.7% ranks 95th of 3,221 US counties, against a median of -0.2%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 97 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.yoy.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMorton County, KS' typical home value of $104,776 ranks 2,959th of 3,063 US counties, against a median of $234,566.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 3 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3063 US counties that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 12 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.