Norton County, KS
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.78, -99.90.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 6th pct · 2,849th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 25th pct · 79th of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
- 14th pct · 2,617th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 11th pct · 93rd of 105 Kansas counties · median +4.4%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kansas counties: not published this period
- 19th pct · 2,594th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 56th of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
- 31st pct · 2,208th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 56th pct · 46th of 105 Kansas counties · median $943
- 9th pct · 2,769th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 20th pct · 84th 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 $121,988 (Aug 2026), -1.0% over one year, +19.0% over five
- 6th pct · 2,849th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 25th pct · 79th of 105 Kansas counties · median $153,214
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Norton County, KS | $121,988 · -1.0% 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 $668 a month on $121,988 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,151 a month: 16.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $121,988 × 80% = $97,591, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $668/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $958 × 52 / 12 = $4,151) = 16% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $121,988 / ($958 × 52) = 2.4
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 #
2,372 jobs at 197 employers (2026 Q1); +4.9% jobs and +1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 19th pct · 2,594th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 56th of 105 Kansas counties · median 2,554
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Norton County, KS | 2,372 jobs · $958/wk · +4.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 251 | $1,694 | 1.32 | +5.5% |
| Retail trade | 209 | $666 | 0.90 | -7.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 90 | $1,520 | 0.93 | -2.2% |
| Other services | 64 | $952 | 0.90 | +14.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 53 | $722 | 0.58 | -1.9% |
| Construction | 46 | $904 | 0.37 | +2.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 30 | $941 | 0.18 | +15.4% |
| Information | 18 | $1,230 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Harlan County Lake Near Republican City, Nebr. | 169,900 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 67 km |
| CEDAR BLUFF RE NR ELLIS, KS | 54,710 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 112 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 #
22 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 11 stale
Sites found: 22, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PRAIRIE DOG C AT NORTON, KS | flow 0.05 ft³/s · STALE | 3 km |
| PRAIRIE DOG C AB KEITH SEBELIUS LAKE, KS | flow 0.30 ft³/s | 17 km |
| SAPPA C NR LYLE, KS | flow 1.10 ft³/s | 25 km |
| SAPPA CREEK NEAR BEAVER CITY, NEBR. | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 29 km |
| Beaver Creek near Beaver City, Nebr. | flow 0.36 ft³/s | 37 km |
| PRAIRIE DOG C NR WOODRUFF, KS | flow 5.40 ft³/s | 42 km |
| Sappa Creek near Stamford, Nebr. | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 49 km |
| Republican River near Orleans, Nebr. | flow 69.5 ft³/s | 51 km |
| NF SOLOMON R AT GLADE, KS | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 52 km |
| SF SOLOMON R AB WEBSTER RE, KS | flow 0.16 ft³/s | 53 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 #
3 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 3, 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-400920099215501 | depth 89.4 ft · 2001-03-12 | 61 km |
| USGS-401416099270601 | depth 139.4 ft · 2001-03-13 | 63 km |
| USGS-402101099595001 | depth 133.3 ft · 2001-03-17 | 64 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 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$239.7 m in deposits at 5 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,291, highly concentrated. $41.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $41.2 m, contracts $214,733), $17,468 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The First State Bank | $76.5 m · 31.9% share · 1 office | |
| Mid-America Bank | $53.7 m · 22.4% share · 1 office | |
| SOLUTIONS NORTH BANK | $52.2 m · 21.8% share · 1 office | |
| Norton, KS | $41.4 m FY2026 · $17,468/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $28.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The First State Bank | $76,535,000 | 31.9% | 1 |
| Mid-America Bank | $53,695,000 | 22.4% | 1 |
| SOLUTIONS NORTH BANK | $52,235,000 | 21.8% | 1 |
| The Bank | $33,959,000 | 14.2% | 1 |
| Equity Bank | $23,321,000 | 9.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,291 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 = 31.9² + 22.4² + 21.8² + … (2 more) = 2,291
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 | $25,641,777 |
| Department of Agriculture | $13,160,844 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $2,120,199 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $198,120 |
| Department of Defense | $196,233 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $108,808 |
| Department of Education | $72,316 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $47,020 |
| Department of the Interior | $18,500 |
| Department of Transportation | -$129,979 |
That is $17,468 per covered job, against 2,372 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $41.4 m / 2,372 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $17,468
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 #
Norton County, KS: 9 findings, 1 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchNorton County, KS' typical home value is -1.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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 = -1.0352427318594906 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteNorton County, KS' covered employment was 4.9% 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
- +4.9 % = 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
noteNorton County, KS' average weekly wage was 1.2% 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
- +1.2 % = 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
noteNorton County, KS' typical home value fell 0.3% from $122,294 in July 2026 to $121,988 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (121988.1264882006 - 122294.11350343085) / 122294.11350343085 × 100
- 121988.1264882006 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 122294.11350343085 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteNorton County, KS' covered employment of +4.9% ranks 202nd of 3,221 US counties, against a median of -0.2%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 94 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
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.