Lee County, KY
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.61, -83.72.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 9th pct · 2,771st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 16th pct · 100th of 120 Kentucky counties · median $181,373
- 1st pct · 3,008th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 23rd pct · 92nd of 120 Kentucky counties · median -2.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kentucky counties: not published this period
- 14th pct · 2,770th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 106th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
- 14th pct · 2,744th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 24th pct · 91st of 120 Kentucky counties · median $953
- 17th pct · 2,519th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 23rd pct · 92nd of 120 Kentucky counties · median 3.6
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 $132,146 (Aug 2026), -9.2% over one year, +36.7% over five
- 9th pct · 2,771st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 16th pct · 100th of 120 Kentucky counties · median $181,373
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lee County, KY | $132,146 · -9.2% 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
- Kentucky 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 $723 a month on $132,146 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,783 a month: 19.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $132,146 × 80% = $105,716, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $723/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $873 × 52 / 12 = $3,783) = 19% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $132,146 / ($873 × 52) = 2.9
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 #
1,760 jobs at 169 employers (2026 Q1); +0.9% jobs and +3.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 14th pct · 2,770th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 106th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lee County, KY | 1,760 jobs · $873/wk · +0.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 358 | $991 | 1.35 | -1.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 248 | $1,150 | 2.48 | +6.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 245 | $658 | 1.55 | -3.5% |
| Retail trade | 177 | $555 | 1.03 | +10.6% |
| Other services | 27 | $1,063 | 0.51 | +8.0% |
| Construction | 25 | $921 | 0.27 | -19.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 16 | $942 | 0.22 | -11.1% |
| Real estate and rental | 6 | $233 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | 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 #
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 #
39 gauges · 0 flooding · 4 with quality panels averaging 94 % · 8 stale
Sites found: 39, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| NORTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER AT BEATTYVILLE, KY | stage 9.06 ft | 4 km |
| BIG SINKING CREEK NEAR CRYSTAL, KY | flow 53.0 ft³/s · STALE | 7 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 14 AT HEIDELBERG, KY | flow 233.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 8 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 13 NEAR WILLOW SHOALS, KY | flow 290.0 ft³/s | 10 km |
| MIDDLE FORK KENTUCKY RIVER AT TALLEGA, KY | flow 70.5 ft³/s | 13 km |
| STURGEON CREEK AT CRESSMONT, KY | flow 1.19 ft³/s | 14 km |
| SOUTH FORK KENTUCKY RIVER AT BOONEVILLE, KY | flow 44.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 15 km |
| FURNACE FORK NEAR CRYSTAL , KY | flow 46.0 ft³/s · STALE | 15 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 12 NEAR IRVINE, KY | stage 10.2 ft · no flooding | 22 km |
| CAT CREEK NEAR STANTON, KY | flow 42.0 ft³/s · STALE | 26 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 #
16 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 16, 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-370757084045001 | depth 43.7 ft · 1984-11-08 | 62 km |
| USGS-380425083091901 | depth 30.7 ft · 1983-09-30 | 72 km |
| USGS-381524083341601 | depth 13.1 ft · 2009-07-06 | 73 km |
| USGS-381532083342501 | depth 14.4 ft · 2009-07-06 | 73 km |
| USGS-381537083342201 | depth 6.38 ft · 2009-07-06 | 74 km |
| USGS-381538083342005 | depth 14.1 ft · 2009-07-06 | 74 km |
| USGS-381538083342004 | depth 19.7 ft · 2009-07-06 | 74 km |
| USGS-381538083342002 | depth 14.3 ft · 2009-07-06 | 74 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 (0.02)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.06 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$122.9 m in deposits at 3 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,934, highly concentrated. $49.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $43.0 m, grants $6.2 m), $27,954 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Peoples Exchange Bank | $76.9 m · 62.6% share · 1 office | |
| Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Jackson | $38.5 m · 31.3% share · 1 office | |
| Farmers State Bank | $7.5 m · 6.1% share · 1 office | |
| Lee, KY | $49.2 m FY2026 · $27,954/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $42.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peoples Exchange Bank | $76,883,000 | 62.6% | 1 |
| Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Jackson | $38,498,000 | 31.3% | 1 |
| Farmers State Bank | $7,493,000 | 6.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,934 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 62.6² + 31.3² + 6.1² = 4,934
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 | $36,663,548 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $4,666,244 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $4,614,118 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,586,304 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $906,760 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $588,190 |
| Department of Justice | $145,328 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $19,810 |
| Department of Transportation | $8,979 |
That is $27,954 per covered job, against 1,760 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $49.2 m / 1,760 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,954
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 #
Lee County, KY: 9 findings, 1 at an alert level, 2 at a watch level and 6 noted
alertLee County, KY's typical home value is -9.2% against a year earlier, an alert level here: typical home value at least 5 percent below 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 = -9.227862517479885 <= -5
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchLee County, KY's typical home value is -9.2% 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 = -9.227862517479885 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchLee County, KY's typical home value is -2.6% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical home value at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZHVI month columns; 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.momPct = -2.6047944207513463 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZHVI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteLee County, KY's average weekly wage was 3.4% 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
- +3.4 % = 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
noteLee County, KY's typical home value fell 2.6% from $135,680 in July 2026 to $132,146 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -2.6% = (132145.5418370559 - 135679.7196033757) / 135679.7196033757 × 100
- 132145.5418370559 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 135679.7196033757 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
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.