Nicholas County, KY
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.34, -84.03.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 39th pct · 1,863rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 66th pct · 41st of 120 Kentucky counties · median $181,373
- 17th pct · 2,516th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 62nd pct · 46th of 120 Kentucky counties · median -2.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kentucky counties: not published this period
- 6th pct · 3,020th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 3rd pct · 116th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
- 2nd pct · 3,139th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 0th pct · 120th of 120 Kentucky counties · median $953
- 74th pct · 792nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 94th pct · 7th 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 $206,283 (Aug 2026), -0.4% over one year, +35.3% over five
- 39th pct · 1,863rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 66th pct · 41st of 120 Kentucky counties · median $181,373
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nicholas County, KY | $206,283 · -0.4% 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 $1,129 a month on $206,283 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,055 a month: 37.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $206,283 × 80% = $165,026, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,129/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $705 × 52 / 12 = $3,055) = 37% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $206,283 / ($705 × 52) = 5.6
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 #
949 jobs at 140 employers (2026 Q1); -7.1% jobs and +1.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 6th pct · 3,020th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 3rd pct · 116th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nicholas County, KY | 949 jobs · $705/wk · -7.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 144 | $696 | 1.89 | -2.7% |
| Retail trade | 119 | $442 | 1.29 | -0.8% |
| Health care and social assistance | 111 | $858 | 0.78 | -37.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 32 | $521 | 0.59 | +10.3% |
| Other services | 32 | $695 | 1.13 | +10.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 22 | $718 | 0.34 | +83.3% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Information | 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 #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
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 #
57 gauges · 0 flooding · 12 with quality panels averaging 95 % · 17 stale
Sites found: 57, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LICKING RIVER AT BLUE LICK SPRINGS, KY | flow 119.0 ft³/s | 9 km |
| HINKSTON CREEK NEAR CARLISLE, KY | flow 2.20 ft³/s | 10 km |
| STONER CREEK AT PARIS, KY | flow 20.0 ft³/s · STALE | 23 km |
| STONER CREEK AT WATER PLANT AT PARIS, KY | flow 4.03 ft³/s | 24 km |
| SOUTH FORK LICKING RIVER AT CYNTHIANA, KY | flow 9.46 ft³/s | 25 km |
| HOUSTON CREEK AT HWY 27 NEAR PARIS, KY | flow 3.53 ft³/s | 28 km |
| NORTH FORK LICKING RIVER NEAR MT OLIVET, KY | flow 1.10 ft³/s | 29 km |
| NORTH FORK LICKING RIVER NEAR LEWISBURG, KY | flow 1.60 ft³/s · STALE | 31 km |
| LICKING RIVER AT MCKINNEYSBURG, KY | flow 137.0 ft³/s | 36 km |
| SLATE CREEK AT HIGHWAY 713 NR MT. STERLING, KY | flow 13.9 ft³/s | 39 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-381532083342501 | depth 14.4 ft · 2009-07-06 | 40 km |
| USGS-381537083342201 | depth 6.38 ft · 2009-07-06 | 41 km |
| USGS-381540083342002 | depth 12.4 ft · 2009-07-06 | 41 km |
| USGS-381539083342001 | depth 11.9 ft · 2009-07-06 | 41 km |
| USGS-381538083342005 | depth 14.1 ft · 2009-07-06 | 41 km |
| USGS-381538083342004 | depth 19.7 ft · 2009-07-06 | 41 km |
| USGS-381538083342002 | depth 14.3 ft · 2009-07-06 | 41 km |
| USGS-381539083341902 | depth 10.7 ft · 2009-07-06 | 41 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 + 0.2×0.05 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$57.2 m in deposits at 1 offices of 1 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 10,000, highly concentrated. $41.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $41.2 m, loans $4,069), $43,415 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| City National Bank of West Virginia | $57.2 m · 100.0% share · 1 office | |
| Nicholas, KY | $41.2 m FY2026 · $43,415/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $41.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| City National Bank of West Virginia | $57,177,000 | 100.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 10,000 across 1 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 1 banks with deposits in the county = 100.0² = 10,000
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 | $36,670,094 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $3,989,967 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $285,590 |
| Department of Agriculture | $180,536 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $75,000 |
That is $43,415 per covered job, against 949 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $41.2 m / 949 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $43,415
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 #
Nicholas County, KY: 16 findings, 1 at an alert level, 4 at a watch level and 11 noted
alertNicholas County, KY's covered employment is -7.1% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -7.1 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchNicholas County, KY's covered employment is -7.1% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -7.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchNicholas County, KY's typical home value is -0.4% 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 = -0.4358581333699799 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchNicholas County, KY's momentum index is -0.30, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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: momentum = -0.29969695372678357 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchNicholas County, KY's typical home value of -0.4% scores 18 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 62 across Kentucky counties, a gap of 44 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 44 = |18 across US counties - 62 across Kentucky counties|
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.