Rockcastle County, KY
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.36, -84.31.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 12th pct · 2,694th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 22nd pct · 93rd of 120 Kentucky counties · median $181,373
- 0th pct · 3,040th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 11th pct · 106th of 120 Kentucky counties · median -2.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Kentucky counties: not published this period
- 30th pct · 2,238th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 69th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
- 12th pct · 2,811th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 19th pct · 97th of 120 Kentucky counties · median $953
- 23rd pct · 2,337th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 32nd pct · 81st 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 $140,441 (Aug 2026), -11.7% over one year, +24.5% over five
- 12th pct · 2,694th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 22nd pct · 93rd of 120 Kentucky counties · median $181,373
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rockcastle County, KY | $140,441 · -11.7% 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 $769 a month on $140,441 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,718 a month: 20.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $140,441 × 80% = $112,353, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $769/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $858 × 52 / 12 = $3,718) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $140,441 / ($858 × 52) = 3.1
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 #
3,841 jobs at 290 employers (2026 Q1); -1.9% jobs and +3.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 30th pct · 2,238th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 69th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rockcastle County, KY | 3,841 jobs · $858/wk · -1.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 267 | $521 | 0.71 | -5.7% |
| Manufacturing | 186 | $832 | 0.60 | -6.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 153 | $696 | 0.58 | +2.7% |
| Finance and insurance | 81 | $1,023 | 0.52 | -3.6% |
| Other services | 71 | $839 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 53 | $647 | 0.24 | -1.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 18 | $918 | 0.12 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 16 | $835 | 0.27 | +0.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | 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 #
42 gauges · 0 flooding · 3 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 11 stale
Sites found: 42, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ROCKCASTLE RIVER AT BILLOWS, KY | flow 20.1 ft³/s | 21 km |
| BUCK CREEK NEAR SHOPVILLE, KY | flow 2.84 ft³/s | 21 km |
| GREEN RIVER NEAR MCKINNEY, KY | flow 0.26 ft³/s | 39 km |
| DIX RIVER NEAR DANVILLE, KY | flow 15.0 ft³/s | 44 km |
| LAUREL RIVER AT MUNICIPAL DAM NEAR CORBIN, KY | stage 19.0 ft | 47 km |
| STURGEON CREEK AT CRESSMONT, KY | flow 1.19 ft³/s | 47 km |
| CLARKS RUN NEAR DANVILLE, KY | flow 2.40 ft³/s · STALE | 47 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 12 NEAR IRVINE, KY | stage 10.2 ft · no flooding | 48 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 8 NEAR CAMP NELSON, KY | flow 269.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 49 km |
| LYNN CAMP CREEK AT CORBIN, KY | flow 2.72 ft³/s | 50 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-370757084045001 | depth 43.7 ft · 1984-11-08 | 33 km |
| USGS-365138084264101 | depth 24.1 ft · 1984-08-26 | 57 km |
| USGS-375928084362001 | depth 13.0 ft · 2024-05-16 | 75 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 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$320.4 m in deposits at 6 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,555, highly concentrated. $101.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $100.2 m, grants $1.2 m), $26,405 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank | $163.0 m · 50.9% share · 2 offices | |
| Community Trust Bank, Inc. | $141.7 m · 44.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Whitaker Bank | $9.2 m · 2.9% share · 1 office | |
| Rockcastle, KY | $101.4 m FY2026 · $26,405/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $99.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank | $162,970,000 | 50.9% | 2 |
| Community Trust Bank, Inc. | $141,677,000 | 44.2% | 2 |
| Whitaker Bank | $9,221,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
| PBK BANK, INC. | $6,528,000 | 2.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,555 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 50.9² + 44.2² + 2.9² + … (1 more) = 4,555
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 | $88,718,827 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $9,476,760 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,131,867 |
| Department of Transportation | $868,000 |
| Department of Agriculture | $590,975 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $352,549 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $274,821 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $10,143 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$996 |
That is $26,405 per covered job, against 3,841 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $101.4 m / 3,841 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,405
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 #
Rockcastle County, KY: 11 findings, 1 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 7 noted
alertRockcastle County, KY's typical home value is -11.7% 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 = -11.727391162525144 <= -5
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchRockcastle County, KY's typical home value is -11.7% 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 = -11.727391162525144 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchRockcastle County, KY's covered employment is -1.9% 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 = -1.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchRockcastle County, KY's momentum index is -0.42, 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 = -0.4196078431372549 <= -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
noteRockcastle County, KY's average weekly wage was 3.2% 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
- +3.2 % = 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
Read all 11 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.