Baraga County, MI
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 46.70, -88.36.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 27th pct · 2,216th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 13th pct · 72nd of 83 Michigan counties · median $226,891
- 99th pct · 24th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 98th pct · 2nd of 83 Michigan counties · median +5.7%
- US counties: not published this period
- Michigan counties: not published this period
- 24th pct · 2,440th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 12th pct · 73rd of 83 Michigan counties · median 12,414
- 61st pct · 1,244th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 57th pct · 36th of 83 Michigan counties · median $1,045
- 23rd pct · 2,353rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 9th pct · 75th of 83 Michigan counties · median 4.1
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 $178,627 (Aug 2026), +14.2% over one year, +22.8% over five
- 27th pct · 2,216th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 13th pct · 72nd of 83 Michigan counties · median $226,891
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Baraga County, MI | $178,627 · +14.2% 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
- Michigan 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 $978 a month on $178,627 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,745 a month: 20.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $178,627 × 80% = $142,901, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $978/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,095 × 52 / 12 = $4,745) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $178,627 / ($1,095 × 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 #
2,988 jobs at 217 employers (2026 Q1); +3.0% jobs and +2.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 24th pct · 2,440th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 12th pct · 73rd of 83 Michigan counties · median 12,414
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Baraga County, MI | 2,988 jobs · $1,095/wk · +3.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 566 | $1,217 | 2.35 | +15.0% |
| Retail trade | 180 | $537 | 0.62 | +18.4% |
| Construction | 63 | $1,023 | 0.40 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 47 | $677 | 0.53 | +4.4% |
| Information | 46 | $1,293 | 0.84 | +0.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 37 | $2,390 | 0.32 | -17.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | 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 #
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 #
38 gauges · 0 flooding · 12 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 12 stale
Sites found: 38, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SILVER RIVER UPSTREAM OF EAST BRANCH NR L'ANSE, MI | flow 10.4 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) · STALE | 4 km |
| GOMANCHE CREEK AT INDIAN ROAD NEAR L'ANSE, MI | flow 1.67 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) | 6 km |
| FALLS RIVER NEAR L'ANSE, MI | flow 18.9 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) | 8 km |
| SILVER RIVER NEAR L'ANSE, MI | flow 17.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 13 km |
| SLATE RIVER AT SKANEE ROAD NEAR SKANEE, MI | stage 3.34 ft · quality 100 % (2) | 17 km |
| RAVINE RIVER AT SICOTTE RD NEAR SKANEE, MI | stage 3.24 ft · quality 100 % (2) | 19 km |
| STURGEON RIVER NEAR SIDNAW, MI | flow 12.9 ft³/s · no flooding | 21 km |
| STURGEON RIVER NEAR ALSTON, MI | flow 111.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 23 km |
| PESHEKEE RIVER NR MICHIGAMME, MI | flow 37.0 ft³/s · STALE | 31 km |
| PESHEKEE RIVER NEAR CHAMPION, MI | flow 450.0 ft³/s · STALE | 31 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 #
5 wells in 1 named aquifer: Sand and gravel aquifers (glaciated regions)
Sites found: 5, 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-463825088285401 | depth 9.26 ft · 1973-11-26 | 11 km |
| USGS-462938087475901 | depth 14.2 ft · 1993-10-27 | 48 km |
| USGS-461257088542001 | depth 95.7 ft · 1964-09-23 | 68 km |
| Sand and gravel aquifers (glaciated regions) | depth 44.1 ft · 1954-12-31 | 71 km |
| USGS-462556087303701 | depth 6.41 ft · 1980-12-31 | 71 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 #
$236.3 m in deposits at 2 offices of 1 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 10,000, highly concentrated. $87.9 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $62.9 m, grants $24.0 m), $29,407 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Superior National Bank | $236.3 m · 100.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Baraga, MI | $87.9 m FY2026 · $29,407/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $56.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior National Bank | $236,320,000 | 100.0% | 2 |
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 | $47,593,047 |
| Department of Education | $10,648,345 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $8,839,524 |
| Department of Transportation | $7,165,546 |
| Department of the Interior | $6,241,144 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $3,183,647 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,262,517 |
| National Science Foundation | $700,000 |
| Department of Defense | $658,397 |
| Department of Justice | $572,435 |
| Department of Agriculture | $362,548 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $256,267 |
That is $29,407 per covered job, against 2,988 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $87.9 m / 2,988 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $29,407
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 #
Baraga County, MI: 9 findings, 9 noted
noteBaraga County, MI's covered employment was 3.0% 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 % = 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
noteBaraga County, MI's average weekly wage was 2.9% 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
- +2.9 % = 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
noteBaraga County, MI's typical home value rose 0.5% from $177,722 in July 2026 to $178,627 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (178626.83130460908 - 177721.70237622023) / 177721.70237622023 × 100
- 178626.83130460908 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 177721.70237622023 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteBaraga County, MI's typical home value of +14.2% ranks 24th of 3,063 US counties, against a median of +2.9%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 99 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3063 US counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteBaraga County, MI's typical home value of +14.2% ranks 2nd of 83 Michigan counties, against a median of +5.7%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 99 on the 0-to-100 scale across 83 Michigan counties that published home.yoyPct
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.