Nobles County, MN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 43.68, -95.76.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 52nd pct · 1,448th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 36th pct · 56th of 87 Minnesota counties · median $276,116
- 85th pct · 433rd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 84th pct · 14th of 87 Minnesota counties · median +4.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Minnesota counties: not published this period
- 53rd pct · 1,498th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 54th pct · 40th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 7,739
- 76th pct · 764th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 79th pct · 19th of 87 Minnesota counties · median $1,102
- 41st pct · 1,788th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 32nd pct · 59th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 4.6
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 $242,803 (Aug 2026), +7.0% over one year, +26.9% over five
- 52nd pct · 1,448th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 36th pct · 56th of 87 Minnesota counties · median $276,116
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nobles County, MN | $242,803 · +7.0% 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
- Minnesota 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 $1,329 a month on $242,803 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,209 a month: 25.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $242,803 × 80% = $194,242, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,329/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,202 × 52 / 12 = $5,209) = 26% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $242,803 / ($1,202 × 52) = 3.9
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 #
9,470 jobs at 623 employers (2026 Q1); -3.7% jobs and +3.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 53rd pct · 1,498th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 54th pct · 40th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 7,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nobles County, MN | 9,470 jobs · $1,202/wk · -3.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3,165 | $1,528 | 4.15 | -5.1% |
| Retail trade | 1,215 | $667 | 1.32 | -5.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 521 | $369 | 0.61 | -4.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 339 | $1,811 | 0.93 | +7.6% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 301 | $806 | 4.40 | -5.6% |
| Other services | 234 | $663 | 0.83 | -19.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 212 | $1,991 | 0.55 | +0.0% |
| Construction | 193 | $920 | 0.39 | -9.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 129 | $1,720 | 0.20 | -0.8% |
| Management of companies | 86 | $4,595 | 0.54 | -13.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 68 | $1,140 | 0.13 | -17.1% |
| Information | 44 | $1,001 | 0.25 | -35.3% |
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 #
41 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 1 stale
Sites found: 41, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rock River near Hardwick | no flooding | 33 km |
| Rock River at Luverne | no flooding | 35 km |
| West Fork Des Moines River near Avoca | no flooding | 37 km |
| Heron North Marsh near Heron Lake | no readings | 41 km |
| Heron Lake South near Okabena | no readings | 43 km |
| USGS-06483290 | flow 136.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 43 km |
| Ocheyedan River near May City | no flooding | 45 km |
| Little Rock River near George | no flooding | 48 km |
| West Fork Little Sioux River near Lake Park | no flooding | 49 km |
| Little Sioux River near Montgomery | no flooding | 49 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 #
4 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 4, 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-435605095121201 | depth 17.2 ft · 2001-10-25 | 53 km |
| USGS-435239095074801 | depth 11.2 ft · 2024-08-12 | 55 km |
| USGS-431316095135201 | depth 11.9 ft · 2014-10-06 | 67 km |
| USGS-440405096290501 | depth 8.38 ft · 2026-10-05 | 72 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 #
$797.2 m in deposits at 14 offices of 10 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,587, moderately concentrated. $157.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $114.4 m, grants $33.9 m), $16,631 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First State Bank Southwest | $230.7 m · 28.9% share · 3 offices | |
| United Prairie Bank | $153.0 m · 19.2% share · 2 offices | |
| Worthington Federal Savings Bank, FSB | $86.2 m · 10.8% share · 1 office | |
| Nobles, MN | $157.5 m FY2026 · $16,631/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $90.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First State Bank Southwest | $230,668,000 | 28.9% | 3 |
| United Prairie Bank | $153,027,000 | 19.2% | 2 |
| Worthington Federal Savings Bank, FSB | $86,168,000 | 10.8% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $72,851,000 | 9.1% | 1 |
| First Western Bank & Trust | $56,925,000 | 7.1% | 1 |
| Premier Bank | $53,765,000 | 6.7% | 1 |
| Security Savings Bank | $43,205,000 | 5.4% | 1 |
| BMO Bank National Association | $40,887,000 | 5.1% | 1 |
| Rolling Hills Bank & Trust | $35,866,000 | 4.5% | 2 |
| American Bank & Trust | $23,840,000 | 3.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,587 across 10 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 10 banks with deposits in the county = 28.9² + 19.2² + 10.8² + … (7 more) = 1,587
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 | $83,568,412 |
| Department of Agriculture | $31,555,346 |
| Department of Transportation | $27,190,798 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $6,596,937 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $6,140,964 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,861,969 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $356,466 |
| Department of Education | $173,498 |
| Department of Defense | $34,850 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $19,151 |
| Small Business Administration | $746 |
| Department of Justice | $0 |
That is $16,631 per covered job, against 9,470 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $157.5 m / 9,470 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,631
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 #
Nobles County, MN: 7 findings, 1 at an alert level, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
alertNobles County, MN's covered employment is -3.7% 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 = -3.7 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchNobles County, MN's covered employment is -3.7% 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 = -3.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteNobles County, MN's covered employment was 3.7% lower 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
- -3.7 % = 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
noteNobles County, MN'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
noteNobles County, MN's typical home value fell 0.3% from $243,441 in July 2026 to $242,803 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (242802.92639392466 - 243440.65979207968) / 243440.65979207968 × 100
- 242802.92639392466 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 243440.65979207968 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 7 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.