Polk County, MN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 47.77, -96.40.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 57th pct · 1,311th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 40th pct · 52nd of 87 Minnesota counties · median $276,116
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 81st pct · 565th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 77th pct · 20th of 87 Minnesota counties · median +4.1%
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 11th pct · 1,240th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 13th pct · 33rd of 38 Minnesota counties · median $1,295
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 58th pct · 1,346th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 61st pct · 34th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 7,739
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 59th pct · 1,316th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 41st pct · 51st of 87 Minnesota counties · median $1,102
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 55th pct · 1,378th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 45th pct · 48th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 4.6
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $254,854 (Aug 2026), +6.2% over one year, +26.3% over five
- 57th pct · 1,311th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 40th pct · 52nd of 87 Minnesota counties · median $276,116
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Polk County, MN | $254,854 · +6.2% 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 #
Typical rent $1,049/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 20.2
- 11th pct · 1,240th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 13th pct · 33rd of 38 Minnesota counties · median $1,295
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Polk County, MN | $1,049/mo · n/a 1-yr |
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 $1,395 a month on $254,854 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,693 a month: 29.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $254,854 × 80% = $203,884, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,395/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,083 × 52 / 12 = $4,693) = 30% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $254,854 / ($1,083 × 52) = 4.5
- price-to-rent = $254,854 / ($1,049 × 12) = 20.2
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 #
11,638 jobs at 1,029 employers (2026 Q1); -1.4% jobs and +3.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 58th pct · 1,346th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 61st pct · 34th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 7,739
- counties in the Grand Forks metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Grand Forks metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Polk County, MN | 11,638 jobs · $1,083/wk · -1.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,841 | $1,479 | 1.97 | -0.9% |
| Retail trade | 1,163 | $611 | 1.03 | -5.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 862 | $343 | 0.82 | +3.4% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 495 | $863 | 5.89 | +8.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 437 | $1,390 | 0.98 | -3.1% |
| Construction | 420 | $1,512 | 0.69 | +6.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 376 | $1,264 | 0.77 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 331 | $461 | 0.95 | -2.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 251 | $2,064 | 0.53 | +3.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 205 | $1,385 | 0.26 | +0.0% |
| Information | 166 | $1,253 | 0.77 | -1.2% |
| Real estate and rental | 42 | $922 | 0.24 | -8.7% |
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 #
D1 moderate drought
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$995.9 m in deposits at 14 offices of 10 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,480, moderately concentrated. $226.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $198.5 m, grants $24.3 m), $19,482 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Old National Bank | $191.7 m · 19.3% share · 1 office | |
| American Federal Bank | $190.4 m · 19.1% share · 3 offices | |
| Ultima Bank Minnesota | $185.9 m · 18.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Polk, MN | $226.7 m FY2026 · $19,482/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $173.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old National Bank | $191,721,000 | 19.3% | 1 |
| American Federal Bank | $190,368,000 | 19.1% | 3 |
| Ultima Bank Minnesota | $185,950,000 | 18.7% | 3 |
| Frandsen Bank & Trust | $145,196,000 | 14.6% | 1 |
| United Valley Bank | $109,944,000 | 11.0% | 1 |
| Red River State Bank | $41,187,000 | 4.1% | 1 |
| The First National Bank of McIntosh | $37,383,000 | 3.8% | 1 |
| American State Bank of Grygla | $35,105,000 | 3.5% | 1 |
| Unity Bank | $32,227,000 | 3.2% | 1 |
| The First National Bank of Bagley | $26,825,000 | 2.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,480 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 = 19.3² + 19.1² + 18.7² + … (7 more) = 1,480
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 | $148,403,194 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $22,074,488 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $17,353,115 |
| Department of Agriculture | $16,004,447 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $8,692,275 |
| Department of Transportation | $5,494,755 |
| Department of Education | $4,142,186 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $4,101,537 |
| Department of the Interior | $365,734 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $76,924 |
| Department of Justice | $26,672 |
| Department of Defense | $400 |
That is $19,482 per covered job, against 11,638 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $226.7 m / 11,638 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $19,482
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 #
Polk County, MN: 7 findings, 1 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchPolk County, MN's covered employment is -1.4% 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 = -1.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
notePolk County, MN's average weekly wage was 3.5% 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
- +3.5 % = 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
notePolk County, MN's covered employment was 1.4% 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
- -1.4 % = 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
notePolk County, MN's typical asking rent rose 0.6% from $1,042 in July 2026 to $1,049 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (1049.1666666666667 - 1042.4262173839104) / 1042.4262173839104 × 100
- 1049.1666666666667 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1042.4262173839104 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
notePolk County, MN's typical home value rose 0.5% from $253,688 in July 2026 to $254,854 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (254854.48924634504 - 253688.09381376288) / 253688.09381376288 × 100
- 254854.48924634504 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 253688.09381376288 = 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.