Waseca County, MN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 44.02, -93.59.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 58th pct · 1,263rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 49th of 87 Minnesota counties · median $276,116
- 45th pct · 1,675th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 26th pct · 64th of 87 Minnesota counties · median +4.1%
- 3rd pct · 1,345th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 0th pct · 38th of 38 Minnesota counties · median $1,295
- 38th pct · 1,987th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 36th pct · 56th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 7,739
- 56th pct · 1,402nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 36th pct · 56th of 87 Minnesota counties · median $1,102
- 57th pct · 1,292nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 53rd pct · 41st 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 $258,755 (Aug 2026), +2.5% over one year, +22.8% over five
- 58th pct · 1,263rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 49th of 87 Minnesota counties · median $276,116
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Waseca County, MN | $258,755 · +2.5% 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 $895/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 24.1
- 3rd pct · 1,345th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 0th pct · 38th of 38 Minnesota counties · median $1,295
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Waseca County, MN | $895/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 $1,416 a month on $258,755 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,632 a month: 30.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $258,755 × 80% = $207,004, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,416/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,069 × 52 / 12 = $4,632) = 31% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $258,755 / ($1,069 × 52) = 4.7
- price-to-rent = $258,755 / ($895 × 12) = 24.1
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 #
5,210 jobs at 519 employers (2026 Q1); +0.8% jobs and -2.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 38th pct · 1,987th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 36th pct · 56th of 87 Minnesota counties · median 7,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Waseca County, MN | 5,210 jobs · $1,069/wk · +0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 995 | $840 | 1.27 | +4.0% |
| Manufacturing | 664 | $1,766 | 1.58 | -6.5% |
| Retail trade | 582 | $624 | 1.15 | +2.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 361 | $277 | 0.77 | +0.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 190 | $1,341 | 0.53 | +6.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 87 | $860 | 0.40 | -13.9% |
| Educational services | 76 | $521 | 0.68 | +11.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 39 | $438 | 0.45 | -22.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | 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 #
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 #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$499.4 m in deposits at 7 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,150, highly concentrated. $130.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $127.8 m, contracts $1.3 m), $25,001 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Minnwest Bank | $143.7 m · 28.8% share · 2 offices | |
| Keen Bank, National Association | $131.3 m · 26.3% share · 1 office | |
| Janesville State Bank | $84.1 m · 16.8% share · 1 office | |
| Waseca, MN | $130.3 m FY2026 · $25,001/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $113.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnwest Bank | $143,658,000 | 28.8% | 2 |
| Keen Bank, National Association | $131,267,000 | 26.3% | 1 |
| Janesville State Bank | $84,091,000 | 16.8% | 1 |
| State Bank of New Richland | $80,979,000 | 16.2% | 1 |
| United Prairie Bank | $43,220,000 | 8.7% | 1 |
| FM Bank | $16,194,000 | 3.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,150 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 28.8² + 26.3² + 16.8² + … (3 more) = 2,150
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 | $103,178,193 |
| Department of Agriculture | $14,068,658 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $9,076,314 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,395,470 |
| Department of Justice | $1,202,046 |
| Department of Transportation | $799,095 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $461,034 |
| Department of Defense | $50,503 |
| Department of Education | $12,983 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $10,920 |
That is $25,001 per covered job, against 5,210 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $130.3 m / 5,210 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $25,001
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 | 3.00 | 2026-10-06 | -50.0% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| 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 | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| 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 #
Waseca County, MN: 11 findings, 2 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchWaseca County, MN's average weekly wage is -2.2% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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.avgWeeklyWage = -2.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchWaseca County, MN's price-to-rent ratio of 24.1 ranks 119th of 1,399 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; 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: priceToRent percentile = 91.55937052932761 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
noteWaseca County, MN's average weekly wage was 2.2% 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
- -2.2 % = 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
noteWaseca County, MN's covered employment was 0.8% 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
- +0.8 % = 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
noteWaseca County, MN's typical home value rose 0.3% from $258,086 in July 2026 to $258,755 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (258754.73809029046 - 258085.76742297647) / 258085.76742297647 × 100
- 258754.73809029046 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 258085.76742297647 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
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.