Howard County, MO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.14, -92.70.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 50th pct · 1,529th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 59th pct · 46th of 113 Missouri counties · median $224,499
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 83rd pct · 508th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 74th pct · 30th of 113 Missouri counties · median +4.9%
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Missouri counties: not published this period
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 21st pct · 2,539th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 25th pct · 86th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 5th pct · 3,047th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 15th pct · 97th of 115 Missouri counties · median $902
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 75th pct · 744th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 83rd pct · 20th of 113 Missouri counties · median 4.8
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia 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 $234,767 (Aug 2026), +6.5% over one year, +37.8% over five
- 50th pct · 1,529th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 59th pct · 46th of 113 Missouri counties · median $224,499
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MO | $234,767 · +6.5% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Missouri counties: not published this period
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $1,285 a month on $234,767 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,415 a month: 37.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $234,767 × 80% = $187,813, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,285/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $788 × 52 / 12 = $3,415) = 38% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $234,767 / ($788 × 52) = 5.7
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 #
2,592 jobs at 246 employers (2026 Q1); +3.0% jobs and +3.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 21st pct · 2,539th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 25th pct · 86th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the Columbia metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Columbia metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MO | 2,592 jobs · $788/wk · +3.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 317 | $937 | 1.52 | +5.3% |
| Retail trade | 209 | $448 | 0.83 | +7.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 167 | $270 | 0.72 | +13.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 109 | $1,543 | 1.03 | -5.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 58 | $952 | 0.32 | +9.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 43 | $881 | 0.43 | -15.7% |
| Other services | 35 | $741 | 0.45 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 18 | $598 | 0.45 | +0.0% |
| 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 #
3 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 3, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marceline Lake near Marceline, MO | 1,908 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 63 km |
| Concordia Lake near Concordia, MO | 2,372 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 80 km |
| Monroe City Lake near Monroe City, MO | 1,044 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 km |
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 #
19 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 80 % · 3 stale
Sites found: 19, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grand River near Sumner, MO | flow 7,080 ft³/s · quality 80 % (5) | 74 km |
| Moniteau Creek near Fayette, MO | flow 0.62 ft³/s | 11 km |
| Missouri River at Glasgow, MO | flow 120,000 ft³/s | 16 km |
| Missouri River at Boonville, MO | flow 130,000 ft³/s | 19 km |
| Petite Saline Creek at Hwy U nr Boonville, M0 | flow 1.57 ft³/s | 25 km |
| East Fork Little Chariton R. near Huntsville, MO | flow 6.91 ft³/s · STALE | 36 km |
| Hinkson Creek at Columbia, MO | flow 0.59 ft³/s | 39 km |
| Chariton River near Prairie Hill, MO | flow 1,120 ft³/s | 45 km |
| Blackwater River at Blue Lick, MO | flow 22.7 ft³/s | 46 km |
| Mussel Fork near Musselfork, MO | flow 58.8 ft³/s | 48 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 #
23 wells in 5 named aquifers: Ozark Plateaus aquifer system, Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system, Sand and gravel aquifers (glaciated regions)…
Sites found: 23, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 57.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 25 km |
| USGS-385853092592801 | depth 27.7 ft · 2016-12-11 | 31 km |
| Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system | depth 203.3 ft · 2026-10-05 | 33 km |
| USGS-385156092263202 | depth 9.07 ft · 2016-11-20 | 38 km |
| Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system | depth 418.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 42 km |
| Mississippian aquifers | depth 113.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 46 km |
| Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system | depth 393.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 50 km |
| USGS-391622093161001 | depth 0.47 ft · 2016-07-24 | 51 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 (0.07)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.20 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$390.7 m in deposits at 6 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,178, highly concentrated. $77.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $74.9 m, grants $2.8 m), $29,995 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange Bank of Missouri | $163.9 m · 42.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Commercial Trust Company of Fayette | $127.4 m · 32.6% share · 1 office | |
| BTC Bank | $65.1 m · 16.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Howard, MO | $77.7 m FY2026 · $29,995/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $57.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Bank of Missouri | $163,914,000 | 42.0% | 2 |
| Commercial Trust Company of Fayette | $127,405,000 | 32.6% | 1 |
| BTC Bank | $65,093,000 | 16.7% | 2 |
| Regional Missouri Bank | $34,293,000 | 8.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,178 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 = 42.0² + 32.6² + 16.7² + … (1 more) = 3,178
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 | $51,523,673 |
| Department of Education | $13,862,189 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $5,697,805 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,186,958 |
| Department of Transportation | $2,358,147 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $550,608 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $386,822 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $148,882 |
| Department of the Treasury | $32,545 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $0 |
That is $29,995 per covered job, against 2,592 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $77.7 m / 2,592 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $29,995
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 #
Howard County, MO: 6 findings, 6 noted
noteHoward County, MO's average weekly wage was 3.3% 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
- +3.3 % = 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
noteHoward County, MO'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
noteHoward County, MO's typical home value rose 0.5% from $233,620 in July 2026 to $234,767 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (234766.75980116558 - 233620.27848487897) / 233620.27848487897 × 100
- 234766.75980116558 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 233620.27848487897 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteHoward County, MO's momentum index of 0.74 ranks 142nd of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 0.23.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 96 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published momentum
- 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%)
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteHoward County, MO's average weekly wage of $788 ranks 3,047th of 3,221 US counties, against a median of $1,039.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 5 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.avgWeeklyWage
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 6 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.