Howell County, MO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.77, -91.89.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 45th pct · 1,658th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 57th of 113 Missouri counties · median $224,499
- 88th pct · 365th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 80th pct · 23rd of 113 Missouri counties · median +4.9%
- US counties: not published this period
- Missouri counties: not published this period
- 65th pct · 1,116th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 26th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- 18th pct · 2,626th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 47th pct · 61st of 115 Missouri counties · median $902
- 61st pct · 1,195th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 53rd pct · 53rd of 113 Missouri counties · median 4.8
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 $224,499 (Aug 2026), +7.4% over one year, +43.7% over five
- 45th pct · 1,658th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 57th of 113 Missouri counties · median $224,499
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howell County, MO | $224,499 · +7.4% 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
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 $1,229 a month on $224,499 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,883 a month: 31.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $224,499 × 80% = $179,600, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,229/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $896 × 52 / 12 = $3,883) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $224,499 / ($896 × 52) = 4.8
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 #
15,462 jobs at 1,550 employers (2026 Q1); +0.8% jobs and +1.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 65th pct · 1,116th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 78th pct · 26th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howell County, MO | 15,462 jobs · $896/wk · +0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 3,757 | $935 | 1.61 | +2.8% |
| Manufacturing | 2,138 | $1,007 | 1.72 | -1.4% |
| Retail trade | 1,918 | $670 | 1.27 | -1.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,355 | $396 | 0.98 | +6.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 740 | $1,036 | 1.25 | +1.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 651 | $1,183 | 0.61 | +11.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 393 | $1,525 | 0.62 | +4.5% |
| Management of companies | 364 | $1,311 | 1.41 | -0.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 357 | $552 | 0.41 | +22.7% |
| Other services | 345 | $854 | 0.75 | -7.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 120 | $899 | 1.07 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 119 | $734 | 0.50 | -11.2% |
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 #
D2 severe 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 #
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 #
18 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 75 % · 1 stale
Sites found: 18, 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-07057500 | flow 290.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 36 km |
| USGS-07065200 | flow 24.5 ft³/s · no flooding | 37 km |
| USGS-07058000 | flow 137.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 41 km |
| USGS-07069190 | flow 224.0 ft³/s | 44 km |
| USGS-07058980 | stage 3.17 ft | 44 km |
| USGS-07069220 | flow 295.0 ft³/s | 46 km |
| USGS-07071000 | flow 182.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 48 km |
| USGS-07059450 | stage 6.11 ft | 51 km |
| USGS-07069295 | flow 4.80 ft³/s | 52 km |
| USGS-07065495 | flow 41.2 ft³/s · low threshold | 57 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 #
10 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 10, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| MO005-364324091515001 | depth 230.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 3 km |
| MO005-365559092030001 | depth 208.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 23 km |
| USGS-363539091384501 | depth 137.4 ft · 2016-05-10 | 29 km |
| MO005-365949091421401 | depth 360.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 30 km |
| USGS-370003091205301 | depth 410.4 ft · 2014-06-29 | 54 km |
| MO005-370624092244701 | depth 600.4 ft · 2026-10-05 | 60 km |
| MO005-371800092094801 | depth 278.8 ft · 2026-10-06 | 63 km |
| MO005-365602092395101 | depth 305.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 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 #
moderate (0.41)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.25 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.4 bn in deposits at 18 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,796, highly concentrated. $336.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $280.2 m, contracts $52.3 m), $21,776 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| West Plains Bank and Trust Company | $669.5 m · 47.6% share · 6 offices | |
| Simmons Bank | $211.2 m · 15.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Community First Banking Company | $169.9 m · 12.1% share · 2 offices | |
| Howell, MO | $336.7 m FY2026 · $21,776/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $269.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Plains Bank and Trust Company | $669,461,000 | 47.6% | 6 |
| Simmons Bank | $211,225,000 | 15.0% | 3 |
| Community First Banking Company | $169,888,000 | 12.1% | 2 |
| Southern Bank | $119,731,000 | 8.5% | 2 |
| Wood & Huston Bank | $94,485,000 | 6.7% | 2 |
| West Plains Savings and Loan Association | $77,303,000 | 5.5% | 1 |
| FNBC Bank | $39,277,000 | 2.8% | 1 |
| Great Southern Bank | $25,171,000 | 1.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,796 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 47.6² + 15.0² + 12.1² + … (5 more) = 2,796
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 | $225,835,835 |
| Department of Defense | $51,217,755 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $40,879,517 |
| Department of Agriculture | $5,606,644 |
| Department of Education | $3,409,839 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,509,411 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,308,948 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,955,290 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,795,613 |
| Department of Justice | $553,951 |
| Department of the Interior | $296,827 |
| Small Business Administration | $156,525 |
That is $21,776 per covered job, against 15,462 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $336.7 m / 15,462 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,776
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 #
Howell County, MO: 4 findings, 4 noted
noteHowell County, MO's average weekly wage was 1.9% 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
- +1.9 % = 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
noteHowell County, MO'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
noteHowell County, MO's typical home value rose 0.7% from $223,042 in July 2026 to $224,499 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.7% = (224499.49935739953 - 223042.36638286433) / 223042.36638286433 × 100
- 224499.49935739953 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 223042.36638286433 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Howell County, MO is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.