Newton County, MO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.91, -94.33.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 54th pct · 1,379th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 72nd pct · 32nd of 113 Missouri counties · median $224,499
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 66th pct · 1,039th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 41st pct · 67th of 113 Missouri counties · median +4.9%
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 36th pct · 885th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 67th pct · 12th of 35 Missouri counties · median $1,231
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 74th pct · 833rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 85th pct · 17th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 62nd pct · 1,214th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 89th pct · 13th of 115 Missouri counties · median $902
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 51st pct · 1,493rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 37th pct · 71st of 113 Missouri counties · median 4.8
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin 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 $248,047 (Aug 2026), +4.4% over one year, +37.7% over five
- 54th pct · 1,379th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 72nd pct · 32nd of 113 Missouri counties · median $224,499
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Newton County, MO | $248,047 · +4.4% 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 #
Typical rent $1,356/mo (Aug 2026), +3.4% over one year; price-to-rent 15.2
- 36th pct · 885th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 67th pct · 12th of 35 Missouri counties · median $1,231
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Newton County, MO | $1,356/mo · +3.4% 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 $1,358 a month on $248,047 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,762 a month: 28.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $248,047 × 80% = $198,437, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,358/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,099 × 52 / 12 = $4,762) = 29% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $248,047 / ($1,099 × 52) = 4.3
- price-to-rent = $248,047 / ($1,356 × 12) = 15.2
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 #
23,572 jobs at 1,562 employers (2026 Q1); +1.6% jobs and +5.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 74th pct · 833rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 85th pct · 17th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the Joplin metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Joplin metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Newton County, MO | 23,572 jobs · $1,099/wk · +1.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 7,210 | $1,444 | 2.03 | +0.9% |
| Manufacturing | 3,146 | $1,157 | 1.66 | +3.2% |
| Retail trade | 2,536 | $705 | 1.10 | +3.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,203 | $459 | 1.04 | -0.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,098 | $1,188 | 1.11 | -1.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 993 | $1,181 | 1.10 | +14.7% |
| Other services | 525 | $601 | 0.75 | -9.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 524 | $1,329 | 0.32 | +55.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 456 | $1,354 | 0.47 | +1.3% |
| Utilities | 298 | $2,111 | 3.20 | -3.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 279 | $493 | 0.21 | -36.6% |
| Management of companies | 113 | $1,277 | 0.29 | +11.9% |
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 #
D3 extreme 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 #
4 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 4, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lake O' the Cherokees at Langley, OK | 1,306,000 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 80 km |
| Lake Eucha near Eucha, OK | 58,320 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 80 km |
| Spavinaw Lake at Spavinaw, OK | 25,830 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 86 km |
| Lake Hudson near Locust Grove, OK | 213,900 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 107 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 #
48 gauges · 0 flooding · 6 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 8 stale
Sites found: 48, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hickory Creek at Neosho, MO | flow 8.40 ft³/s · STALE | 5 km |
| Shoal Creek above Joplin, MO | flow 79.1 ft³/s · no flooding | 20 km |
| Shoal Creek at Pioneer, MO | flow 8.90 ft³/s · STALE | 27 km |
| Spring River at Carthage, MO | flow 44.4 ft³/s · no flooding | 31 km |
| Big Sugar Creek near Powell, MO | flow 7.92 ft³/s · no flooding | 35 km |
| Center Creek below Carl Junction, MO | flow 63.0 ft³/s · STALE | 36 km |
| Buffalo Creek at Tiff City, MO | flow 0.86 ft³/s · no flooding | 36 km |
| Indian Creek near Lanagan, MO | flow 44.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 36 km |
| Little Sugar Creek near Pineville, MO | flow 33.2 ft³/s · no flooding | 36 km |
| Spring River at La Russell, MO | flow 43.8 ft³/s · low threshold | 36 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 #
36 wells in 1 named aquifer: Ozark Plateaus aquifer system
Sites found: 36, 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 106.3 ft · 2026-10-04 | 12 km |
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 335.7 ft · 2026-10-04 | 12 km |
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 20.5 ft · 2026-10-04 | 22 km |
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 95.7 ft · 2026-10-04 | 23 km |
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 196.4 ft · 2026-10-04 | 24 km |
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 636.7 ft · 2026-10-04 | 28 km |
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 91.1 ft · 2026-10-04 | 30 km |
| Ozark Plateaus aquifer system | depth 296.4 ft · 2026-10-04 | 30 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 (0.48)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.75 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.6 bn in deposits at 25 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,578, moderately concentrated. $367.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $338.1 m, grants $27.4 m), $15,588 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| People's Bank of Seneca | $376.1 m · 23.1% share · 3 offices | |
| Southwest Missouri Bank | $305.5 m · 18.7% share · 4 offices | |
| Community Bank and Trust | $248.1 m · 15.2% share · 7 offices | |
| Newton, MO | $367.4 m FY2026 · $15,588/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $326.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| People's Bank of Seneca | $376,075,000 | 23.1% | 3 |
| Southwest Missouri Bank | $305,533,000 | 18.7% | 4 |
| Community Bank and Trust | $248,096,000 | 15.2% | 7 |
| Arvest Bank | $221,576,000 | 13.6% | 2 |
| First Community Bank | $199,566,000 | 12.2% | 3 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $158,333,000 | 9.7% | 2 |
| Great Southern Bank | $86,829,000 | 5.3% | 3 |
| Guaranty Bank | $33,628,000 | 2.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,578 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 23.1² + 18.7² + 15.2² + … (5 more) = 1,578
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 | $294,036,379 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $30,991,113 |
| Department of Transportation | $16,843,554 |
| Department of Education | $13,270,901 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $6,893,509 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,115,692 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,647,036 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $1,153,554 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $568,044 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $213,929 |
| Department of the Interior | $147,354 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $15,588 per covered job, against 23,572 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $367.4 m / 23,572 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $15,588
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 | 12.28 | 2026-10-04 | -0.1% |
| 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 | 2026-10-05 | +0.1% |
| 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 #
Newton County, MO: 7 findings, 1 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchNewton County, MO's typical asking rent of $1,356 scores 37 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 68 across Missouri counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |37 across US counties - 68 across Missouri counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteNewton County, MO's average weekly wage was 5.9% 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
- +5.9 % = 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
noteNewton County, MO's covered employment was 1.6% 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
- +1.6 % = 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
noteNewton County, MO's typical home value rose 0.9% from $245,847 in July 2026 to $248,047 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.9% = (248046.74148004828 - 245846.87106527106) / 245846.87106527106 × 100
- 248046.74148004828 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 245846.87106527106 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteNewton County, MO's typical asking rent fell 0.6% from $1,364 in July 2026 to $1,356 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.6% = (1356.101851851852 - 1364.4030443969273) / 1364.4030443969273 × 100
- 1356.101851851852 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1364.4030443969273 = Zillow ZORI, 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.