Sanders County, MT
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 47.76, -115.18.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 91st pct · 267th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 74th pct · 15th of 56 Montana counties · median $296,564
- 75th pct · 749th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 58th pct · 24th of 56 Montana counties · median +4.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Montana counties: not published this period
- 26th pct · 2,372nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 23rd of 56 Montana counties · median 2,560
- 33rd pct · 2,145th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 41st pct · 33rd of 56 Montana counties · median $996
- 96th pct · 118th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 83rd pct · 10th of 56 Montana counties · median 5.8
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 $461,143 (Aug 2026), +5.4% over one year, +36.0% over five
- 91st pct · 267th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 74th pct · 15th of 56 Montana counties · median $296,564
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Sanders County, MT | $461,143 · +5.4% 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
- Montana 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 $2,524 a month on $461,143 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,182 a month: 60.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $461,143 × 80% = $368,914, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,524/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $965 × 52 / 12 = $4,182) = 60% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $461,143 / ($965 × 52) = 9.2
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 #
3,236 jobs at 575 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and +10.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 26th pct · 2,372nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 23rd of 56 Montana counties · median 2,560
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Sanders County, MT | 3,236 jobs · $965/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 487 | $1,021 | 1.00 | -1.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 485 | $528 | 1.67 | +8.3% |
| Retail trade | 460 | $561 | 1.46 | +0.7% |
| Manufacturing | 263 | $1,050 | 1.01 | -5.1% |
| Construction | 176 | $1,130 | 1.04 | -10.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 97 | $1,748 | 0.43 | +1.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 80 | $3,276 | 6.94 | +45.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 76 | $1,203 | 0.58 | -6.2% |
| Educational services | 67 | $926 | 0.96 | -1.5% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 53 | $915 | 2.27 | +10.4% |
| Utilities | 46 | $2,572 | 3.60 | +9.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 44 | $498 | 0.83 | +22.2% |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
1 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 1, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Flathead Lake at Polson MT | 2,893 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 77 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 #
33 gauges · 0 flooding · 14 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 17 stale
Sites found: 33, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thompson River near Thompson Falls MT | flow 137.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 19 km |
| USGS-475210115240801 | temp 10.4 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 21 km |
| USGS-475211115241701 | temp 5.60 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 21 km |
| USGS-475210115242001 | temp 10.0 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 21 km |
| USGS-475209115242603 | temp 6.40 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 21 km |
| USGS-475210115243101 | temp 8.10 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 21 km |
| USGS-475210115244001 | temp 17.8 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 21 km |
| USGS-475211115244901 | temp 11.1 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 21 km |
| USGS-475211115245901 | temp 7.70 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 22 km |
| USGS-475210115250103 | temp 6.70 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 22 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 #
3 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 3, 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-475209115241901 | depth 3.90 ft · 2024-10-07 | 21 km |
| USGS-474251114385201 | depth 115.1 ft · 2010-10-20 | 40 km |
| USGS-480621115244901 | depth 3.07 ft · 2026-05-31 | 43 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 (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$329.7 m in deposits at 6 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,841, highly concentrated. $203.9 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $135.7 m, contracts $50.3 m), $62,996 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Glacier Bank | $209.9 m · 63.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Stockman Bank of Montana | $86.4 m · 26.2% share · 1 office | |
| Valley Bank of Ronan | $33.5 m · 10.1% share · 3 offices | |
| Sanders, MT | $203.9 m FY2026 · $62,996/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $123.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier Bank | $209,865,000 | 63.7% | 2 |
| Stockman Bank of Montana | $86,368,000 | 26.2% | 1 |
| Valley Bank of Ronan | $33,452,000 | 10.1% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 4,841 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 63.7² + 26.2² + 10.1² = 4,841
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 | $102,648,979 |
| Department of Defense | $47,906,658 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $19,210,916 |
| Department of Transportation | $16,764,967 |
| Department of the Interior | $11,495,808 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,780,599 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,940,991 |
| Department of Justice | $499,009 |
| Department of Education | $241,696 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $134,272 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $118,688 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $79,507 |
That is $62,996 per covered job, against 3,236 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $203.9 m / 3,236 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $62,996
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 | 2026-10-06 | +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 #
Sanders County, MT: 8 findings, 3 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchSanders County, MT's years of wages of 9.2 ranks 118th of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; 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: yearsOfWages percentile = 96.17896799477465 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchSanders County, MT's covered employment is -0.1% 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 = -0.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchSanders County, MT's covered employment of 3,236 scores 26 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 60 across Montana counties, a gap of 34 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 34 = |26 across US counties - 60 across Montana counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteSanders County, MT's average weekly wage was 10.0% 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
- +10 % = 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
noteSanders County, MT's typical home value rose 0.6% from $458,399 in July 2026 to $461,143 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (461143.0949449946 - 458398.9559290454) / 458398.9559290454 × 100
- 461143.0949449946 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 458398.9559290454 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 8 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.