Wheatland County, MT
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 46.50, -109.86.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 30th pct · 2,138th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 9th pct · 51st of 56 Montana counties · median $296,564
- 96th pct · 102nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 83rd pct · 10th of 56 Montana counties · median +4.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Montana counties: not published this period
- 2nd pct · 3,131st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 20th pct · 45th of 56 Montana counties · median 2,560
- 12th pct · 2,828th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 16th pct · 47th of 56 Montana counties · median $996
- 47th pct · 1,614th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 23rd pct · 43rd 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 $184,034 (Aug 2026), +10.6% over one year, +35.5% over five
- 30th pct · 2,138th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 9th pct · 51st of 56 Montana counties · median $296,564
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wheatland County, MT | $184,034 · +10.6% 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 $1,007 a month on $184,034 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,701 a month: 27.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $184,034 × 80% = $147,227, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,007/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $854 × 52 / 12 = $3,701) = 27% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $184,034 / ($854 × 52) = 4.1
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 #
585 jobs at 102 employers (2026 Q1); +6.4% jobs and +0.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 2nd pct · 3,131st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 20th pct · 45th of 56 Montana counties · median 2,560
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wheatland County, MT | 585 jobs · $854/wk · +6.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 94 | $793 | 22.25 | +5.6% |
| Retail trade | 89 | $462 | 1.56 | +32.8% |
| Health care and social assistance | 65 | $1,179 | 0.74 | +0.0% |
| Manufacturing | 23 | $1,052 | 0.49 | -28.1% |
| Construction | 21 | $1,116 | 0.68 | +16.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 13 | $1,073 | 0.53 | +0.0% |
| Unclassified | 13 | $202 | 10.44 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 8 | $427 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | 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 #
D1 moderate 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 100 % · 5 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Musselshell River at Harlowton MT | flow 36.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 8 km |
| Musselshell River nr Shawmut MT | flow 90.0 ft³/s · STALE | 28 km |
| Musselshell River nr Martinsdale, MT | flow 25.5 ft³/s | 30 km |
| Musselshell River at Martinsdale Supply Canal | observation not current | 35 km |
| South Fork Musselshell River at Martinsdale, MT | flow 10.1 ft³/s · STALE | 35 km |
| Musselshell River ab Mud Cr nr Shawmut MT | flow 34.4 ft³/s · no flooding | 36 km |
| South Fork Musselshell above Martinsdale | observation not current | 40 km |
| Sweet Grass Creek at Tronrud Bridge near Melville | no readings | 42 km |
| Dugout Creek at mouth, nr Wilsall, MT | flow 5.53 ft³/s · STALE | 53 km |
| Judith River above Carr Creek near Utica MT | flow 8.79 ft³/s | 53 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 #
1 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 1, 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-462745110174601 | depth 7.16 ft · 2012-08-19 | 34 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 (0.16)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$53.8 m in deposits at 1 offices of 1 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 10,000, highly concentrated. $17.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $14.3 m, grants $3.4 m), $30,354 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $53.8 m · 100.0% share · 1 office | |
| Wheatland, MT | $17.8 m FY2026 · $30,354/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $13.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $53,762,000 | 100.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 10,000 across 1 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 1 banks with deposits in the county = 100.0² = 10,000
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 | $11,216,018 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,356,378 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $1,424,404 |
| Department of Agriculture | $911,345 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $762,005 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $51,443 |
| Department of Education | $35,588 |
That is $30,354 per covered job, against 585 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $17.8 m / 585 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $30,354
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 | 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 | -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 #
Wheatland County, MT: 10 findings, 10 noted
noteWheatland County, MT's covered employment was 6.4% 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
- +6.4 % = 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
noteWheatland County, MT's average weekly wage was 0.7% 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
- +0.7 % = 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
noteWheatland County, MT's typical home value rose 0.5% from $183,152 in July 2026 to $184,034 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (184033.78329500882 - 183151.51981922597) / 183151.51981922597 × 100
- 184033.78329500882 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 183151.51981922597 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteWheatland County, MT's covered employment of 585 ranks 3,131st of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 3 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteWheatland County, MT's typical home value of +10.6% ranks 102nd of 3,063 US counties, against a median of +2.9%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 97 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3063 US counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 10 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.