Chase County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.53, -101.69.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 46th pct · 1,651st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 55th pct · 40th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- 92nd pct · 228th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 92nd pct · 8th of 89 Nebraska counties · median +4.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Nebraska counties: not published this period
- 12th pct · 2,803rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 54th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- 41st pct · 1,886th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 58th pct · 39th of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- 50th pct · 1,509th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 56th pct · 39th of 89 Nebraska counties · median 4.1
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 $225,046 (Aug 2026), +8.6% over one year, +20.5% over five
- 46th pct · 1,651st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 55th pct · 40th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chase County, NE | $225,046 · +8.6% 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
- Nebraska 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 $1,232 a month on $225,046 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,338 a month: 28.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $225,046 × 80% = $180,037, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,232/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,001 × 52 / 12 = $4,338) = 28% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $225,046 / ($1,001 × 52) = 4.3
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 #
1,654 jobs at 223 employers (2026 Q1); -3.7% jobs and +1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 12th pct · 2,803rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 42nd pct · 54th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chase County, NE | 1,654 jobs · $1,001/wk · -3.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 291 | $1,040 | 24.36 | -4.9% |
| Retail trade | 214 | $542 | 1.33 | +0.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 197 | $1,406 | 3.11 | -1.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 82 | $1,917 | 1.22 | +0.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 80 | $671 | 0.32 | -10.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 33 | $883 | 0.29 | -19.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 7 | $866 | 0.28 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Information | 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 #
16 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 4 stale
Sites found: 16, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| FRENCHMAN CREEK NEAR IMPERIAL, NEBR. | flow 19.0 ft³/s · STALE | 12 km |
| FRENCHMAN CREEK NEAR ENDERS, NEBR. | flow 5.00 ft³/s · STALE | 20 km |
| STINKING WATER CREEK NEAR PALISADE, NEBR. | flow 15.0 ft³/s · no flooding · STALE | 52 km |
| Frenchman Creek at Palisade, Nebr. | flow 10.5 ft³/s · no flooding | 52 km |
| Rock Creek at Parks, Nebr. | flow 4.96 ft³/s · no flooding | 54 km |
| Buffalo Creek near Haigler, Nebr. | flow 0.70 ft³/s · no flooding | 57 km |
| Republican River at Benkelman, Nebr. | flow 7.54 ft³/s · no flooding | 57 km |
| Republican River at Stratton, Nebr. | flow 0.07 ft³/s · no flooding | 58 km |
| South Fork Republican River near Benkelman, Nebr. | flow 0.00 ft³/s · no flooding | 59 km |
| North Fork Republican River at Colorado-Nebraska | flow 21.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 60 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 #
15 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 15, 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-403235101395501 | depth 110.9 ft · 2016-11-27 | 3 km |
| USGS-403543101443201 | depth 73.6 ft · 2000-12-04 | 8 km |
| USGS-403516101560601 | depth 117.3 ft · 2016-11-27 | 21 km |
| USGS-402757101591201 | depth 84.2 ft · 2016-11-27 | 26 km |
| USGS-404620101433401 | depth 192.7 ft · 2016-11-28 | 27 km |
| USGS-401703101394801 | depth 84.6 ft · 2016-11-27 | 27 km |
| USGS-404706101282201 | depth 95.3 ft · 2016-11-28 | 34 km |
| USGS-401401101510701 | depth 91.9 ft · 2016-11-27 | 36 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 (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$344.6 m in deposits at 4 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,688, highly concentrated. $32.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $32.3 m, contracts $184,422), $19,737 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Bank | $162.7 m · 47.2% share · 1 office | |
| Adams Bank & Trust | $125.3 m · 36.3% share · 1 office | |
| Sandhills State Bank | $31.1 m · 9.0% share · 1 office | |
| Chase, NE | $32.6 m FY2026 · $19,737/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $20.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Bank | $162,734,000 | 47.2% | 1 |
| Adams Bank & Trust | $125,250,000 | 36.3% | 1 |
| Sandhills State Bank | $31,141,000 | 9.0% | 1 |
| Waypoint Bank | $25,458,000 | 7.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,688 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 = 47.2² + 36.3² + 9.0² + … (1 more) = 3,688
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 | $18,754,721 |
| Department of Agriculture | $11,826,494 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $1,779,424 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $122,946 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $90,044 |
| Department of Education | $69,841 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,970 |
| Department of Transportation | $183 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $19,737 per covered job, against 1,654 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $32.6 m / 1,654 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $19,737
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 #
Chase County, NE: 9 findings, 1 at an alert level, 1 at a watch level and 7 noted
alertChase County, NE's covered employment is -3.7% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, 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 = -3.7 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchChase County, NE's covered employment is -3.7% 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 = -3.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteChase County, NE's covered employment was 3.7% lower 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
- -3.7 % = 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
noteChase County, NE's average weekly wage was 1.2% 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
- +1.2 % = 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
noteChase County, NE's typical home value fell 0.3% from $225,790 in July 2026 to $225,046 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (225046.1374496408 - 225789.9743892255) / 225789.9743892255 × 100
- 225046.1374496408 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 225789.9743892255 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 9 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.