Clay County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.52, -98.05.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 30th pct · 2,117th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 32nd pct · 60th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- 85th pct · 456th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 78th pct · 20th of 89 Nebraska counties · median +4.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Nebraska counties: not published this period
- 16th pct · 2,694th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 49th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- 33rd pct · 2,128th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 47th pct · 49th of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- 36th pct · 1,945th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 31st pct · 61st 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 $185,733 (Aug 2026), +6.8% over one year, +37.2% over five
- 30th pct · 2,117th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 32nd pct · 60th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clay County, NE | $185,733 · +6.8% 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 $1,017 a month on $185,733 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,190 a month: 24.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $185,733 × 80% = $148,587, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,017/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $967 × 52 / 12 = $4,190) = 24% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $185,733 / ($967 × 52) = 3.7
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 #
2,018 jobs at 254 employers (2026 Q1); +3.6% jobs and +0.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 16th pct · 2,694th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 49th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clay County, NE | 2,018 jobs · $967/wk · +3.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 204 | $1,109 | 1.93 | +2.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 178 | $641 | 0.59 | +2.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 171 | $1,065 | 2.21 | -2.3% |
| Retail trade | 170 | $641 | 0.86 | +11.8% |
| Manufacturing | 106 | $1,027 | 0.65 | +20.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 44 | $999 | 0.32 | +0.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 41 | $296 | 0.23 | +17.1% |
| Other services | 39 | $827 | 0.65 | -2.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 20 | $399 | 0.60 | +42.9% |
| Information | 12 | $1,403 | 0.32 | -14.3% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | 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 #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$242.7 m in deposits at 9 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 6,238, highly concentrated. $70.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $59.5 m, contracts $5.8 m), $35,023 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Bank | $186.5 m · 76.9% share · 6 offices | |
| Waypoint Bank | $41.6 m · 17.1% share · 2 offices | |
| Pinnacle Bank | $14.6 m · 6.0% share · 1 office | |
| Clay, NE | $70.7 m FY2026 · $35,023/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $38.1 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Bank | $186,516,000 | 76.9% | 6 |
| Waypoint Bank | $41,588,000 | 17.1% | 2 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $14,556,000 | 6.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 6,238 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 = 76.9² + 17.1² + 6.0² = 6,238
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 | $32,914,442 |
| Department of Agriculture | $27,162,090 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $4,548,491 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,448,437 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $654,591 |
| Department of Education | $478,624 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $293,535 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $176,281 |
That is $35,023 per covered job, against 2,018 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $70.7 m / 2,018 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $35,023
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 | -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 #
Clay County, NE: 5 findings, 1 at a watch level and 4 noted
watchClay County, NE's covered employment of 2,018 scores 16 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 48 across Nebraska counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |16 across US counties - 48 across Nebraska counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteClay County, NE's covered employment was 3.6% 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
- +3.6 % = 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
noteClay County, NE's average weekly wage was 0.1% 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
- +0.1 % = 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
noteClay County, NE's covered employment of +3.6% ranks 305th of 3,221 US counties, against a median of -0.2%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 90 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.yoy.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Clay County, NE 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.