Hamilton County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.87, -98.02.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 70th pct · 915th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 87th pct · 12th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- 84th pct · 471st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 76th pct · 22nd of 89 Nebraska counties · median +4.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Nebraska counties: not published this period
- 29th pct · 2,259th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 68th pct · 30th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- 66th pct · 1,091st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 82nd pct · 17th of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- 67th pct · 998th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 78th pct · 20th 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 $302,468 (Aug 2026), +6.7% over one year, +38.9% over five
- 70th pct · 915th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 87th pct · 12th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, NE | $302,468 · +6.7% 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 $1,656 a month on $302,468 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,858 a month: 34.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $302,468 × 80% = $241,975, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,656/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,121 × 52 / 12 = $4,858) = 34% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $302,468 / ($1,121 × 52) = 5.2
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 #
3,731 jobs at 377 employers (2026 Q1); -5.4% jobs and +4.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 29th pct · 2,259th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 68th pct · 30th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, NE | 3,731 jobs · $1,121/wk · -5.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 599 | $1,404 | 2.00 | -3.2% |
| Retail trade | 374 | $708 | 1.03 | -7.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 349 | $1,467 | 2.44 | -6.9% |
| Construction | 258 | $1,269 | 1.32 | +0.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 228 | $1,537 | 1.45 | -4.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 228 | $343 | 0.68 | -15.2% |
| Information | 165 | $1,457 | 2.40 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 133 | $1,698 | 0.87 | +9.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 125 | $873 | 4.64 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 98 | $1,042 | 0.38 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 94 | $884 | 0.84 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 60 | $403 | 0.98 | -3.2% |
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 #
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 #
$516.1 m in deposits at 11 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,785, highly concentrated. $70.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $70.1 m, grants $500,914), $18,936 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Bank | $232.5 m · 45.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Cornerstone Bank | $110.0 m · 21.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Heritage Bank | $58.5 m · 11.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Hamilton, NE | $70.7 m FY2026 · $18,936/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $59.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Bank | $232,461,000 | 45.0% | 2 |
| Cornerstone Bank | $109,954,000 | 21.3% | 3 |
| Heritage Bank | $58,546,000 | 11.3% | 3 |
| Heartland Bank | $47,922,000 | 9.3% | 1 |
| First State Bank | $39,773,000 | 7.7% | 1 |
| Henderson State Bank | $27,489,000 | 5.3% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,785 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 45.0² + 21.3² + 11.3² + … (3 more) = 2,785
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 | $52,596,046 |
| Department of Agriculture | $10,577,619 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $6,276,070 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $583,363 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $198,035 |
| Department of Transportation | $181,630 |
| Department of Education | $120,091 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $90,414 |
| Department of Defense | $27,038 |
That is $18,936 per covered job, against 3,731 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $70.7 m / 3,731 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $18,936
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 #
Hamilton County, NE: 8 findings, 1 at an alert level, 2 at a watch level and 5 noted
alertHamilton County, NE's covered employment is -5.4% 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 = -5.4 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchHamilton County, NE's covered employment is -5.4% 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 = -5.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchHamilton County, NE's covered employment of 3,731 scores 30 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 68 across Nebraska counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |30 across US counties - 68 across Nebraska counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteHamilton County, NE's covered employment was 5.4% 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
- -5.4 % = 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
noteHamilton County, NE's average weekly wage was 4.2% 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
- +4.2 % = 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
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.