Howard County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 41.22, -98.51.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 65th pct · 1,058th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 81st pct · 17th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 69th pct · 926th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 59th pct · 37th of 89 Nebraska counties · median +4.0%
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Nebraska counties: not published this period
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 11th pct · 2,835th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 36th pct · 59th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 10th pct · 2,878th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 15th pct · 78th of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 83rd pct · 504th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 93rd pct · 7th of 89 Nebraska counties · median 4.1
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $283,521 (Aug 2026), +4.7% over one year, +29.0% over five
- 65th pct · 1,058th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 81st pct · 17th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howard County, NE | $283,521 · +4.7% 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
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $1,552 a month on $283,521 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,653 a month: 42.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $283,521 × 80% = $226,817, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,552/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $843 × 52 / 12 = $3,653) = 42% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $283,521 / ($843 × 52) = 6.5
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 #
1,543 jobs at 223 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and +1.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 11th pct · 2,835th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 36th pct · 59th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- counties in the Grand Island metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Grand Island metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Howard County, NE | 1,543 jobs · $843/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 193 | $509 | 1.28 | -6.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 168 | $686 | 0.72 | +6.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 113 | $873 | 1.91 | -4.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 72 | $967 | 1.15 | -5.3% |
| Other services | 64 | $693 | 1.39 | +0.0% |
| Construction | 50 | $789 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 27 | $895 | 0.25 | -6.9% |
| Manufacturing | 21 | $396 | 0.17 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | 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 #
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Harlan County Lake Near Republican City, Nebr. | 170,100 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 140 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 #
23 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 83 % · 11 stale
Sites found: 23, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Middle Loup River at Saint Paul, Nebr. | flow 1,290 ft³/s | 6 km |
| North Loup River near Saint Paul, Nebr. | flow 922.0 ft³/s | 7 km |
| TURKEY CREEK NEAR DANNEBROG, NE | flow 8.20 ft³/s · STALE | 8 km |
| PRAIRIE CREEK NEAR OVINA, NE | flow 2.60 ft³/s · STALE | 27 km |
| South Loup River at Saint Michael, Nebr. | flow 175.0 ft³/s · quality 83 % (3) | 28 km |
| SILVER CREEK AT OVINA, NE | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 29 km |
| Warm Slough near Central City, Nebr. | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 39 km |
| MIRA CREEK NR NORTH LOUP, NE | flow 1.10 ft³/s · STALE | 40 km |
| Wood River at Grand Island, Nebr. | flow 2.90 ft³/s | 40 km |
| WOOD RIVER NEAR ALDA, NEBR. | flow 0.53 ft³/s · STALE | 41 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 #
19 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 19, 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-410102098374201 | depth 73.3 ft · 2026-10-05 | 24 km |
| USGS-410156098442601 | depth 9.41 ft · 2026-10-05 | 28 km |
| USGS-405855098383001 | depth 107.3 ft · 2026-10-05 | 28 km |
| USGS-410618098113401 | depth 11.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 30 km |
| USGS-405632098373501 | depth 35.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 32 km |
| USGS-405315098304302 | depth 23.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 37 km |
| USGS-405503098441802 | depth 133.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 38 km |
| USGS-405503098441801 | depth 131.4 ft · 2024-10-09 | 38 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 (0.06)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.17 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$171.9 m in deposits at 4 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,940, highly concentrated. $46.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $46.6 m, loans $2,717), $29,873 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $97.9 m · 57.0% share · 1 office | |
| Homestead Bank | $36.9 m · 21.5% share · 1 office | |
| Boelus State Bank | $20.6 m · 12.0% share · 1 office | |
| Howard, NE | $46.1 m FY2026 · $29,873/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $39.1 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $97,888,000 | 57.0% | 1 |
| Homestead Bank | $36,888,000 | 21.5% | 1 |
| Boelus State Bank | $20,607,000 | 12.0% | 1 |
| Heritage Bank | $16,491,000 | 9.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,940 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 = 57.0² + 21.5² + 12.0² + … (1 more) = 3,940
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 | $32,942,007 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,126,060 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $5,690,754 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $600,691 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $469,869 |
| Department of Education | $19,110 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $5,281 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $0 |
| Department of Transportation | -$759,719 |
That is $29,873 per covered job, against 1,543 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $46.1 m / 1,543 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $29,873
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 #
Howard County, NE: 6 findings, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchHoward County, NE'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
noteHoward County, NE's average weekly wage was 1.6% 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
- +1.6 % = 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
noteHoward County, NE's typical home value rose 0.5% from $282,092 in July 2026 to $283,521 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (283521.11804628297 - 282092.05969785043) / 282092.05969785043 × 100
- 283521.11804628297 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 282092.05969785043 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteHoward County, NE's covered employment was 0.1% 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
- -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
noteHoward County, NE's years of wages of 6.5 ranks 7th of 89 Nebraska counties, against a median of 4.1.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across 89 Nebraska counties that published yearsOfWages
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 6 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.