Red Willow County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.17, -100.47.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 26th pct · 2,263rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 22nd pct · 69th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- 30th pct · 2,124th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 23rd pct · 68th of 89 Nebraska counties · median +4.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Nebraska counties: not published this period
- 36th pct · 2,045th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 77th pct · 22nd of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- 28th pct · 2,298th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 45th pct · 51st of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- 33rd pct · 2,044th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 26th pct · 66th 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 $175,579 (Aug 2026), +1.2% over one year, +18.1% over five
- 26th pct · 2,263rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 22nd pct · 69th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Red Willow County, NE | $175,579 · +1.2% 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 $961 a month on $175,579 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,099 a month: 23.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $175,579 × 80% = $140,463, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $961/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $946 × 52 / 12 = $4,099) = 23% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $175,579 / ($946 × 52) = 3.6
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 #
4,874 jobs at 433 employers (2026 Q1); -0.2% jobs and +2.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 36th pct · 2,045th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 77th pct · 22nd of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Red Willow County, NE | 4,874 jobs · $946/wk · -0.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 719 | $650 | 1.51 | -3.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 543 | $402 | 1.24 | +2.5% |
| Manufacturing | 339 | $1,324 | 0.86 | -6.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 282 | $1,291 | 1.51 | -2.8% |
| Construction | 228 | $1,021 | 0.89 | +6.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 203 | $1,551 | 1.02 | +1.5% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 171 | $808 | 4.86 | -1.2% |
| Other services | 152 | $487 | 1.04 | +8.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 115 | $993 | 0.34 | -7.3% |
| Information | 63 | $611 | 0.70 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 29 | $306 | 0.36 | +11.5% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 21 | $1,301 | 1.21 | -22.2% |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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. | 170,000 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 107 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 #
24 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 14 stale
Sites found: 24, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Red Willow Creek near Red Willow, Nebr. | flow 2.95 ft³/s | 8 km |
| Republican River at McCook, Nebr. | flow 1.42 ft³/s | 13 km |
| Driftwood Creek near McCook, Nebr. | flow 1.07 ft³/s | 18 km |
| BEAVER C AT CEDAR BLUFFS, KS | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 22 km |
| RED WILLOW CREEK NEAR MCCOOK, NEBR. | flow 4.70 ft³/s · STALE | 25 km |
| Republican River at Cambridge, Nebr. | flow 22.2 ft³/s · STALE | 30 km |
| MEDICINE CREEK BELOW HARRY STRUNK LAKE, NEBR. | flow 77.0 ft³/s · STALE | 31 km |
| Frenchman Creek at Culbertson, Nebr. | flow 12.9 ft³/s | 36 km |
| RED WILLOW CREEK ABOVE HUGH BUTLER LAKE, NEBR. | flow 27.0 ft³/s · STALE | 37 km |
| MEDICINE CREEK ABOVE HARRY STRUNK LAKE, NE | flow 59.0 ft³/s · STALE | 39 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-402101099595001 | depth 133.3 ft · 2001-03-17 | 45 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 (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$637.0 m in deposits at 10 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,908, highly concentrated. $82.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $81.2 m, contracts $529,265), $16,816 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| MNB BANK | $302.9 m · 47.6% share · 2 offices | |
| Pinnacle Bank | $119.8 m · 18.8% share · 1 office | |
| First Central Bank McCook | $95.9 m · 15.1% share · 1 office | |
| Red Willow, NE | $82.0 m FY2026 · $16,816/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $67.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNB BANK | $302,941,000 | 47.6% | 2 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $119,758,000 | 18.8% | 1 |
| First Central Bank McCook | $95,895,000 | 15.1% | 1 |
| Horizon Bank | $29,955,000 | 4.7% | 1 |
| Adams Bank & Trust | $28,134,000 | 4.4% | 1 |
| Lincoln FSB of Nebraska | $21,749,000 | 3.4% | 1 |
| Stockmens Bank | $18,555,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
| Security First Bank | $10,047,000 | 1.6% | 1 |
| Henderson State Bank | $10,013,000 | 1.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,908 across 9 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 9 banks with deposits in the county = 47.6² + 18.8² + 15.1² + … (6 more) = 2,908
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 | $53,974,579 |
| Department of Agriculture | $9,677,068 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $7,696,762 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $5,741,528 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,594,949 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $687,632 |
| Department of the Interior | $529,265 |
| Department of Education | $33,680 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $26,918 |
That is $16,816 per covered job, against 4,874 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $82.0 m / 4,874 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,816
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 #
Red Willow County, NE: 5 findings, 2 at a watch level and 3 noted
watchRed Willow County, NE's covered employment is -0.2% 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 = -0.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchRed Willow County, NE's covered employment of 4,874 scores 37 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 77 across Nebraska counties, a gap of 41 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 41 = |37 across US counties - 77 across Nebraska counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteRed Willow County, NE's average weekly wage was 2.6% 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
- +2.6 % = 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
noteRed Willow County, NE's covered employment was 0.2% 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
- -0.2 % = 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Red Willow 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.