Rock County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.39, -99.42.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 12th pct · 2,678th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 5th pct · 84th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- 49th pct · 1,536th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 38th pct · 55th of 89 Nebraska counties · median +4.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Nebraska counties: not published this period
- 2nd pct · 3,156th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 15th pct · 79th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- 34th pct · 2,093rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 51st pct · 46th of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- 15th pct · 2,584th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 4th pct · 85th 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 $141,726 (Aug 2026), +2.9% over one year, n/a over five
- 12th pct · 2,678th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 5th pct · 84th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rock County, NE | $141,726 · +2.9% 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 $776 a month on $141,726 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,208 a month: 18.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $141,726 × 80% = $113,381, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $776/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $971 × 52 / 12 = $4,208) = 18% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $141,726 / ($971 × 52) = 2.8
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 #
496 jobs at 67 employers (2026 Q1); +13.8% jobs and +2.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 2nd pct · 3,156th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 15th pct · 79th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rock County, NE | 496 jobs · $971/wk · +13.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale trade | 63 | $1,926 | 3.32 | +14.5% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 62 | $805 | 17.31 | +106.7% |
| Retail trade | 48 | $551 | 0.99 | +17.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 14 | $1,546 | 0.69 | -12.5% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Information | withheld | |||
| Professional and technical services | withheld | |||
| Health care and social assistance | withheld | |||
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 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 #
20 gauges · 0 flooding · 4 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 11 stale
Sites found: 20, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Willow Creek at Atwood Rd nr Carns, Nebr. | flow 1.57 ft³/s · STALE | 36 km |
| Long Pine Creek near Riverview, Nebr. | flow 151.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 39 km |
| USGS-423323099520101 | flow 7.58 ft³/s · STALE | 41 km |
| ELKHORN RIVER NR ATKINSON, NE | flow 35.0 ft³/s · no flooding · STALE | 43 km |
| Niobrara River at Mariaville | no flooding | 43 km |
| Niobrara River at Mariaville, Nebr. | flow 938.0 ft³/s | 44 km |
| USGS-424722099200801 | flow 2.44 ft³/s · STALE | 44 km |
| USGS-423754099522201 | flow 19.0 ft³/s · STALE | 45 km |
| CALAMUS RIVER NR HARROP, NE | flow 241.0 ft³/s · no flooding · STALE | 50 km |
| USGS-415630099513601 | temp 13.6 °C · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 62 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 #
7 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 7, 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-423307099494501 | depth 32.4 ft · 1994-11-01 | 38 km |
| USGS-422849099521503 | depth 8.23 ft · 2024-11-04 | 38 km |
| USGS-423730098560001 | depth 33.9 ft · 2024-02-20 | 47 km |
| USGS-424837099425201 | depth 80.8 ft · 1999-09-01 | 52 km |
| USGS-421210098402001 | depth 0.00 ft · 2024-01-25 | 65 km |
| USGS-414637099224701 | depth 7.64 ft · 2017-10-23 | 69 km |
| USGS-415108099493401 | depth 105.3 ft · 2002-03-12 | 69 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 (0.16)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$89.5 m in deposits at 2 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,004, highly concentrated. $8.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $8.4 m, grants $4,142), $16,914 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Tri-County Bank | $46.1 m · 51.5% share · 1 office | |
| Sandhills State Bank | $43.4 m · 48.5% share · 1 office | |
| Rock, NE | $8.4 m FY2026 · $16,914/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $8.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Tri-County Bank | $46,073,000 | 51.5% | 1 |
| Sandhills State Bank | $43,435,000 | 48.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 5,004 across 2 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 2 banks with deposits in the county = 51.5² + 48.5² = 5,004
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 | $7,662,575 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $382,137 |
| Department of Agriculture | $173,633 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $167,104 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $85,657 |
| Department of Education | $23,355 |
| Department of Transportation | -$104,870 |
That is $16,914 per covered job, against 496 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $8.4 m / 496 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,914
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 #
Rock County, NE: 9 findings, 9 noted
noteRock County, NE's covered employment was 13.8% 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
- +13.8 % = 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
noteRock County, NE's average weekly wage was 2.0% 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 % = 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
noteRock County, NE's typical home value rose 0.3% from $141,354 in July 2026 to $141,726 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (141725.74827200174 - 141354.17265674775) / 141354.17265674775 × 100
- 141725.74827200174 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 141354.17265674775 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteRock County, NE's covered employment of +13.8% ranks 33rd of 3,221 US counties, against a median of -0.2%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 99 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
noteRock County, NE's covered employment of 496 ranks 3,156th of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 2 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.