Saline County, NE
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.52, -97.13.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 42nd pct · 1,753rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 48th pct · 46th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
- 37th pct · 1,909th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 26th pct · 66th of 89 Nebraska counties · median +4.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Nebraska counties: not published this period
- 44th pct · 1,794th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 82nd pct · 17th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
- 68th pct · 1,001st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 85th pct · 14th of 93 Nebraska counties · median $970
- 35th pct · 1,975th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 28th pct · 64th 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 $216,218 (Aug 2026), +1.8% over one year, +37.6% over five
- 42nd pct · 1,753rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 48th pct · 46th of 89 Nebraska counties · median $218,486
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Saline County, NE | $216,218 · +1.8% 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 $1,184 a month on $216,218 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,940 a month: 24.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $216,218 × 80% = $172,974, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,184/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,140 × 52 / 12 = $4,940) = 24% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $216,218 / ($1,140 × 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 #
6,501 jobs at 371 employers (2026 Q1); -3.2% jobs and +4.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 44th pct · 1,794th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 82nd pct · 17th of 93 Nebraska counties · median 2,151
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Saline County, NE | 6,501 jobs · $1,140/wk · -3.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2,602 | $1,432 | 4.98 | -3.2% |
| Retail trade | 559 | $686 | 0.88 | +0.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 289 | $353 | 0.49 | +10.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 196 | $1,441 | 0.79 | +10.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 164 | $1,285 | 0.60 | -3.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 154 | $1,339 | 0.58 | -3.8% |
| Construction | 118 | $977 | 0.35 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 105 | $670 | 0.54 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 68 | $849 | 1.45 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 57 | $305 | 0.53 | +7.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 54 | $1,711 | 0.15 | -67.7% |
| Real estate and rental | 18 | $954 | 0.18 | +12.5% |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| TUTTLE C LK NR MANHATTAN, KS | 586,400 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 147 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 #
31 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 9 stale
Sites found: 31, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| TURKEY CREEK NEAR WILBER, NEBR. | flow 21.0 ft³/s · STALE | 11 km |
| Big Blue River near Crete, Nebr. | flow 2,100 ft³/s | 17 km |
| West Fork Big Blue River near Dorchester, Nebr. | flow 1,180 ft³/s | 24 km |
| Turkey Creek near DeWitt, Nebr. | flow 3,820 ft³/s | 26 km |
| OLIVE BRANCH NR HALLAM, NE | flow 0.95 ft³/s · STALE | 30 km |
| Cub Creek near Beatrice, Nebr. | turb. 6.40 FNU · quality 100 % (4) · STALE | 36 km |
| BIG SANDY CR AT ALEXANDRIA, NE | flow 21.0 ft³/s · STALE | 38 km |
| Haines Branch at SW 56th St at Lincoln, Nebr. | flow 14.5 ft³/s | 40 km |
| LITTLE BLUE RIVER NEAR ALEXANDRIA (GILEAD), NEBR | flow 76.0 ft³/s · STALE | 41 km |
| Little Blue River near Fairbury, Nebr. | flow 1,760 ft³/s | 42 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 #
13 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 13, 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-403753096581001 | depth 14.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 19 km |
| USGS-403400096435501 | depth 144.1 ft · 2001-10-03 | 34 km |
| USGS-405212097110003 | depth 71.4 ft · 2009-03-15 | 42 km |
| USGS-405340097094503 | depth 81.5 ft · 2013-08-16 | 42 km |
| USGS-405420097114003 | depth 91.5 ft · 2009-03-15 | 44 km |
| USGS-403223096360601 | depth 96.2 ft · 2001-10-03 | 45 km |
| USGS-404724096402201 | depth 52.1 ft · 1998-12-30 | 49 km |
| USGS-404737096403101 | depth 46.1 ft · 1998-12-31 | 49 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 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$612.7 m in deposits at 13 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,811, highly concentrated. $90.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $83.4 m, grants $3.6 m), $13,837 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First State Bank Nebraska | $180.8 m · 29.5% share · 4 offices | |
| Pinnacle Bank | $125.9 m · 20.6% share · 1 office | |
| City Bank & Trust Co. | $100.9 m · 16.5% share · 1 office | |
| Saline, NE | $90.0 m FY2026 · $13,837/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $70.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First State Bank Nebraska | $180,847,000 | 29.5% | 4 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $125,934,000 | 20.6% | 1 |
| City Bank & Trust Co. | $100,946,000 | 16.5% | 1 |
| Citizens State Bank | $66,387,000 | 10.8% | 2 |
| Union Bank and Trust Company | $51,286,000 | 8.4% | 1 |
| Farmers and Merchants Bank | $32,732,000 | 5.3% | 1 |
| First Tri County Bank | $26,672,000 | 4.4% | 1 |
| First Interstate Bank | $15,857,000 | 2.6% | 1 |
| First Bank of Utica | $12,046,000 | 2.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,811 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 = 29.5² + 20.6² + 16.5² + … (6 more) = 1,811
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 | $62,322,296 |
| Department of Agriculture | $13,381,445 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $7,211,831 |
| Department of Education | $4,504,836 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,130,072 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $965,391 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $366,217 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $198,391 |
| Department of Transportation | -$126,690 |
That is $13,837 per covered job, against 6,501 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $90.0 m / 6,501 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,837
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 | 12.28 | 2026-10-04 | -0.1% |
| 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 #
Saline County, NE: 6 findings, 1 at an alert level, 2 at a watch level and 3 noted
alertSaline County, NE's covered employment is -3.2% 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 = -3.2 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchSaline County, NE's covered employment is -3.2% 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 = -3.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchSaline County, NE's covered employment of 6,501 scores 44 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 83 across Nebraska counties, a gap of 38 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 38 = |44 across US counties - 83 across Nebraska counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteSaline County, NE's average weekly wage was 4.4% 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
- +4.4 % = 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
noteSaline County, NE's covered employment was 3.2% 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
- -3.2 % = 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 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.