Cortland County, NY
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.59, -76.08.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 40th pct · 1,821st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 21st pct · 49th of 62 New York counties · median $256,722
- 83rd pct · 501st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 77th pct · 15th of 62 New York counties · median +5.7%
- 24th pct · 1,063rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 12th pct · 43rd of 49 New York counties · median $1,531
- 68th pct · 1,002nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 44th of 62 New York counties · median 32,139
- 57th pct · 1,373rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 12th pct · 54th of 62 New York counties · median $1,250
- 38th pct · 1,888th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 32nd pct · 42nd of 62 New York 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 $210,017 (Aug 2026), +6.5% over one year, +34.6% over five
- 40th pct · 1,821st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 21st pct · 49th of 62 New York counties · median $256,722
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cortland County, NY | $210,017 · +6.5% 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 #
Typical rent $1,221/mo (Aug 2026), +7.6% over one year; price-to-rent 14.3
- 24th pct · 1,063rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 12th pct · 43rd of 49 New York counties · median $1,531
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cortland County, NY | $1,221/mo · +7.6% 1-yr |
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 $1,150 a month on $210,017 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,654 a month: 24.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $210,017 × 80% = $168,013, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,150/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,074 × 52 / 12 = $4,654) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $210,017 / ($1,074 × 52) = 3.8
- price-to-rent = $210,017 / ($1,221 × 12) = 14.3
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 #
17,963 jobs at 1,104 employers (2026 Q1); +3.7% jobs and -0.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 68th pct · 1,002nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 44th of 62 New York counties · median 32,139
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cortland County, NY | 17,963 jobs · $1,074/wk · +3.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 2,836 | $1,176 | 1.05 | +16.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,352 | $470 | 1.46 | +8.6% |
| Manufacturing | 2,149 | $1,597 | 1.49 | +1.2% |
| Retail trade | 1,837 | $742 | 1.05 | -3.1% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 984 | $422 | 3.33 | +1.2% |
| Other services | 735 | $890 | 1.37 | -14.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 583 | $1,411 | 0.47 | -0.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 438 | $1,640 | 0.60 | +10.3% |
| Construction | 387 | $1,204 | 0.41 | +12.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 317 | $1,766 | 0.46 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 209 | $1,087 | 0.20 | +1.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 132 | $912 | 0.48 | -22.4% |
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 #
7 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 7, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stillwater Lake near Forest City, PA | 1,578 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 111 km |
| Cowanesque Lake at Lawrenceville, PA | 1,080 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 111 km |
| Tioga Lake at Tioga Dam at Tioga, PA | 1,082 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 117 km |
| Hammond Lake at Hammond Dam at Tioga, PA | 1,086 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 117 km |
| Aylesworth Creek Lake at Jermyn, PA | 1,108 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 127 km |
| Prompton Reservoir at Prompton, PA | 1,125 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 128 km |
| General Edgar Jadwin Reservoir near Honesdale, PA | 990.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 128 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 #
100 gauges · 0 flooding · 12 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 38 stale
Sites found: 100, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| TIOUGHNIOGA RIVER AT CORTLAND NY | flow 99.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 7 km |
| OTSELIC RIVER AT CINCINNATUS NY | flow 28.9 ft³/s · no flooding | 16 km |
| USGS-0423368620 | flow 30.0 ft³/s · STALE | 22 km |
| USGS-04235890 | flow 6.32 ft³/s | 23 km |
| USGS-04235820 | flow 0.11 ft³/s · STALE | 23 km |
| TIOUGHNIOGA RIVER AT LISLE NY | stage 0.62 ft · no flooding | 28 km |
| Otselic River at Whitney Point Dam | no flooding | 29 km |
| USGS-0424014980 | flow 0.04 ft³/s · STALE | 29 km |
| USGS-04237944 | flow 0.16 ft³/s · STALE | 29 km |
| USGS-04237946 | flow 8.00 ft³/s · STALE | 29 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 #
32 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 32, 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-423827076035901 | depth 7.94 ft · 2026-10-05 | 5 km |
| USGS-423322076143801 | depth 84.4 ft · 2026-10-05 | 14 km |
| USGS-424452076081902 | depth 5.49 ft · 2026-10-05 | 18 km |
| USGS-425102076081601 | depth 1.41 ft · 2023-04-23 | 29 km |
| USGS-425111076084101 | depth 2.72 ft · 2023-04-24 | 29 km |
| USGS-425119076080301 | depth 2.57 ft · 2023-04-24 | 29 km |
| USGS-425121076081401 | depth 4.48 ft · 2023-04-24 | 30 km |
| USGS-425132076081001 | depth 13.9 ft · 2023-04-24 | 30 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 #
$880.2 m in deposits at 11 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,304, highly concentrated. $265.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $250.6 m, grants $14.2 m), $14,751 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| NBT Bank, National Association | $405.7 m · 46.1% share · 4 offices | |
| KeyBank National Association | $273.3 m · 31.1% share · 3 offices | |
| Tompkins Community Bank | $96.0 m · 10.9% share · 1 office | |
| Cortland, NY | $265.0 m FY2026 · $14,751/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $245.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBT Bank, National Association | $405,709,000 | 46.1% | 4 |
| KeyBank National Association | $273,339,000 | 31.1% | 3 |
| Tompkins Community Bank | $96,016,000 | 10.9% | 1 |
| The First National Bank of Dryden | $83,371,000 | 9.5% | 2 |
| Chemung Canal Trust Company | $21,793,000 | 2.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,304 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 46.1² + 31.1² + 10.9² + … (2 more) = 3,304
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 | $228,002,201 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $17,037,522 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $6,377,443 |
| Department of Transportation | $5,317,587 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $4,292,139 |
| Department of Education | $2,196,955 |
| Department of Agriculture | $688,638 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $485,615 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $347,622 |
| Department of the Interior | $109,442 |
| Department of Defense | $98,510 |
| Department of the Treasury | $12,715 |
That is $14,751 per covered job, against 17,963 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $265.0 m / 17,963 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,751
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 #
Cortland County, NY: 12 findings, 3 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchCortland County, NY's average weekly wage is -0.6% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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.avgWeeklyWage = -0.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchCortland County, NY's average weekly wage of $1,074 scores 57 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 12 across New York counties, a gap of 45 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 45 = |57 across US counties - 12 across New York counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchCortland County, NY's covered employment of 17,963 scores 69 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 30 across New York counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |69 across US counties - 30 across New York counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteCortland County, NY's covered employment was 3.7% 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
- +3.7 % = 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
noteCortland County, NY's typical asking rent rose 0.9% from $1,211 in July 2026 to $1,221 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.9% = (1221.3756613756614 - 1210.5468003810286) / 1210.5468003810286 × 100
- 1221.3756613756614 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1210.5468003810286 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
Read all 12 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.