Alexander County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.92, -81.18.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 61st pct · 1,179th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 48th pct · 52nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 85th pct · 445th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 94th pct · 6th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- North Carolina counties: not published this period
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 51st pct · 1,555th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 31st pct · 69th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 21st pct · 2,515th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 19th pct · 81st of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 74th pct · 780th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 58th pct · 42nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 $268,905 (Aug 2026), +6.9% over one year, +32.6% over five
- 61st pct · 1,179th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 48th pct · 52nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander County, NC | $268,905 · +6.9% 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
- North Carolina counties: not published this period
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 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 $1,472 a month on $268,905 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,961 a month: 37.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $268,905 × 80% = $215,124, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,472/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $914 × 52 / 12 = $3,961) = 37% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $268,905 / ($914 × 52) = 5.7
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 #
8,703 jobs at 720 employers (2026 Q1); +1.4% jobs and +2.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 51st pct · 1,555th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 31st pct · 69th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander County, NC | 8,703 jobs · $914/wk · +1.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3,004 | $983 | 4.29 | +0.8% |
| Retail trade | 750 | $575 | 0.88 | +1.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 589 | $309 | 0.75 | +3.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 341 | $626 | 0.69 | +6.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 256 | $1,032 | 0.70 | -4.1% |
| Other services | 226 | $694 | 0.87 | -5.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 212 | $1,390 | 0.64 | +7.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 175 | $1,073 | 0.49 | -3.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 111 | $276 | 0.77 | +19.4% |
| Real estate and rental | 50 | $820 | 0.37 | +78.6% |
| Utilities | 33 | $1,458 | 0.96 | +37.5% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 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 #
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 #
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 |
|---|---|---|
| W. KERR SCOTT RESERVOIR AT DAM NR WILKESBORO, NC | 30.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 24 km |
| GASTON SHOALS RESERVOIR ABOVE BLACKSBURG, SC | 79.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 95 km |
| NINETYNINE ISLAND RES. BELOW CHEROKEE FALLS, SC | 99.3 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 km |
| LAKE BLALOCK NEAR COWPENS, SC | 710.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 115 km |
| LAKE WILLIAM C. BOWEN NEAR FINGERVILLE, SC | 815.4 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 119 km |
| LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR RADFORD, VA | 231.0 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 140 km |
| NEAL SHOALS RESERVOIR NEAR CARLISLE, SC | 333.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 142 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 #
82 gauges · 0 flooding · 7 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 11 stale
Sites found: 82, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LOWER LITTLE RIVER NR ALL HEALING SPRINGS, NC | flow 16.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 6 km |
| CATAWBA RIVER AT NC HIGHWAY 16 NR MILLERSVILLE, NC | flow 151.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) · no flooding | 11 km |
| MIDDLE LITTLE R AT MORETZ DAM NR BETHLEHEM, NC | flow 26.3 ft³/s | 13 km |
| UPPER LITTLE R AT SR1740 AT PETRA MILLS, NC | flow 21.9 ft³/s | 19 km |
| CATAWBA RIVER BL LOOKOUT SHOALS DAM NR SHARON, NC | flow 838.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) · no flooding | 20 km |
| Lyle Creek at Section House Rd 2 NW Conover | no flooding | 22 km |
| YADKIN RIVER BL W KERR SCOTT DAM NEAR BUCK, NC | flow 309.0 ft³/s | 24 km |
| Moravian Creek at Wilkesboro | no flooding | 25 km |
| YADKIN RIVER AT WILKESBORO, NC | flow 412.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 26 km |
| ELK CREEK AT ELKVILLE, NC | flow 32.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 26 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 #
16 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 16, 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-354616081085101 | depth 41.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 17 km |
| USGS-354616081085102 | depth 41.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 17 km |
| USGS-355031081243203 | depth 23.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 23 km |
| USGS-355031081243202 | depth 9.79 ft · 2026-10-05 | 23 km |
| USGS-353135080524202 | depth 22.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 51 km |
| USGS-353135080524203 | depth 29.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 51 km |
| USGS-353135080524201 | depth 22.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 52 km |
| USGS-354302081433201 | depth 9.00 ft · 2026-10-05 | 54 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 #
$440.4 m in deposits at 6 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,277, highly concentrated. $243.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $240.8 m, grants $2.2 m), $27,931 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Taylorsville Savings Bank, SSB | $215.1 m · 48.8% share · 3 offices | |
| First Community Bank | $89.6 m · 20.4% share · 1 office | |
| Peoples Bank | $73.3 m · 16.6% share · 1 office | |
| Alexander, NC | $243.1 m FY2026 · $27,931/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $238.1 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylorsville Savings Bank, SSB | $215,067,000 | 48.8% | 3 |
| First Community Bank | $89,635,000 | 20.4% | 1 |
| Peoples Bank | $73,278,000 | 16.6% | 1 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $62,398,000 | 14.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,277 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 = 48.8² + 20.4² + 16.6² + … (1 more) = 3,277
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 | $213,607,552 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $23,929,841 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,449,288 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,851,900 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $664,198 |
| Appalachian Regional Commission | $255,938 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $159,487 |
| Department of State | $70,973 |
| Department of Transportation | $56,277 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $37,764 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $27,931 per covered job, against 8,703 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $243.1 m / 8,703 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,931
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 #
Alexander County, NC: 5 findings, 5 noted
noteAlexander County, NC'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
noteAlexander County, NC's covered employment was 1.4% 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
- +1.4 % = 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
noteAlexander County, NC's typical home value rose 0.4% from $267,727 in July 2026 to $268,905 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.4% = (268904.63962431654 - 267727.1192313319) / 267727.1192313319 × 100
- 268904.63962431654 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 267727.1192313319 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteAlexander County, NC's typical home value of +6.9% ranks 6th of 100 North Carolina counties, against a median of +1.1%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 95 on the 0-to-100 scale across 100 North Carolina counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Alexander County, NC 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.