Alleghany County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.49, -81.13.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 61st pct · 1,165th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 49th pct · 51st of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 31st pct · 2,101st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 51st pct · 49th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- North Carolina counties: not published this period
- 26th pct · 2,375th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 89th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 15th pct · 2,710th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 4th pct · 96th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 77th pct · 675th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 68th pct · 32nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
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 $270,459 (Aug 2026), +1.3% over one year, +28.3% over five
- 61st pct · 1,165th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 49th pct · 51st of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County, NC | $270,459 · +1.3% 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
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 $1,480 a month on $270,459 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,813 a month: 38.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $270,459 × 80% = $216,367, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,480/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $880 × 52 / 12 = $3,813) = 39% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $270,459 / ($880 × 52) = 5.9
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 #
3,219 jobs at 338 employers (2026 Q1); -0.5% jobs and -8.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 26th pct · 2,375th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 89th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County, NC | 3,219 jobs · $880/wk · -0.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 679 | $934 | 2.62 | -4.5% |
| Health care and social assistance | 435 | $889 | 0.90 | +3.1% |
| Retail trade | 295 | $612 | 0.94 | -5.8% |
| Construction | 213 | $865 | 1.26 | +0.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 178 | $310 | 0.62 | -2.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 169 | $840 | 3.19 | +14.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 92 | $1,289 | 0.41 | +4.5% |
| Other services | 70 | $508 | 0.73 | +1.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 47 | $1,797 | 0.36 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 35 | $711 | 0.19 | -36.4% |
| Information | 24 | $708 | 0.40 | +0.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 23 | $4,261 | 0.19 | -34.3% |
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 #
2 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 2, 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) | 40 km |
| LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR RADFORD, VA | 231.0 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 82 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 #
66 gauges · 0 flooding · 2 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 7 stale
Sites found: 66, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Little River near Sparta | no flooding | 5 km |
| Little River at NC18 near Blevins Crossroads | no flooding | 12 km |
| Little River near Peach Bottom, VA | no readings | 14 km |
| Peach Bottom Creek at Independence | no readings | 16 km |
| New River at Mouth of Wilson | no readings | 19 km |
| NEW RIVER NEAR GALAX, VA | flow 698.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 22 km |
| CHESTNUT CREEK AT GALAX, VA | flow 40.2 ft³/s · no flooding | 26 km |
| SOUTH FORK NEW RIVER NEAR JEFFERSON, NC | flow 165.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 27 km |
| ROARING RIVER NEAR ROARING RIVER, NC | flow 102.0 ft³/s · STALE | 28 km |
| Little Buffalo Creek near Jefferson | no flooding | 33 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 #
2 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 2, 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-361646081430401 | depth 29.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 57 km |
| USGS-361307080293101 | depth 15.1 ft · 2014-02-17 | 65 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 #
$275.8 m in deposits at 4 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,656, highly concentrated. $101.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $92.9 m, contracts $4.5 m), $31,570 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $89.8 m · 32.5% share · 1 office | |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $80.9 m · 29.3% share · 1 office | |
| SKYLINE NATIONAL BANK | $58.7 m · 21.3% share · 1 office | |
| Alleghany, NC | $101.6 m FY2026 · $31,570/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $90.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $89,776,000 | 32.5% | 1 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $80,896,000 | 29.3% | 1 |
| SKYLINE NATIONAL BANK | $58,737,000 | 21.3% | 1 |
| First Community Bank | $46,422,000 | 16.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,656 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 = 32.5² + 29.3² + 21.3² + … (1 more) = 2,656
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 | $80,884,584 |
| Department of Transportation | $12,213,435 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $9,388,032 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,423,337 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,180,491 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $212,596 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $169,069 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $168,812 |
| Department of Justice | $58,104 |
| Department of the Interior | $49,950 |
| Small Business Administration | $34,669 |
| Department of State | -$31,195 |
That is $31,570 per covered job, against 3,219 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $101.6 m / 3,219 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $31,570
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 | -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 #
Alleghany County, NC: 9 findings, 3 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchAlleghany County, NC's average weekly wage is -8.3% 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 = -8.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchAlleghany County, NC's covered employment is -0.5% 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 = -0.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchAlleghany County, NC's momentum index is -0.31, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: momentum = -0.3082080760896509 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteAlleghany County, NC's average weekly wage was 8.3% 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
- -8.3 % = 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
noteAlleghany County, NC's covered employment was 0.5% 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
- -0.5 % = 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 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.