Avery County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.07, -81.92.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 83rd pct · 501st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 76th pct · 24th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 14th pct · 2,626th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 12th pct · 88th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- North Carolina counties: not published this period
- 46th pct · 1,722nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 25th pct · 75th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 19th pct · 2,580th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 13th pct · 86th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 93rd pct · 205th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 90th pct · 10th 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 $382,105 (Aug 2026), -1.1% over one year, +24.2% over five
- 83rd pct · 501st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 76th pct · 24th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Avery County, NC | $382,105 · -1.1% 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 $2,092 a month on $382,105 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,913 a month: 53.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $382,105 × 80% = $305,684, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,092/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $903 × 52 / 12 = $3,913) = 53% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $382,105 / ($903 × 52) = 8.1
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 #
7,165 jobs at 688 employers (2026 Q1); -7.1% jobs and +4.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 46th pct · 1,722nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 25th pct · 75th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Avery County, NC | 7,165 jobs · $903/wk · -7.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 1,046 | $513 | 1.62 | +8.5% |
| Retail trade | 871 | $603 | 1.25 | +0.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 751 | $763 | 6.37 | -23.2% |
| Construction | 576 | $998 | 1.53 | -6.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 292 | $937 | 0.72 | -51.3% |
| Other services | 191 | $866 | 0.89 | -7.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 104 | $984 | 0.38 | +5.1% |
| Real estate and rental | 103 | $1,044 | 0.94 | -24.3% |
| Manufacturing | 80 | $955 | 0.14 | +3.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 71 | $1,263 | 0.24 | -6.6% |
| Information | 21 | $1,097 | 0.16 | +23.5% |
| Unclassified | 0 | $0 | 0.00 | +0.0% |
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$412.6 m in deposits at 7 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,598, moderately concentrated. $136.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $116.0 m, grants $20.1 m), $19,004 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $98.8 m · 24.0% share · 1 office | |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $71.7 m · 17.4% share · 1 office | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $59.8 m · 14.5% share · 1 office | |
| Avery, NC | $136.2 m FY2026 · $19,004/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $111.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $98,836,000 | 24.0% | 1 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $71,732,000 | 17.4% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $59,794,000 | 14.5% | 1 |
| Bank of Tennessee | $56,551,000 | 13.7% | 1 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $54,152,000 | 13.1% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $39,484,000 | 9.6% | 1 |
| First Community Bank | $32,097,000 | 7.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,598 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 24.0² + 17.4² + 14.5² + … (4 more) = 1,598
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 | $98,434,317 |
| Department of Transportation | $20,057,099 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $12,799,640 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,534,426 |
| Department of Education | $2,136,600 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $169,486 |
| Department of Defense | $114,869 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $47,501 |
| Small Business Administration | -$132,164 |
That is $19,004 per covered job, against 7,165 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $136.2 m / 7,165 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $19,004
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 #
Avery County, NC: 10 findings, 1 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 6 noted
alertAvery County, NC's covered employment is -7.1% 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 = -7.1 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchAvery County, NC's covered employment is -7.1% 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 = -7.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchAvery County, NC's years of wages of 8.1 ranks 205th of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; 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: yearsOfWages percentile = 93.33768778576093 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchAvery County, NC's typical home value is -1.1% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -1.0999499061855655 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteAvery County, NC's covered employment was 7.1% 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
- -7.1 % = 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 10 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.