Caldwell County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.97, -81.51.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 50th pct · 1,510th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 33rd pct · 67th 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.
- 33rd pct · 2,031st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 57th pct · 43rd 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.
- 24th pct · 1,054th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 14th pct · 54th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- 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.
- 75th pct · 792nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 37th 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.
- 50th pct · 1,600th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 66th pct · 34th 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.
- 51st pct · 1,476th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 35th pct · 65th 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 $236,355 (Aug 2026), +1.5% over one year, +25.7% over five
- 50th pct · 1,510th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 33rd pct · 67th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caldwell County, NC | $236,355 · +1.5% 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 $1,231/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 16.0
- 24th pct · 1,054th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 14th pct · 54th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caldwell County, NC | $1,231/mo · n/a 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 $1,294 a month on $236,355 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,507 a month: 28.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $236,355 × 80% = $189,084, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,294/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,040 × 52 / 12 = $4,507) = 29% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $236,355 / ($1,040 × 52) = 4.4
- price-to-rent = $236,355 / ($1,231 × 12) = 16.0
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 #
25,553 jobs at 1,658 employers (2026 Q1); +0.2% jobs and +2.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 75th pct · 792nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 37th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caldwell County, NC | 25,553 jobs · $1,040/wk · +0.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5,428 | $1,315 | 2.64 | -5.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,617 | $901 | 0.94 | +3.0% |
| Retail trade | 2,899 | $634 | 1.16 | +0.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 2,095 | $1,377 | 2.14 | +5.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,070 | $353 | 0.90 | +6.3% |
| Construction | 1,098 | $1,079 | 0.82 | -0.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 981 | $806 | 0.68 | -14.0% |
| Other services | 587 | $805 | 0.77 | +4.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 386 | $1,692 | 0.37 | +2.4% |
| Information | 277 | $4,136 | 0.59 | +6.9% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 178 | $549 | 0.42 | -16.0% |
| Educational services | 144 | $384 | 0.26 | -3.4% |
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 #
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 #
$972.9 m in deposits at 13 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,563, highly concentrated. $560.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $529.3 m, grants $27.3 m), $21,941 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $389.8 m · 40.1% share · 3 offices | |
| First Horizon Bank | $232.9 m · 23.9% share · 3 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $131.7 m · 13.5% share · 1 office | |
| Caldwell, NC | $560.6 m FY2026 · $21,941/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $517.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $389,847,000 | 40.1% | 3 |
| First Horizon Bank | $232,933,000 | 23.9% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $131,748,000 | 13.5% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $124,288,000 | 12.8% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $43,053,000 | 4.4% | 1 |
| SKYLINE NATIONAL BANK | $39,510,000 | 4.1% | 2 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $11,480,000 | 1.2% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 2,563 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 40.1² + 23.9² + 13.5² + … (4 more) = 2,563
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 | $457,837,955 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $58,458,652 |
| Department of Transportation | $24,902,681 |
| Department of Education | $7,932,437 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,073,956 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $3,044,791 |
| Department of Justice | $2,750,635 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $806,919 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $740,232 |
| Department of Defense | $306,779 |
| Department of State | $128,287 |
| Small Business Administration | $97,449 |
That is $21,941 per covered job, against 25,553 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $560.6 m / 25,553 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,941
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 #
Caldwell County, NC: 6 findings, 6 noted
noteCaldwell County, NC's average weekly wage was 2.2% 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
- +2.2 % = 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
noteCaldwell County, NC's typical asking rent rose 2.2% from $1,205 in July 2026 to $1,231 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +2.2% = (1230.9722222222224 - 1204.741818228293) / 1204.741818228293 × 100
- 1230.9722222222224 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1204.741818228293 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteCaldwell County, NC's typical home value fell 0.3% from $237,107 in July 2026 to $236,355 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (236354.65894558406 - 237106.87488497313) / 237106.87488497313 × 100
- 236354.65894558406 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 237106.87488497313 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteCaldwell County, NC's covered employment was 0.2% 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
- +0.2 % = 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Caldwell 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
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.