Cleveland County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.33, -81.56.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 41st pct · 1,790th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 24th pct · 76th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 20th pct · 2,426th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 26th pct · 74th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 19th pct · 1,133rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 9th pct · 57th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- 79th pct · 649th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 71st pct · 29th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 54th pct · 1,459th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 67th pct · 33rd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 40th pct · 1,815th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 25th pct · 75th 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 $212,662 (Aug 2026), -0.0% over one year, +11.1% over five
- 41st pct · 1,790th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 24th pct · 76th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland County, NC | $212,662 · -0.0% 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 $1,160/mo (Aug 2026), +2.7% over one year; price-to-rent 15.3
- 19th pct · 1,133rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 9th pct · 57th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland County, NC | $1,160/mo · +2.7% 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 $1,164 a month on $212,662 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,593 a month: 25.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $212,662 × 80% = $170,130, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,164/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,060 × 52 / 12 = $4,593) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $212,662 / ($1,060 × 52) = 3.9
- price-to-rent = $212,662 / ($1,160 × 12) = 15.3
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 #
35,878 jobs at 2,269 employers (2026 Q1); +0.5% jobs and +1.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 79th pct · 649th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 71st pct · 29th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland County, NC | 35,878 jobs · $1,060/wk · +0.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5,742 | $1,413 | 1.99 | -7.1% |
| Retail trade | 4,363 | $676 | 1.25 | +5.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,205 | $847 | 0.59 | -1.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,171 | $371 | 0.98 | +3.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,936 | $985 | 1.28 | -6.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,585 | $756 | 0.78 | -6.2% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 957 | $934 | 1.62 | +24.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 763 | $1,463 | 0.31 | +0.0% |
| Educational services | 751 | $714 | 0.97 | -1.8% |
| Other services | 598 | $761 | 0.56 | -6.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 458 | $1,340 | 0.31 | +2.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 340 | $1,034 | 0.62 | +5.9% |
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 #
$1.4 bn in deposits at 17 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,207, highly concentrated. $709.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $684.5 m, grants $19.3 m), $19,770 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bank OZK | $555.9 m · 38.7% share · 7 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $277.1 m · 19.3% share · 2 offices | |
| The Fidelity Bank | $165.6 m · 11.5% share · 1 office | |
| Cleveland, NC | $709.3 m FY2026 · $19,770/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank OZK | $555,909,000 | 38.7% | 7 |
| Truist Bank | $277,057,000 | 19.3% | 2 |
| The Fidelity Bank | $165,600,000 | 11.5% | 1 |
| Commercial Bank | $111,939,000 | 7.8% | 2 |
| HomeTrust Bank | $101,901,000 | 7.1% | 1 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $97,571,000 | 6.8% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $90,050,000 | 6.3% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $28,975,000 | 2.0% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $6,337,000 | 0.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,207 across 9 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 9 banks with deposits in the county = 38.7² + 19.3² + 11.5² + … (6 more) = 2,207
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 #
That is $19,770 per covered job, against 35,878 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $709.3 m / 35,878 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $19,770
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 #
Cleveland County, NC: 8 findings, 2 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchCleveland County, NC's typical asking rent is -1.2% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; 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: rent.momPct = -1.2425277791960978 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchCleveland County, NC's typical home value is -0.0% 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 = -0.017607943902332453 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteCleveland County, NC's typical asking rent fell 1.2% from $1,175 in July 2026 to $1,160 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -1.2% = (1160.3581603581604 - 1174.9573315969537) / 1174.9573315969537 × 100
- 1160.3581603581604 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1174.9573315969537 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteCleveland County, NC's average weekly wage was 1.0% 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
- +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
noteCleveland County, NC's covered employment was 0.5% 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
- +0.5 % = 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 8 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.