Gates County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.44, -76.70.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 56th pct · 1,321st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 41st pct · 59th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 0th pct · 18th of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro · median $389,478
- 97th pct · 70th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 100th pct · 1st of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 100th pct · 1st of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro · median +2.7%
- US counties: not published this period
- North Carolina counties: not published this period
- counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro: not published this period
- 11th pct · 2,865th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 3rd pct · 97th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 5th pct · 17th of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro · median 18,007
- 12th pct · 2,834th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 3rd pct · 97th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 0th pct · 18th of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro · median $1,158
- 75th pct · 745th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 61st pct · 39th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- 35th pct · 12th of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro · median 6.8
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 $254,115 (Aug 2026), +11.6% over one year, +46.2% over five
- 56th pct · 1,321st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 41st pct · 59th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 0th pct · 18th of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro · median $389,478
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Gates County, NC | $254,115 · +11.6% 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro: 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 $1,391 a month on $254,115 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,696 a month: 37.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $254,115 × 80% = $203,292, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,391/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $853 × 52 / 12 = $3,696) = 38% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $254,115 / ($853 × 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 #
1,463 jobs at 191 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and +4.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 11th pct · 2,865th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 3rd pct · 97th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 5th pct · 17th of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro · median 18,007
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Gates County, NC | 1,463 jobs · $853/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 190 | $833 | 17.98 | -5.0% |
| Retail trade | 178 | $660 | 1.25 | +0.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 45 | $941 | 0.45 | +9.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 33 | $1,190 | 0.40 | +37.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 18 | $1,254 | 0.32 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Educational services | withheld | |||
| Health care and social assistance | 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 #
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 #
$41.1 m in deposits at 1 offices of 1 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 10,000, highly concentrated. $88.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $77.8 m, grants $10.6 m), $60,467 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Bank and Trust Company | $41.1 m · 100.0% share · 1 office | |
| Gates, NC | $88.5 m FY2026 · $60,467/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $75.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Bank and Trust Company | $41,069,000 | 100.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 10,000 across 1 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 1 banks with deposits in the county = 100.0² = 10,000
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 | $62,324,616 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $13,333,314 |
| Department of Transportation | $9,237,808 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,861,599 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,394,305 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $271,565 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $39,775 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $60,467 per covered job, against 1,463 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $88.5 m / 1,463 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $60,467
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 #
Gates County, NC: 15 findings, 1 at a watch level and 14 noted
watchGates County, NC's covered employment is -0.1% 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 = -0.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteGates County, NC's average weekly wage was 4.8% 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
- +4.8 % = 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
noteGates County, NC's typical home value rose 1.2% from $251,107 in July 2026 to $254,115 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.2% = (254115.4778162219 - 251106.50393334415) / 251106.50393334415 × 100
- 254115.4778162219 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 251106.50393334415 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteGates County, NC's covered employment was 0.1% 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
- -0.1 % = 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
noteGates County, NC's typical home value of $254,115 ranks 18th of 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro, against a median of $389,478.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 0 on the 0-to-100 scale across 18 counties in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 12 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.