Graham County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.35, -83.83.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 46th pct · 1,633rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 27th pct · 73rd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 32nd pct · 2,076th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 53rd pct · 47th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- North Carolina counties: not published this period
- 15th pct · 2,730th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 5th pct · 95th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 33rd pct · 2,145th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 39th pct · 59th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 54th pct · 1,384th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 39th pct · 61st 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 $226,333 (Aug 2026), +1.3% over one year, +30.3% over five
- 46th pct · 1,633rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 27th pct · 73rd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Graham County, NC | $226,333 · +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 $1,239 a month on $226,333 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,182 a month: 29.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $226,333 × 80% = $181,066, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,239/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $965 × 52 / 12 = $4,182) = 30% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $226,333 / ($965 × 52) = 4.5
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 #
1,898 jobs at 215 employers (2026 Q1); -2.7% jobs and +1.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 15th pct · 2,730th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 5th pct · 95th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Graham County, NC | 1,898 jobs · $965/wk · -2.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 414 | $1,321 | 4.16 | -4.2% |
| Retail trade | 242 | $523 | 1.31 | +16.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 185 | $723 | 0.65 | -3.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 91 | $1,071 | 0.84 | +51.7% |
| Finance and insurance | 64 | $1,261 | 0.83 | +0.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 18 | $1,123 | 0.23 | +20.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 8 | $954 | 0.27 | -20.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Information | 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 #
5 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 5, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LAKE LOGAN AT DAM NEAR HAZELWOOD, NC | 52.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 83 km |
| CARTERS LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 1,072 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 112 km |
| CARTERS RE-REGULATION LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 38.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 114 km |
| HARTWELL LAKE NEAR ANDERSON, SC | 649.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 129 km |
| LAKE SIDNEY LANIER NEAR BUFORD, GA | 1,064 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 134 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 #
118 gauges · 0 flooding · 7 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 21 stale
Sites found: 118, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tulula Creek at Robbinsville | out of service | 4 km |
| Cheoah river above SANTEETLAH DAM | no flooding | 6 km |
| Snowbird Creek near Milltown | out of service | 8 km |
| Little Tennessee River at FONTANA DAM TVA | no flooding | 12 km |
| CHEOAH RIVER NR BEARPEN GAP NR TAPOCO, NC | flow 92.8 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 13 km |
| Little Tennessee River at Cheoah Dam | no flooding | 15 km |
| Valley River at Andrews | no readings | 16 km |
| NANTAHALA RIVER NEAR HEWITT, NC | flow 67.4 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| Queen Creek at QUEENS CREEK DAM | no flooding | 18 km |
| Little Tennessee River above Calderwood Dam | no readings | 21 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 #
5 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 5, 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-351121083545002 | depth 6.78 ft · 2026-10-05 | 19 km |
| USGS-351117083545001 | depth 27.7 ft · 2009-10-04 | 19 km |
| USGS-352519083272401 | depth 5.05 ft · 2009-10-06 | 37 km |
| USGS-353922083345600 | depth 9.24 ft · 2026-10-05 | 41 km |
| USGS-344314083433201 | depth 6.23 ft · 2026-10-05 | 70 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 #
$193.4 m in deposits at 2 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,762, highly concentrated. $101.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $53.7 m, grants $47.3 m), $53,514 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $134.5 m · 69.5% share · 1 office | |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $59.0 m · 30.5% share · 1 office | |
| Graham, NC | $101.6 m FY2026 · $53,514/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $53.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $134,453,000 | 69.5% | 1 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $58,955,000 | 30.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 5,762 across 2 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 2 banks with deposits in the county = 69.5² + 30.5² = 5,762
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 | $47,319,108 |
| Department of Transportation | $46,479,773 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $5,954,789 |
| Department of Education | $852,935 |
| Department of Agriculture | $631,880 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $156,190 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $74,769 |
| Small Business Administration | $71,213 |
| Department of the Interior | $21,500 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $7,663 |
That is $53,514 per covered job, against 1,898 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $101.6 m / 1,898 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $53,514
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 | 12.28 | 2026-10-04 | -0.1% |
| 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 #
Graham County, NC: 9 findings, 1 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchGraham County, NC's covered employment is -2.7% 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 = -2.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteGraham County, NC's covered employment was 2.7% 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
- -2.7 % = 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
noteGraham County, NC's average weekly wage was 1.7% 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
- +1.7 % = 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
noteGraham County, NC's typical home value rose 0.3% from $225,645 in July 2026 to $226,333 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (226332.5186976935 - 225645.24001310507) / 225645.24001310507 × 100
- 226332.5186976935 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 225645.24001310507 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteGraham County, NC's covered employment of 1,898 ranks 95th of 100 North Carolina counties, against a median of 16,739.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 5 on the 0-to-100 scale across 100 North Carolina counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.