Jones County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.03, -77.36.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 8th pct · 2,791st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 6th pct · 94th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 11th pct · 2,715th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 8th pct · 92nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- North Carolina counties: not published this period
- 12th pct · 2,808th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 4th pct · 96th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 59th pct · 1,290th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 72nd pct · 28th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 7th pct · 2,842nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 3rd pct · 97th 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 $129,671 (Aug 2026), -1.7% over one year, +15.8% over five
- 8th pct · 2,791st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 6th pct · 94th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jones County, NC | $129,671 · -1.7% 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 $710 a month on $129,671 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,710 a month: 15.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $129,671 × 80% = $103,737, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $710/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,087 × 52 / 12 = $4,710) = 15% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $129,671 / ($1,087 × 52) = 2.3
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 #
1,638 jobs at 184 employers (2026 Q1); +3.3% jobs and +9.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 12th pct · 2,808th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 4th pct · 96th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jones County, NC | 1,638 jobs · $1,087/wk · +3.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 132 | $895 | 1.54 | -8.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 113 | $1,075 | 1.21 | +253.1% |
| Retail trade | 111 | $527 | 0.70 | -17.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 73 | $302 | 0.50 | -7.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 58 | $912 | 0.84 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 50 | $1,288 | 0.44 | +42.9% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | 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 #
D1 moderate drought
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 #
2 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 2, 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 MATTAMUSKEET W OF NC HWY 94 NR FAIRFIELD, NC | 1.88 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 113 km |
| LAKE MATTAMUSKEET E OF NC HWY 94 NR FAIRFIELD, NC | 1.82 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 119 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 #
44 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 75 % · 31 stale
Sites found: 44, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| NEW RIVER BELOW HWY17 BRIDGE AT JACKSONVILLE, NC | flow -118.0 ft³/s · quality 75 % (4) · STALE | 32 km |
| TRENT RIVER NEAR TRENTON, NC | flow 29.1 ft³/s | 10 km |
| TRENT R AT POLLOCKSVILLE, NC | flow 446.0 ft³/s | 13 km |
| NEW RIVER NEAR GUM BRANCH, NC | flow 8.26 ft³/s | 25 km |
| W. P. BRICE CREEK BELOW SR1101 NEAR RIVERDALE, NC | flow 15.0 ft³/s · STALE | 29 km |
| SWIFT CREEK AT HWY 43 NR STREETS FERRY, NC | flow 285.0 ft³/s | 31 km |
| NEUSE RIVER NEAR FORT BARNWELL, NC | flow 243.0 ft³/s | 32 km |
| NEUSE RIVER AT KINSTON, NC | flow 346.0 ft³/s | 33 km |
| LIMESTONE CREEK AT NC 24 NEAR HADLEY, NC | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 33 km |
| SWIFT CREEK NEAR VANCEBORO, NC | flow 645.0 ft³/s · STALE | 38 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 #
26 wells in 3 named aquifers: Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, Castle Hayne aquifer, Surficial aquifer system
Sites found: 26, 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-345809077301408 | depth 9.97 ft · 2026-10-05 | 15 km |
| Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system | depth 21.4 ft · 2011-01-23 | 33 km |
| Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system | depth 17.1 ft · 2011-01-22 | 33 km |
| Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system | depth 3.58 ft · 2011-02-23 | 34 km |
| Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system | depth 19.7 ft · 2011-02-23 | 34 km |
| Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system | depth 5.73 ft · 2011-02-23 | 34 km |
| USGS-351937077284211 | depth 10.5 ft · 2009-12-09 | 35 km |
| Castle Hayne aquifer | depth 11.5 ft · 2011-02-22 | 35 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 #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.25 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
FDIC publishes no Summary of Deposits rows for this county. $102.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $98.9 m, contracts $2.4 m), $62,629 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| county 37103, NC | $102.6 m FY2026 · $62,629/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $94.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
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 | $56,338,568 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $38,631,296 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,813,991 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $2,084,883 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,102,973 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $280,717 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $203,420 |
| Department of Defense | $90,366 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $40,951 |
| Department of Justice | -$643 |
That is $62,629 per covered job, against 1,638 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $102.6 m / 1,638 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $62,629
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 #
Jones County, NC: 12 findings, 1 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchJones County, NC's typical home value is -1.7% 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 = -1.7116380033695207 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteJones County, NC's average weekly wage was 9.4% 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
- +9.4 % = 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
noteJones County, NC's covered employment was 3.3% 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
- +3.3 % = 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
noteJones County, NC's typical home value fell 0.5% from $130,352 in July 2026 to $129,671 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.5% = (129671.3136102417 - 130352.3134026198) / 130352.3134026198 × 100
- 129671.3136102417 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 130352.3134026198 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteJones County, NC's years of wages of 2.3 ranks 97th of 100 North Carolina counties, against a median of 5.0.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 3 on the 0-to-100 scale across 100 North Carolina counties that published yearsOfWages
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
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.