McDowell County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.68, -82.05.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 58th pct · 1,283rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 56th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 9th pct · 2,785th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 4th pct · 96th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 40th pct · 826th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 29th pct · 45th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- 64th pct · 1,136th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 45th pct · 55th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 26th pct · 2,370th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 28th pct · 72nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 68th pct · 956th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 54th pct · 46th 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 $257,025 (Aug 2026), -2.4% over one year, +10.3% over five
- 58th pct · 1,283rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 56th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| McDowell County, NC | $257,025 · -2.4% 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 $1,395/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 15.3
- 40th pct · 826th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 29th pct · 45th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| McDowell County, NC | $1,395/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 $1,407 a month on $257,025 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,056 a month: 34.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $257,025 × 80% = $205,620, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,407/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $936 × 52 / 12 = $4,056) = 35% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $257,025 / ($936 × 52) = 5.3
- price-to-rent = $257,025 / ($1,395 × 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 #
15,112 jobs at 969 employers (2026 Q1); -0.8% jobs and -2.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 64th pct · 1,136th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 45th pct · 55th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| McDowell County, NC | 15,112 jobs · $936/wk · -0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4,668 | $1,151 | 3.84 | -7.8% |
| Retail trade | 2,293 | $606 | 1.56 | +2.5% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,611 | $936 | 0.71 | +5.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,191 | $402 | 0.88 | +6.4% |
| Construction | 662 | $1,086 | 0.84 | -4.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 647 | $726 | 0.75 | +9.5% |
| Other services | 442 | $788 | 0.98 | +2.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 186 | $1,240 | 0.32 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 173 | $1,256 | 0.28 | +6.1% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 98 | $988 | 1.82 | +5.4% |
| Real estate and rental | 77 | $668 | 0.33 | +2.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 74 | $558 | 0.30 | +4.2% |
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.
Water #
Banks & federal dollars #
$384.9 m in deposits at 3 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,591, highly concentrated. $404.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $314.8 m, grants $103.2 m), $26,782 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Bank | $162.6 m · 42.2% share · 1 office | |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $143.2 m · 37.2% share · 1 office | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $79.1 m · 20.5% share · 1 office | |
| McDowell, NC | $404.7 m FY2026 · $26,782/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $310.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Bank | $162,589,000 | 42.2% | 1 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $143,214,000 | 37.2% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $79,085,000 | 20.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,591 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 42.2² + 37.2² + 20.5² = 3,591
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 | $270,291,990 |
| Department of Transportation | $120,641,328 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $38,411,602 |
| Department of Education | $8,338,830 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,798,121 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,742,782 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,494,990 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,134,865 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $522,786 |
| Department of Justice | $476,250 |
| Small Business Administration | -$17,386 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$474,686 |
That is $26,782 per covered job, against 15,112 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $404.7 m / 15,112 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,782
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 | 3.00 | 2026-10-06 | -50.0% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| 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 #
McDowell County, NC: 16 findings, 5 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchMcDowell County, NC's typical home value is -2.4% 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 = -2.3649852862666316 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchMcDowell County, NC's average weekly wage is -2.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.avgWeeklyWage = -2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchMcDowell County, NC's typical asking rent is -1.8% 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 = -1.823842493092427 <= -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
watchMcDowell County, NC's covered employment is -0.8% 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 = -0.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchMcDowell County, NC's momentum index is -0.28, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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: momentum = -0.27562693167215563 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, 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.