Robeson County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.64, -79.10.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 11th pct · 2,713th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 9th pct · 91st of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 33rd pct · 2,043rd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 56th pct · 44th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 19th pct · 1,123rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 11th pct · 56th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- 80th pct · 631st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 72nd pct · 28th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 16th pct · 2,690th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 6th pct · 93rd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 19th pct · 2,459th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 12th pct · 88th 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 $137,785 (Aug 2026), +1.5% over one year, +26.3% over five
- 11th pct · 2,713th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 9th pct · 91st of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Robeson County, NC | $137,785 · +1.5% 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 $1,168/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 9.8
- 19th pct · 1,123rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 11th pct · 56th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Robeson County, NC | $1,168/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 $754 a month on $137,785 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,835 a month: 19.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $137,785 × 80% = $110,228, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $754/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $885 × 52 / 12 = $3,835) = 20% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $137,785 / ($885 × 52) = 3.0
- price-to-rent = $137,785 / ($1,168 × 12) = 9.8
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 #
37,378 jobs at 2,074 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and -0.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 80th pct · 631st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 72nd pct · 28th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Robeson County, NC | 37,378 jobs · $885/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 7,717 | $867 | 1.37 | +3.7% |
| Manufacturing | 6,307 | $1,032 | 2.10 | -1.0% |
| Retail trade | 4,763 | $615 | 1.31 | -2.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,342 | $354 | 1.00 | -2.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,499 | $690 | 0.71 | +3.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 954 | $1,166 | 0.67 | +5.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 854 | $1,036 | 0.54 | +7.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 773 | $1,212 | 0.51 | -1.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 566 | $1,150 | 0.22 | -4.2% |
| Other services | 457 | $837 | 0.41 | -3.4% |
| Real estate and rental | 204 | $849 | 0.36 | -30.8% |
| Utilities | 171 | $2,387 | 1.16 | +4.3% |
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 #
D2 severe 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 #
1 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 1, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| B. EVERETT JORDAN LAKE AT DAM NR MONCURE, NC | 213.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 113 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 #
43 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 12 stale
Sites found: 43, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LUMBER RIVER AT LUMBERTON, NC | flow 301.0 ft³/s | 9 km |
| LUMBER RIVER AT STATE HIGHWAY 710 NR PEMBROKE, NC | stage 3.24 ft · STALE | 13 km |
| LUMBER RIVER AT BOARDMAN, NC | flow 201.0 ft³/s | 25 km |
| BIG SWAMP NR TAR HEEL, NC | flow 122.0 ft³/s | 25 km |
| BIG SHOE HEEL CREEK NR LAURINBURG, NC | flow 35.2 ft³/s | 29 km |
| CAPE FEAR R AT WILM O HUSKE LOCK NR TARHEEL, NC | flow 1,120 ft³/s | 33 km |
| LITTLE PEE DEE RIVER NEAR DILLON, SC | flow 92.1 ft³/s | 34 km |
| LUMBER RIVER AT FAIR BLUFF, NC | stage 58.7 ft · STALE | 37 km |
| USGS-342346079261500 | stage 84.5 ft · STALE | 41 km |
| ROCKFISH CREEK AT RAEFORD, NC | flow 51.7 ft³/s | 41 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 #
13 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 13, 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-344544079263701 | depth 22.0 ft · 2026-10-05 | 34 km |
| USGS-344520079281001 | depth 15.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 36 km |
| USGS-341949079171304 | depth 5.40 ft · 2026-10-05 | 38 km |
| USGS-345812079313401 | depth 32.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 54 km |
| USGS-343715079411500 | depth 3.94 ft · 2009-12-02 | 54 km |
| USGS-342935079431000 | depth 30.2 ft · 2004-12-19 | 59 km |
| USGS-341144079345001 | depth 44.9 ft · 2009-11-12 | 66 km |
| USGS-351020079282801 | depth 66.7 ft · 2015-03-10 | 68 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 (0.32)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.5 bn in deposits at 24 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,491, highly concentrated. $979.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $785.2 m, grants $161.2 m), $26,201 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lumbee Guaranty Bank | $445.7 m · 30.7% share · 11 offices | |
| First Bank | $430.5 m · 29.6% share · 4 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $349.7 m · 24.1% share · 4 offices | |
| Robeson, NC | $979.3 m FY2026 · $26,201/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $729.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumbee Guaranty Bank | $445,730,000 | 30.7% | 11 |
| First Bank | $430,463,000 | 29.6% | 4 |
| Truist Bank | $349,749,000 | 24.1% | 4 |
| United Bank | $115,106,000 | 7.9% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $78,861,000 | 5.4% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $25,785,000 | 1.8% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $7,990,000 | 0.5% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 2,491 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 30.7² + 29.6² + 24.1² + … (4 more) = 2,491
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 | $574,802,415 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $153,203,484 |
| Department of Agriculture | $89,856,733 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $54,405,863 |
| Department of Transportation | $35,954,088 |
| Department of Education | $33,272,148 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $29,019,092 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $5,133,514 |
| National Science Foundation | $2,093,787 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,259,206 |
| Department of Justice | $830,000 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $26,201 per covered job, against 37,378 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $979.3 m / 37,378 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,201
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 #
Robeson County, NC: 12 findings, 2 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchRobeson County, NC's average weekly wage is -0.7% 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 = -0.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchRobeson 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
noteRobeson County, NC's typical asking rent rose 1.6% from $1,149 in July 2026 to $1,168 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.6% = (1168.3333333333333 - 1149.3916244994728) / 1149.3916244994728 × 100
- 1168.3333333333333 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1149.3916244994728 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteRobeson County, NC's average weekly wage was 0.7% 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
- -0.7 % = 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
noteRobeson County, NC's typical home value rose 0.6% from $136,992 in July 2026 to $137,785 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (137784.97156751342 - 136992.25396546166) / 136992.25396546166 × 100
- 137784.97156751342 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 136992.25396546166 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
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.