Stokes County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.39, -80.27.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 59th pct · 1,236th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 45th pct · 55th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 25th pct · 4th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median $275,792
- 88th pct · 354th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 96th pct · 4th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 100th pct · 1st of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median +3.4%
- 30th pct · 976th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 17th pct · 52nd of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- counties in the Winston-Salem metro: only 3 of counties in the Winston-Salem metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
- 50th pct · 1,591st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 71st of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median 14,902
- 16th pct · 2,697th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 5th pct · 95th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median $1,016
- 75th pct · 754th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 60th pct · 40th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- 75th pct · 2nd of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median 5.2
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 $262,439 (Aug 2026), +7.5% over one year, +32.7% over five
- 59th pct · 1,236th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 45th pct · 55th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 25th pct · 4th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median $275,792
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Stokes County, NC | $262,439 · +7.5% 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 $1,295/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 16.9
- 30th pct · 976th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 17th pct · 52nd of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- counties in the Winston-Salem metro: only 3 of counties in the Winston-Salem metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Stokes County, NC | $1,295/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 $1,437 a month on $262,439 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,826 a month: 37.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $262,439 × 80% = $209,951, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,437/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $883 × 52 / 12 = $3,826) = 38% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $262,439 / ($883 × 52) = 5.7
- price-to-rent = $262,439 / ($1,295 × 12) = 16.9
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 #
8,371 jobs at 901 employers (2026 Q1); +9.8% jobs and +10.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 50th pct · 1,591st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 71st of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median 14,902
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Stokes County, NC | 8,371 jobs · $883/wk · +9.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 1,363 | $611 | 1.67 | +1.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,120 | $371 | 1.49 | +0.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 932 | $858 | 0.74 | -6.9% |
| Manufacturing | 770 | $1,088 | 1.14 | +12.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 639 | $937 | 1.34 | +133.2% |
| Construction | 504 | $1,169 | 1.15 | +21.7% |
| Other services | 228 | $811 | 0.91 | +4.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 124 | $1,331 | 0.36 | +1.6% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 98 | $1,114 | 0.71 | +10.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 92 | $2,024 | 0.29 | +33.3% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 88 | $862 | 1.46 | +51.7% |
| Educational services | 33 | $303 | 0.18 | +94.1% |
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 #
6 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 6, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR RADFORD, VA | 231.0 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 81 km |
| W. KERR SCOTT RESERVOIR AT DAM NR WILKESBORO, NC | 30.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 91 km |
| HYCO LAKE AT DAM NR ROXBORO, NC | 8.00 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 110 km |
| AFTERBAY RESERVOIR AT DAM NR MCGEHEES MILL, NC | 364.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 115 km |
| B. EVERETT JORDAN LAKE AT DAM NR MONCURE, NC | 213.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 136 km |
| BEAVERDAM CREEK AT DAM NEAR CREEDMOOR, NC | 248.5 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 148 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 #
74 gauges · 0 flooding · 3 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 14 stale
Sites found: 74, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| DAN RIVER NEAR FRANCISCO, NC | flow 48.8 ft³/s · no flooding | 14 km |
| LITTLE YADKIN RIVER AT DALTON, NC | flow 6.91 ft³/s | 17 km |
| Little Yadkin River near Dalton | no flooding | 18 km |
| DAN RIVER AT PINE HALL, NC | flow 142.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 21 km |
| SOUTH MAYO RIVER NEAR NETTLERIDGE, VA | flow 33.8 ft³/s · no flooding | 23 km |
| ARARAT RIVER AT ARARAT, NC | flow 134.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 26 km |
| YADKIN RIVER AT SILOAM, NC | flow 1,060 ft³/s · STALE | 29 km |
| MAYO RIVER NEAR PRICE, NC | flow 105.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 29 km |
| Muddy Creek at Robinhood Rd | no flooding | 31 km |
| Ararat River at Mt Airy | no flooding | 32 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-361307080293101 | depth 15.1 ft · 2014-02-17 | 28 km |
| USGS-361011079595401 | depth 20.3 ft · 2024-02-25 | 35 km |
| USGS-364732080070301 | depth 24.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 46 km |
| USGS-362231079410801 | depth 25.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 52 km |
| USGS-355359080331701 | depth 19.0 ft · 2026-10-05 | 61 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 #
$496.5 m in deposits at 6 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,490, highly concentrated. $343.9 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $339.4 m, grants $4.4 m), $41,082 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $178.7 m · 36.0% share · 2 offices | |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $128.3 m · 25.8% share · 1 office | |
| Truist Bank | $83.4 m · 16.8% share · 1 office | |
| Stokes, NC | $343.9 m FY2026 · $41,082/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $336.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $178,679,000 | 36.0% | 2 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $128,271,000 | 25.8% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $83,442,000 | 16.8% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $67,417,000 | 13.6% | 1 |
| First Horizon Bank | $38,678,000 | 7.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,490 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 36.0² + 25.8² + 16.8² + … (2 more) = 2,490
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 | $301,396,726 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $33,997,737 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,471,078 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,869,730 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $778,666 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $366,757 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $90,909 |
| Department of Defense | $19,565 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$93,263 |
That is $41,082 per covered job, against 8,371 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $343.9 m / 8,371 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $41,082
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 #
Stokes County, NC: 16 findings, 16 noted
noteStokes County, NC's average weekly wage was 10.7% 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
- +10.7 % = 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
noteStokes County, NC's covered employment was 9.8% 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
- +9.8 % = 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
notetypical asking rent (rent.latest) and typical asking rent (rent.momPct) for Stokes County, NC could not be lined up against the previous published period this run, so no change is printed for them.
Show the arithmetic
- not comparable this run: rent.latest, rent.momPct
the two newest month columns in the published file are not the two this table carries
noteStokes County, NC's typical home value of +7.5% ranks 1st of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro, against a median of +3.4%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteStokes County, NC's average weekly wage of $883 ranks 5th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro, against a median of $1,016.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 0 on the 0-to-100 scale across 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro that published jobs.avgWeeklyWage
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.