Union County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.99, -80.53.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 90th pct · 290th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 91st pct · 9th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 100th pct · 1st of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median $383,492
- 17th pct · 2,526th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 16th pct · 84th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 40th pct · 7th of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median -0.4%
- 87th pct · 169th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 95th pct · 4th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- 100th pct · 1st of 9 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median $1,701
- 88th pct · 361st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 86th pct · 14th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 50th pct · 6th of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median 79,207
- 87th pct · 415th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 93rd pct · 7th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 80th pct · 3rd of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median $1,230
- 83rd pct · 507th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 76th pct · 24th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- 90th pct · 2nd of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median 5.3
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 $449,902 (Aug 2026), -0.5% over one year, +23.9% over five
- 90th pct · 290th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 91st pct · 9th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- 100th pct · 1st of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median $383,492
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, NC | $449,902 · -0.5% 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 $2,115/mo (Aug 2026), +3.9% over one year; price-to-rent 17.7
- 87th pct · 169th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 95th pct · 4th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- 100th pct · 1st of 9 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median $1,701
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, NC | $2,115/mo · +3.9% 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 $2,463 a month on $449,902 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,807 a month: 42.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $449,902 × 80% = $359,921, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,463/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,340 × 52 / 12 = $5,807) = 42% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $449,902 / ($1,340 × 52) = 6.5
- price-to-rent = $449,902 / ($2,115 × 12) = 17.7
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 #
79,207 jobs at 8,335 employers (2026 Q1); +2.0% jobs and +3.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 88th pct · 361st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 86th pct · 14th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 50th pct · 6th of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro · median 79,207
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, NC | 79,207 jobs · $1,340/wk · +2.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 12,479 | $1,597 | 1.96 | +1.9% |
| Construction | 10,470 | $1,558 | 2.52 | +0.6% |
| Retail trade | 8,207 | $769 | 1.06 | -1.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 6,463 | $414 | 0.91 | +3.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 5,235 | $1,100 | 0.44 | +3.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,761 | $1,333 | 1.06 | +1.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 3,727 | $2,402 | 1.23 | +9.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 3,379 | $1,886 | 0.62 | +2.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,672 | $1,202 | 0.80 | +2.6% |
| Other services | 2,538 | $852 | 1.07 | +2.6% |
| Educational services | 1,909 | $873 | 1.12 | +3.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,809 | $3,015 | 0.56 | +4.0% |
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$3.3 bn in deposits at 33 offices of 12 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,558, moderately concentrated. $1.3 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.2 bn, grants $30.6 m), $15,888 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $949.9 m · 28.4% share · 7 offices | |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $543.6 m · 16.2% share · 4 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $436.9 m · 13.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Union, NC | $1.3 bn FY2026 · $15,888/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $949,923,000 | 28.4% | 7 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $543,574,000 | 16.2% | 4 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $436,894,000 | 13.0% | 3 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $390,265,000 | 11.7% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $301,193,000 | 9.0% | 3 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $200,306,000 | 6.0% | 2 |
| American Bank of the Carolinas | $183,791,000 | 5.5% | 3 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $165,650,000 | 4.9% | 1 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $115,408,000 | 3.4% | 3 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $33,203,000 | 1.0% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,558 across 12 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 12 banks with deposits in the county = 28.4² + 16.2² + 13.0² + … (9 more) = 1,558
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 | $1,031,869,490 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $147,244,055 |
| Department of Transportation | $24,984,070 |
| Department of Defense | $17,710,562 |
| Department of Education | $8,715,636 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $8,465,269 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,310,616 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $4,114,652 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,748,256 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,583,850 |
| National Science Foundation | $750,000 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $719,964 |
That is $15,888 per covered job, against 79,207 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.3 bn / 79,207 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $15,888
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 | -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 #
Union County, NC: 14 findings, 1 at a watch level and 13 noted
watchUnion County, NC's typical home value is -0.5% 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 = -0.4927443048063842 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteUnion County, NC's average weekly wage was 3.9% 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
- +3.9 % = 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
noteUnion County, NC's covered employment was 2.0% 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
- +2 % = 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
noteUnion County, NC's typical asking rent rose 0.3% from $2,108 in July 2026 to $2,115 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (2115.168258095582 - 2107.826620686179) / 2107.826620686179 × 100
- 2115.168258095582 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 2107.826620686179 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteUnion County, NC's typical home value of $449,902 ranks 1st of 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro, against a median of $383,492.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 11 counties in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro that published home.latest
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.