Wayne County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.35, -78.01.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 30th pct · 2,142nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 18th pct · 82nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 21st pct · 2,390th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 29th pct · 71st of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 48th pct · 720th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 43rd pct · 36th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 81st pct · 596th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 75th pct · 25th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 34th pct · 2,101st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 44th pct · 55th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 35th pct · 1,979th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 21st pct · 79th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $183,780 (Aug 2026), +0.2% over one year, +16.7% over five
- 30th pct · 2,142nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 18th pct · 82nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $273,108
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, NC | $183,780 · +0.2% 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 $1,483/mo (Aug 2026), +3.7% over one year; price-to-rent 10.3
- 48th pct · 720th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 43rd pct · 36th of 63 North Carolina counties · median $1,573
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, NC | $1,483/mo · +3.7% 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 $1,006 a month on $183,780 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,203 a month: 23.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $183,780 × 80% = $147,024, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,006/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $970 × 52 / 12 = $4,203) = 24% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $183,780 / ($970 × 52) = 3.6
- price-to-rent = $183,780 / ($1,483 × 12) = 10.3
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 #
40,896 jobs at 2,536 employers (2026 Q1); -0.2% jobs and +4.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 81st pct · 596th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 75th pct · 25th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Goldsboro metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Goldsboro metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, NC | 40,896 jobs · $970/wk · -0.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 6,083 | $650 | 1.53 | -2.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 5,527 | $1,004 | 0.90 | +0.3% |
| Manufacturing | 5,308 | $1,092 | 1.61 | -2.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 4,346 | $376 | 1.18 | +2.8% |
| Construction | 2,565 | $1,258 | 1.20 | +9.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,141 | $1,276 | 0.73 | +3.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,094 | $690 | 0.47 | -7.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,089 | $1,638 | 0.65 | -0.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 882 | $1,462 | 0.31 | +14.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 789 | $1,047 | 0.46 | -11.7% |
| Educational services | 752 | $902 | 0.85 | -1.8% |
| Management of companies | 454 | $1,590 | 0.66 | +1.6% |
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 #
3 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 3, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| FALLS LAKE ABOVE DAM NR FALLS, NC | 246.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 83 km |
| BEAVERDAM CREEK AT DAM NEAR CREEDMOOR, NC | 248.5 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 97 km |
| B. EVERETT JORDAN LAKE AT DAM NR MONCURE, NC | 213.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 102 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 #
103 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 67 % · 45 stale
Sites found: 103, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CAPE FEAR RIVER AT LILLINGTON, NC | flow 737.0 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) · no flooding | 73 km |
| NEUSE RIVER NEAR GOLDSBORO, NC | flow 322.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 2 km |
| LITTLE RIVER AT NC581 NR GOLDSBORO, NC | stage 5.49 ft · STALE | 5 km |
| Stony Creek at Bus US 70 | no flooding | 5 km |
| MOCCASIN RUN NEAR PATETOWN, NC | flow 923.0 ft³/s · STALE | 17 km |
| NEUSE RIVER NEAR COX MILL, NC | flow 357.0 ft³/s | 17 km |
| NAHUNTA SWAMP NEAR PIKEVILLE, NC | flow 5.30 ft³/s · STALE | 18 km |
| MILL CREEK AT COX MILL, NC | stage 1.38 ft · STALE | 19 km |
| NEUSE R AT WHITEHALL, NC | stage 3.65 ft · no flooding · STALE | 20 km |
| BEAR CREEK AT MAYS STORE, NC | flow 94.4 ft³/s · STALE | 21 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 #
17 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 17, 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-351849078163901 | depth 7.50 ft · 2026-10-05 | 24 km |
| USGS-353027077340102 | depth 2.49 ft · 2006-09-29 | 44 km |
| USGS-351937077284211 | depth 10.5 ft · 2009-12-09 | 48 km |
| USGS-345051078012109 | depth 12.7 ft · 2026-10-05 | 56 km |
| USGS-345051078012103 | depth 10.2 ft · 2004-09-15 | 56 km |
| USGS-354315078300101 | depth 21.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 60 km |
| USGS-354315078300103 | depth 19.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 60 km |
| USGS-354315078300102 | depth 17.7 ft · 2009-06-08 | 60 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 (0.44)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.33 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$2.1 bn in deposits at 22 offices of 10 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,761, moderately concentrated. $901.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $803.7 m, contracts $63.8 m), $22,036 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $520.3 m · 24.5% share · 3 offices | |
| Southern Bank and Trust Company | $510.4 m · 24.0% share · 5 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $372.8 m · 17.5% share · 3 offices | |
| Wayne, NC | $901.2 m FY2026 · $22,036/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $777.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $520,320,000 | 24.5% | 3 |
| Southern Bank and Trust Company | $510,449,000 | 24.0% | 5 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $372,781,000 | 17.5% | 3 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $298,562,000 | 14.0% | 2 |
| KS Bank, Inc. | $111,080,000 | 5.2% | 1 |
| First Bank | $104,552,000 | 4.9% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $85,290,000 | 4.0% | 1 |
| United Bank | $60,582,000 | 2.8% | 2 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $45,093,000 | 2.1% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $17,309,000 | 0.8% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 1,761 across 10 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 10 banks with deposits in the county = 24.5² + 24.0² + 17.5² + … (7 more) = 1,761
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 | $571,058,542 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $212,386,537 |
| Department of Defense | $56,467,164 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $19,084,617 |
| Department of Education | $14,330,902 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $11,399,489 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,956,785 |
| Department of Transportation | $7,013,138 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $931,936 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $464,647 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $55,955 |
| National Credit Union Administration | $25,000 |
That is $22,036 per covered job, against 40,896 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $901.2 m / 40,896 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $22,036
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 #
Wayne County, NC: 9 findings, 1 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchWayne County, NC's covered employment is -0.2% 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 = -0.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteWayne County, NC's average weekly wage was 4.8% 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
- +4.8 % = 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
noteWayne County, NC's typical home value fell 0.5% from $184,774 in July 2026 to $183,780 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.5% = (183779.94785108956 - 184774.00062832792) / 184774.00062832792 × 100
- 183779.94785108956 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 184774.00062832792 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteWayne County, NC's typical asking rent rose 0.5% from $1,476 in July 2026 to $1,483 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (1483.2023172905526 - 1475.779528022506) / 1475.779528022506 × 100
- 1483.2023172905526 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1475.779528022506 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteWayne County, NC's covered employment was 0.2% 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
- -0.2 % = 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
Read all 9 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.