McLean County, ND
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 47.65, -101.42.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 45th pct · 1,667th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 61st pct · 17th of 43 North Dakota counties · median $198,465
- 70th pct · 912th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 35th pct · 28th of 43 North Dakota counties · median +6.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- North Dakota counties: not published this period
- 27th pct · 2,324th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 67th pct · 18th of 53 North Dakota counties · median 1,520
- 88th pct · 371st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 80th pct · 11th of 53 North Dakota counties · median $1,064
- 22nd pct · 2,360th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 45th pct · 24th of 43 North Dakota counties · median 3.3
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 $223,547 (Aug 2026), +4.8% over one year, +22.9% over five
- 45th pct · 1,667th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 61st pct · 17th of 43 North Dakota counties · median $198,465
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| McLean County, ND | $223,547 · +4.8% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- North Dakota counties: not published this period
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 $1,224 a month on $223,547 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,954 a month: 20.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $223,547 × 80% = $178,837, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,224/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,374 × 52 / 12 = $5,954) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $223,547 / ($1,374 × 52) = 3.1
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 #
3,452 jobs at 418 employers (2026 Q1); +0.8% jobs and +3.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 27th pct · 2,324th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 67th pct · 18th of 53 North Dakota counties · median 1,520
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| McLean County, ND | 3,452 jobs · $1,374/wk · +0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 319 | $1,052 | 0.61 | -2.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 285 | $1,352 | 2.16 | -7.2% |
| Utilities | 281 | $2,551 | 20.61 | +9.8% |
| Construction | 243 | $1,453 | 1.34 | +64.2% |
| Retail trade | 237 | $584 | 0.70 | +3.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 167 | $1,536 | 1.19 | +0.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 154 | $340 | 0.50 | -10.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 52 | $1,190 | 0.22 | +30.0% |
| Manufacturing | 51 | $2,094 | 0.18 | -3.8% |
| Other services | 47 | $574 | 0.46 | -2.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 43 | $1,202 | 0.30 | -23.2% |
| Information | 35 | $923 | 0.55 | -16.7% |
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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
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 #
28 gauges · 0 flooding · 2 with quality panels averaging 85 % · 8 stale
Sites found: 28, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri River at the Garrison Dam | no readings | 17 km |
| MISSOURI RIVER ABOVE STANTON, ND | stage 61.1 ft | 33 km |
| KNIFE RIVER NR STANTON, ND | flow 47.2 ft³/s · quality 88 % (4) · STALE | 33 km |
| MISSOURI RIVER NEAR STANTON, ND | stage 6.85 ft | 41 km |
| KNIFE RIVER AT HAZEN, ND | flow 30.2 ft³/s · observation not current | 44 km |
| MISSOURI RIVER NEAR HENSLER, ND | stage 11.8 ft | 45 km |
| MISSOURI RIVER AT WASHBURN, ND | stage 7.91 ft | 50 km |
| KNIFE RIVER NEAR BEULAH, ND | flow 56.9 ft³/s | 52 km |
| DEEPWATER CREEK AT MOUTH NEAR RAUB, ND | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 52 km |
| Knife River (ND) near Beulah | no readings | 55 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 #
12 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 12, 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-473932101480702 | depth 110.1 ft · 1969-09-30 | 29 km |
| USGS-473524101001701 | depth 14.4 ft · 1977-12-28 | 32 km |
| USGS-474026100583201 | depth 9.37 ft · 1997-09-30 | 33 km |
| USGS-474958100565001 | depth 2.34 ft · 1994-12-15 | 41 km |
| USGS-472404101515402 | depth 44.9 ft · 1978-06-26 | 44 km |
| USGS-472121101495901 | depth 29.3 ft · 1978-10-02 | 45 km |
| USGS-473430100491402 | depth 35.9 ft · 1982-12-02 | 46 km |
| USGS-481058101120403 | depth 56.9 ft · 2021-06-30 | 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 #
low (0.21)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.15 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$416.7 m in deposits at 7 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,950, highly concentrated. $108.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $92.3 m, grants $10.3 m), $31,510 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| TruCommunity Bank | $282.3 m · 67.8% share · 4 offices | |
| The Union Bank | $52.3 m · 12.6% share · 1 office | |
| Bravera Bank | $49.1 m · 11.8% share · 1 office | |
| McLean, ND | $108.8 m FY2026 · $31,510/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $67.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| TruCommunity Bank | $282,321,000 | 67.8% | 4 |
| The Union Bank | $52,302,000 | 12.6% | 1 |
| Bravera Bank | $49,052,000 | 11.8% | 1 |
| BNC National Bank | $32,996,000 | 7.9% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,950 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 67.8² + 12.6² + 11.8² + … (1 more) = 4,950
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 | $59,980,318 |
| Department of Agriculture | $19,031,021 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $7,128,385 |
| Department of Transportation | $6,562,664 |
| Department of the Interior | $5,943,269 |
| Department of Defense | $4,791,165 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $3,613,831 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,135,849 |
| Department of Energy | $349,500 |
| Department of Education | $182,639 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $54,987 |
That is $31,510 per covered job, against 3,452 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $108.8 m / 3,452 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $31,510
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 #
McLean County, ND: 5 findings, 2 at a watch level and 3 noted
watchMcLean County, ND's covered employment of 3,452 scores 28 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 67 across North Dakota counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |28 across US counties - 67 across North Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMcLean County, ND's typical home value of +4.8% scores 70 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 36 across North Dakota counties, a gap of 35 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 35 = |70 across US counties - 36 across North Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMcLean County, ND's average weekly wage was 3.3% 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
- +3.3 % = 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
noteMcLean County, ND's covered employment was 0.8% 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
- +0.8 % = 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering McLean County, ND is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.