Belmont County, OH
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.02, -80.97.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 9th pct · 2,761st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 2nd pct · 86th of 88 Ohio counties · median $219,740
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 43rd pct · 1,745th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 14th pct · 75th of 88 Ohio counties · median +4.2%
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 3rd pct · 1,347th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 6th pct · 48th of 51 Ohio counties · median $1,327
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 70th pct · 943rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 50th of 88 Ohio counties · median 20,657
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 57th pct · 1,360th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 44th pct · 49th of 88 Ohio counties · median $1,081
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 8th pct · 2,795th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 1st pct · 87th of 88 Ohio counties · median 3.7
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling 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 $133,163 (Aug 2026), +2.3% over one year, +13.3% over five
- 9th pct · 2,761st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 2nd pct · 86th of 88 Ohio counties · median $219,740
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Belmont County, OH | $133,163 · +2.3% 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 $893/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 12.4
- 3rd pct · 1,347th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 6th pct · 48th of 51 Ohio counties · median $1,327
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Belmont County, OH | $893/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 $729 a month on $133,163 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,663 a month: 15.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $133,163 × 80% = $106,531, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $729/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,076 × 52 / 12 = $4,663) = 16% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $133,163 / ($1,076 × 52) = 2.4
- price-to-rent = $133,163 / ($893 × 12) = 12.4
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 #
19,486 jobs at 1,637 employers (2026 Q1); -4.6% jobs and +6.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 70th pct · 943rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 50th of 88 Ohio counties · median 20,657
- counties in the Wheeling metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Wheeling metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Belmont County, OH | 19,486 jobs · $1,076/wk · -4.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 3,328 | $634 | 1.75 | -10.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,985 | $976 | 1.02 | -4.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,404 | $390 | 1.37 | +0.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,161 | $1,745 | 1.41 | +2.3% |
| Construction | 870 | $1,263 | 0.85 | -2.1% |
| Other services | 714 | $655 | 1.23 | -3.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 705 | $1,201 | 0.64 | -12.0% |
| Manufacturing | 672 | $1,309 | 0.43 | -6.7% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 654 | $2,075 | 9.43 | -8.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 579 | $1,356 | 0.78 | +2.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 513 | $3,091 | 0.38 | -12.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 395 | $1,751 | 0.50 | -1.5% |
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 #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
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 #
2 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 2, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park, PA | 1,190 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 127 km |
| Loyalhanna Creek Lake, PA | 3,652 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 138 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 #
91 gauges · 0 flooding · 16 with quality panels averaging 89 % · 12 stale
Sites found: 91, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Brushy Fork above Clendening Lake OH | stage 1.70 ft · quality 50 % (2) | 30 km |
| Stillwater Creek above Piedmont Lake OH | stage 1.45 ft · quality 50 % (2) | 15 km |
| Standingstone Fork above Tappan Lake OH | stage 4.66 ft · quality 50 % (2) | 35 km |
| McMahon Creek above Welsh Run at Glencoe OH | flow 7.29 ft³/s · STALE | 7 km |
| Captina Creek at S.R. 148 at Armstrongs Mills OH | flow 49.0 ft³/s | 13 km |
| Captina Creek at Armstrongs Mills OH | flow 79.0 ft³/s · STALE | 13 km |
| Wheeling Creek below Blaine OH | flow 52.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 15 km |
| OHIO RIVER AT WHEELING, WV | stage 16.1 ft · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 21 km |
| Ohio River at Moundsville | observation not current | 22 km |
| Ohio River at Powhatan Point | observation not current | 23 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 #
71 wells in 2 named aquifers: Pennsylvanian aquifers, Sand and gravel aquifers (glaciated regions)
Sites found: 71, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvanian aquifers | depth 28.5 ft · 2026-07-21 | 15 km |
| USGS-401002080521800 | depth 55.2 ft · 1982-10-20 | 19 km |
| USGS-401004080521900 | depth 41.9 ft · 1982-10-20 | 19 km |
| USGS-401007080522400 | depth 28.2 ft · 1989-02-13 | 19 km |
| USGS-401009080521500 | depth 3,508 ft · 1989-02-13 | 19 km |
| USGS-401011080521603 | depth 37.3 ft · 1982-10-20 | 19 km |
| USGS-401011080521600 | depth 53.4 ft · 1980-07-15 | 19 km |
| USGS-401011080521601 | depth 86.0 ft · 1980-07-15 | 19 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 (0.04)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.11 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$2.3 bn in deposits at 28 offices of 11 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,933, highly concentrated. $673.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $633.9 m, grants $39.5 m), $34,555 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| WesBanco Bank, Inc. | $668.9 m · 28.7% share · 6 offices | |
| Belmont Savings Bank | $496.7 m · 21.3% share · 4 offices | |
| The Huntington National Bank | $413.1 m · 17.7% share · 5 offices | |
| Belmont, OH | $673.3 m FY2026 · $34,555/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $624.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| WesBanco Bank, Inc. | $668,931,000 | 28.7% | 6 |
| Belmont Savings Bank | $496,681,000 | 21.3% | 4 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $413,112,000 | 17.7% | 5 |
| Unified Bank | $376,658,000 | 16.2% | 6 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $189,294,000 | 8.1% | 1 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $68,241,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
| United Bank | $48,422,000 | 2.1% | 1 |
| Woodsfield Savings Bank | $28,476,000 | 1.2% | 1 |
| The Citizens National Bank of Woodsfield | $23,417,000 | 1.0% | 1 |
| Main Street Bank Corp. | $13,652,000 | 0.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,933 across 11 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 11 banks with deposits in the county = 28.7² + 21.3² + 17.7² + … (8 more) = 1,933
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 | $357,885,420 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $232,545,589 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $36,712,962 |
| Department of Transportation | $26,963,450 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $9,196,269 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,599,590 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,078,224 |
| Department of Education | $1,664,098 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,366,257 |
| Department of Justice | $340,108 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of the Interior | -$4,498 |
That is $34,555 per covered job, against 19,486 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $673.3 m / 19,486 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $34,555
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 #
Belmont County, OH: 17 findings, 1 at an alert level, 1 at a watch level and 15 noted
alertBelmont County, OH's covered employment is -4.6% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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.emp = -4.6 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchBelmont County, OH's covered employment is -4.6% 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 = -4.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteBelmont County, OH's average weekly wage was 6.0% 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
- +6 % = 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
noteBelmont County, OH's covered employment was 4.6% 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
- -4.6 % = 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
noteBelmont County, OH's typical asking rent rose 0.9% from $885 in July 2026 to $893 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.9% = (893 - 884.9435535236635) / 884.9435535236635 × 100
- 893 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 884.9435535236635 = Zillow ZORI, 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.