Union County, OR
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 45.30, -118.00.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 76th pct · 711th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 25th of 36 Oregon counties · median $432,775
- 67th pct · 1,011th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 97th pct · 2nd of 36 Oregon counties · median +0.6%
- 19th pct · 1,127th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 0th pct · 25th of 25 Oregon counties · median $1,753
- 55th pct · 1,435th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 37th pct · 23rd of 36 Oregon counties · median 15,683
- 47th pct · 1,695th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 17th pct · 30th of 36 Oregon counties · median $1,074
- 81st pct · 555th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 37th pct · 23rd of 36 Oregon counties · median 6.8
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 $335,619 (Aug 2026), +4.5% over one year, +30.2% over five
- 76th pct · 711th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 25th of 36 Oregon counties · median $432,775
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, OR | $335,619 · +4.5% 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 $1,166/mo (Aug 2026), +5.4% over one year; price-to-rent 24.0
- 19th pct · 1,127th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 0th pct · 25th of 25 Oregon counties · median $1,753
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, OR | $1,166/mo · +5.4% 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 $1,837 a month on $335,619 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,450 a month: 41.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $335,619 × 80% = $268,496, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,837/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,027 × 52 / 12 = $4,450) = 41% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $335,619 / ($1,027 × 52) = 6.3
- price-to-rent = $335,619 / ($1,166 × 12) = 24.0
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 #
10,185 jobs at 992 employers (2026 Q1); -2.4% jobs and +4.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 55th pct · 1,435th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 37th pct · 23rd of 36 Oregon counties · median 15,683
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, OR | 10,185 jobs · $1,027/wk · -2.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 1,758 | $1,307 | 1.15 | -2.2% |
| Retail trade | 1,375 | $689 | 1.39 | -0.6% |
| Manufacturing | 1,228 | $1,074 | 1.50 | +1.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 891 | $424 | 0.97 | -1.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 348 | $1,262 | 0.50 | +2.1% |
| Other services | 329 | $679 | 1.08 | -3.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 261 | $844 | 0.61 | +9.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 195 | $1,697 | 0.47 | -41.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 159 | $377 | 0.95 | -1.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 140 | $802 | 0.24 | -14.1% |
| Real estate and rental | 100 | $792 | 0.64 | -13.0% |
| Management of companies | 75 | $1,499 | 0.44 | +10.3% |
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 #
D3 extreme 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 #
21 gauges · 0 flooding · 3 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 16 stale
Sites found: 21, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LADD CANYON ABV LADD CREEK, NR HOT LAKE, OR | stage 27.3 ft · STALE | 11 km |
| MINAM RIVER AT MINAM, OR | flow 47.4 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 41 km |
| BEAR CREEK NEAR WALLOWA, OR | flow 11.0 ft³/s · STALE | 43 km |
| WALLOWA RIVER BELOW WATER CANYON, NR WALLOWA, OR | flow 277.0 ft³/s · STALE | 45 km |
| LOSTINE RIVER NEAR LOSTINE, OR | flow 34.0 ft³/s · STALE | 47 km |
| BEAR CREEK AT WALLOWA, OR | flow 7.50 ft³/s · STALE | 47 km |
| LOSTINE RIVER AT BAKER ROAD, NEAR LOSTINE, OR | flow 62.0 ft³/s · STALE | 48 km |
| LOSTINE RIVER AT CAUDLE LANE AT LOSTINE, OR | flow 22.0 ft³/s · STALE | 49 km |
| LOOKINGGLASS CREEK NEAR LOOKING GLASS, OR | flow 54.0 ft³/s · STALE | 49 km |
| WALLOWA R ABV CROSS CNTRY CANAL, NR ENTERPRISE, OR | flow 188.0 ft³/s · STALE | 51 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 #
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 (0.48)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.75 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$506.8 m in deposits at 6 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,083, highly concentrated. $227.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $194.0 m, contracts $19.1 m), $22,284 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank National Association | $141.5 m · 27.9% share · 1 office | |
| Columbia Bank | $125.3 m · 24.7% share · 1 office | |
| Banner Bank | $107.8 m · 21.3% share · 1 office | |
| Union, OR | $227.0 m FY2026 · $22,284/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $175.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank National Association | $141,457,000 | 27.9% | 1 |
| Columbia Bank | $125,290,000 | 24.7% | 1 |
| Banner Bank | $107,779,000 | 21.3% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $56,353,000 | 11.1% | 1 |
| Bank of Eastern Oregon | $45,382,000 | 9.0% | 1 |
| WaFd Bank | $30,547,000 | 6.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,083 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 27.9² + 24.7² + 21.3² + … (3 more) = 2,083
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 | $144,630,131 |
| Department of Agriculture | $22,093,157 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $22,020,319 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $9,054,676 |
| Department of Transportation | $8,653,554 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $6,396,415 |
| Department of Education | $4,793,733 |
| Department of the Interior | $4,344,861 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $3,704,342 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $581,817 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $420,990 |
| Department of Energy | $254,574 |
That is $22,284 per covered job, against 10,185 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $227.0 m / 10,185 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $22,284
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 #
Union County, OR: 13 findings, 6 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchUnion County, OR's covered employment is -2.4% 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 = -2.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchUnion County, OR's price-to-rent ratio of 24.0 ranks 124th of 1,399 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; 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: priceToRent percentile = 91.20171673819742 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchUnion County, OR's typical home value of $335,619 scores 77 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 31 across Oregon counties, a gap of 45 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 45 = |77 across US counties - 31 across Oregon counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchUnion County, OR's years of wages of 6.3 scores 82 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 37 across Oregon counties, a gap of 45 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 45 = |82 across US counties - 37 across Oregon counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchUnion County, OR's average weekly wage of $1,027 scores 47 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 17 across Oregon counties, a gap of 30 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 30 = |47 across US counties - 17 across Oregon counties|
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.