Carbon County, PA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.92, -75.70.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 61st pct · 1,174th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 66th pct · 23rd of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $233,681
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 26th pct · 2,254th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 16th pct · 56th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median +3.4%
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 31st pct · 964th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 42nd pct · 28th of 48 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,349
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 67th pct · 1,043rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 37th pct · 42nd of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 15th pct · 2,734th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 3rd pct · 65th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,102
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 78th pct · 673rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 93rd pct · 5th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 3.8
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton 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 $269,211 (Aug 2026), +0.7% over one year, +32.4% over five
- 61st pct · 1,174th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 66th pct · 23rd of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $233,681
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon County, PA | $269,211 · +0.7% 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 $1,303/mo (Aug 2026), +5.8% over one year; price-to-rent 17.2
- 31st pct · 964th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 42nd pct · 28th of 48 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,349
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon County, PA | $1,303/mo · +5.8% 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 $1,474 a month on $269,211 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,792 a month: 38.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $269,211 × 80% = $215,369, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,474/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $875 × 52 / 12 = $3,792) = 39% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $269,211 / ($875 × 52) = 5.9
- price-to-rent = $269,211 / ($1,303 × 12) = 17.2
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 #
16,982 jobs at 1,346 employers (2026 Q1); +4.5% jobs and +2.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 67th pct · 1,043rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 37th pct · 42nd of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon County, PA | 16,982 jobs · $875/wk · +4.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 2,049 | $607 | 1.24 | +0.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,918 | $404 | 1.26 | +4.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 1,524 | $402 | 5.45 | -5.3% |
| Manufacturing | 1,224 | $1,179 | 0.90 | -3.7% |
| Information | 851 | $1,203 | 2.72 | +1.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 376 | $1,045 | 0.32 | -1.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 335 | $888 | 0.47 | +40.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 314 | $1,132 | 0.33 | -15.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 248 | $1,744 | 0.36 | -1.2% |
| Management of companies | 19 | $1,195 | 0.07 | -5.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld |
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 #
8 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 8, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-01449790 | 628.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 10 km |
| USGS-01447780 | 1,355 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 22 km |
| USGS-01470870 | 290.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 66 km |
| USGS-01534490 | 1,108 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 69 km |
| Prompton Reservoir at Prompton, PA | 1,125 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 81 km |
| General Edgar Jadwin Reservoir near Honesdale, PA | 990.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 85 km |
| USGS-01534180 | 1,578 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 88 km |
| USGS-01574700 | 372.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 142 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 #
117 gauges · 0 flooding · 49 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 46 stale
Sites found: 117, 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-01449800 | flow 49.4 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 10 km |
| USGS-01449000 | flow 366.0 ft³/s | 10 km |
| USGS-01450500 | flow 33.5 ft³/s | 15 km |
| USGS-01449360 | flow 39.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 17 km |
| USGS-01448500 | flow 1.20 ft³/s · STALE | 19 km |
| USGS-01451000 | flow 447.0 ft³/s | 20 km |
| USGS-01447720 | flow 78.6 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 20 km |
| USGS-01447800 | flow 229.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 21 km |
| USGS-01447680 | flow 13.9 ft³/s | 22 km |
| USGS-01447500 | flow 75.5 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 24 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 #
43 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 43, 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-410123075425401 | depth 63.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 12 km |
| USGS-410858075312201 | depth 36.9 ft · 1976-11-22 | 30 km |
| USGS-404745075184001 | depth 43.7 ft · 2026-10-05 | 36 km |
| USGS-404708076070701 | depth 53.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 38 km |
| USGS-403429075392401 | depth 75.3 ft · 2026-10-05 | 38 km |
| USGS-411223075234901 | depth 12.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 41 km |
| USGS-410420076090701 | depth 62.6 ft · 1981-11-17 | 41 km |
| USGS-403226075343001 | depth 8.51 ft · 2026-10-05 | 43 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 (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.1 bn in deposits at 17 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,555, highly concentrated. $485.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $463.2 m, grants $17.1 m), $28,580 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Mauch Chunk Trust Company | $444.3 m · 39.4% share · 5 offices | |
| Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank | $241.9 m · 21.4% share · 6 offices | |
| First Northern Bank and Trust Company | $187.6 m · 16.6% share · 1 office | |
| Carbon, PA | $485.4 m FY2026 · $28,580/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $452.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauch Chunk Trust Company | $444,348,000 | 39.4% | 5 |
| Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank | $241,875,000 | 21.4% | 6 |
| First Northern Bank and Trust Company | $187,615,000 | 16.6% | 1 |
| KeyBank National Association | $170,493,000 | 15.1% | 2 |
| Community Bank, National Association | $73,419,000 | 6.5% | 2 |
| The Neffs National Bank | $11,343,000 | 1.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,555 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 = 39.4² + 21.4² + 16.6² + … (3 more) = 2,555
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 | $406,852,602 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $40,264,283 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $12,022,062 |
| Department of Transportation | $11,746,611 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $5,442,910 |
| Department of Defense | $4,831,980 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,992,365 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,437,666 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $696,695 |
| Department of Education | $36,423 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $29,080 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $28,580 per covered job, against 16,982 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $485.4 m / 16,982 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $28,580
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 #
Carbon County, PA: 11 findings, 11 noted
noteCarbon County, PA's covered employment was 4.5% 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
- +4.5 % = 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
noteCarbon County, PA's average weekly wage was 2.6% 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
- +2.6 % = 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
noteCarbon County, PA's typical asking rent rose 1.5% from $1,284 in July 2026 to $1,303 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.5% = (1302.5 - 1283.6699731799577) / 1283.6699731799577 × 100
- 1302.5 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1283.6699731799577 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteCarbon County, PA's typical home value rose 0.3% from $268,341 in July 2026 to $269,211 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (269211.1272445656 - 268341.1498876138) / 268341.1498876138 × 100
- 269211.1272445656 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 268341.1498876138 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteCarbon County, PA's covered employment of +4.5% ranks 1st of 67 Pennsylvania counties, against a median of -0.3%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 67 Pennsylvania counties that published jobs.yoy.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 11 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.