Somerset County, PA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.98, -79.03.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 28th pct · 2,199th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 46th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $233,681
- 74th pct · 782nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 81st pct · 13th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median +3.4%
- US counties: not published this period
- Pennsylvania counties: not published this period
- 73rd pct · 849th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 38th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- 50th pct · 1,600th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 28th pct · 48th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,102
- 27th pct · 2,213th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 40th pct · 40th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 3.8
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 $180,005 (Aug 2026), +5.2% over one year, +19.4% over five
- 28th pct · 2,199th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 46th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $233,681
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, PA | $180,005 · +5.2% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Pennsylvania 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 $985 a month on $180,005 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,507 a month: 21.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $180,005 × 80% = $144,004, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $985/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,040 × 52 / 12 = $4,507) = 22% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $180,005 / ($1,040 × 52) = 3.3
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 #
22,748 jobs at 1,828 employers (2026 Q1); -2.7% jobs and +1.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 73rd pct · 849th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 38th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, PA | 22,748 jobs · $1,040/wk · -2.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 3,809 | $1,091 | 1.11 | -0.1% |
| Manufacturing | 2,646 | $1,313 | 1.45 | +4.6% |
| Retail trade | 2,430 | $650 | 1.10 | -1.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,415 | $527 | 1.18 | -12.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,114 | $1,251 | 1.28 | +4.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,093 | $1,037 | 1.14 | -2.1% |
| Construction | 1,016 | $1,203 | 0.85 | +2.2% |
| Other services | 835 | $537 | 1.23 | +1.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 760 | $1,240 | 0.48 | +0.7% |
| Finance and insurance | 663 | $1,633 | 0.72 | -3.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 464 | $877 | 0.36 | -20.4% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 368 | $1,754 | 4.54 | -41.4% |
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 #
7 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 7, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SAVAGE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR BLOOMINGTON, MD | 1,442 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 53 km |
| DEEP CREEK LAKE NEAR THAYERVILLE, MD | 2,459 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 57 km |
| JENNINGS RANDOLPH LAKE NEAR ELK GARDEN, WV | 1,446 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 62 km |
| Loyalhanna Creek Lake, PA | 3,652 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 64 km |
| Raystown Lake near Huntingdon, PA | 786.4 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 100 km |
| Curwensville Lake near Curwensville, PA | 1,162 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 116 km |
| Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park, PA | 1,190 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 143 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 #
66 gauges · 0 flooding · 16 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 16 stale
Sites found: 66, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Casselman River at Markleton, PA | flow 190.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (3) | 22 km |
| Linn Run at Linn Run State Park near Rector, PA | flow 13.2 ft³/s | 27 km |
| Laurel Hill Creek at Ursina, PA | flow 46.3 ft³/s | 31 km |
| North Fork Bens Creek at North Fork Reservoir, PA | flow 1.20 ft³/s · STALE | 32 km |
| CASSELMAN RIVER AT GRANTSVILLE, MD | flow 42.9 ft³/s | 32 km |
| Wills Creek below Hyndman, PA | flow 24.8 ft³/s | 33 km |
| Youghiogheny River below Confluence, PA | flow 911.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) | 34 km |
| Poplar Run nr Normalville, PA | flow 2.40 ft³/s · STALE | 34 km |
| Youghiogheny River at Youghiogheny River Dam, PA | flow 497.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 35 km |
| Stonycreek River at Ferndale, PA | flow 288.0 ft³/s | 35 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 #
28 wells in 0 named aquifers:
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 |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-395920079021501 | depth 23.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 1 km |
| USGS-400008079142801 | depth 33.0 ft · 2026-06-29 | 18 km |
| USGS-400112079254201 | depth 8.90 ft · 1990-03-14 | 34 km |
| USGS-401935078550601 | depth 18.9 ft · 1973-09-24 | 40 km |
| USGS-402138079031802 | depth 15.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 42 km |
| USGS-395658078301601 | depth 72.3 ft · 1984-10-24 | 45 km |
| USGS-400450078303001 | depth 80.9 ft · 2005-09-29 | 46 km |
| USGS-393749079190301 | depth 13.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 46 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 #
$1.7 bn in deposits at 23 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,094, highly concentrated. $539.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $503.2 m, grants $28.6 m), $23,706 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Somerset Trust Company | $870.6 m · 50.2% share · 10 offices | |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $313.2 m · 18.1% share · 3 offices | |
| First Commonwealth Bank | $166.7 m · 9.6% share · 3 offices | |
| Somerset, PA | $539.3 m FY2026 · $23,706/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $496.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset Trust Company | $870,619,000 | 50.2% | 10 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $313,227,000 | 18.1% | 3 |
| First Commonwealth Bank | $166,666,000 | 9.6% | 3 |
| Ameriserv Financial Bank | $148,843,000 | 8.6% | 4 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $133,406,000 | 7.7% | 1 |
| 1st Summit Bank | $53,627,000 | 3.1% | 1 |
| Slovenian Savings and Loan Association of Franklin-Conemaugh | $46,317,000 | 2.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,094 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 50.2² + 18.1² + 9.6² + … (4 more) = 3,094
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 | $444,495,632 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $47,749,008 |
| Department of Transportation | $24,210,710 |
| Department of Defense | $7,398,046 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $4,979,226 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $4,786,759 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,978,946 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,997,745 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $321,755 |
| Department of Education | $164,805 |
| Department of the Interior | $103,974 |
| General Services Administration | $69,405 |
That is $23,706 per covered job, against 22,748 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $539.3 m / 22,748 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,706
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 #
Somerset County, PA: 7 findings, 1 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchSomerset County, PA's covered employment is -2.7% 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 = -2.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteSomerset County, PA's covered employment was 2.7% 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
- -2.7 % = 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
noteSomerset County, PA's average weekly wage was 1.9% 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
- +1.9 % = 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
noteSomerset County, PA's typical home value rose 0.3% from $179,422 in July 2026 to $180,005 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (180004.97334241157 - 179421.6206727485) / 179421.6206727485 × 100
- 180004.97334241157 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 179421.6206727485 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteSomerset County, PA's covered employment of -2.7% ranks 64th of 67 Pennsylvania counties, against a median of -0.3%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 5 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 7 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.