Cherokee County, SC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.05, -81.61.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 31st pct · 2,112th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 32nd of 46 South Carolina counties · median $218,959
- 7th pct · 2,834th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 11th pct · 41st of 46 South Carolina counties · median +1.2%
- 15th pct · 1,189th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 3rd pct · 26th of 27 South Carolina counties · median $1,528
- 68th pct · 1,004th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 48th pct · 24th of 46 South Carolina counties · median 18,411
- 30th pct · 2,242nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 17th pct · 38th of 46 South Carolina counties · median $1,061
- 38th pct · 1,895th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 46th pct · 25th of 46 South Carolina counties · median 4.1
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 $186,202 (Aug 2026), -2.9% over one year, -6.7% over five
- 31st pct · 2,112th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 31st pct · 32nd of 46 South Carolina counties · median $218,959
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County, SC | $186,202 · -2.9% 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 $1,098/mo (Aug 2026), +2.2% over one year; price-to-rent 14.1
- 15th pct · 1,189th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 3rd pct · 26th of 27 South Carolina counties · median $1,528
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County, SC | $1,098/mo · +2.2% 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 $1,019 a month on $186,202 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,134 a month: 24.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $186,202 × 80% = $148,962, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,019/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $954 × 52 / 12 = $4,134) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $186,202 / ($954 × 52) = 3.8
- price-to-rent = $186,202 / ($1,098 × 12) = 14.1
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 #
17,932 jobs at 1,025 employers (2026 Q1); -4.5% jobs and +2.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 68th pct · 1,004th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 48th pct · 24th of 46 South Carolina counties · median 18,411
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cherokee County, SC | 17,932 jobs · $954/wk · -4.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 5,376 | $1,191 | 3.73 | +0.7% |
| Retail trade | 2,291 | $567 | 1.31 | +2.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,666 | $417 | 1.03 | -4.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,096 | $781 | 0.41 | -2.2% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,003 | $1,022 | 1.33 | -18.4% |
| Construction | 1,002 | $1,358 | 1.07 | +3.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 779 | $872 | 0.76 | -14.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 640 | $1,143 | 0.93 | -4.0% |
| Other services | 406 | $563 | 0.76 | -3.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 285 | $1,454 | 0.39 | -2.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 243 | $1,207 | 0.20 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 175 | $451 | 0.59 | -11.2% |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 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 #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$557.5 m in deposits at 8 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,181, highly concentrated. $332.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $351.2 m, grants $4.5 m), $18,515 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Piedmont Federal Savings and Loan Association of Gaffney | $277.0 m · 49.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $95.3 m · 17.1% share · 1 office | |
| United Community Bank | $86.4 m · 15.5% share · 1 office | |
| Cherokee, SC | $332.0 m FY2026 · $18,515/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $345.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Piedmont Federal Savings and Loan Association of Gaffney | $277,038,000 | 49.7% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $95,299,000 | 17.1% | 1 |
| United Community Bank | $86,430,000 | 15.5% | 1 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $70,192,000 | 12.6% | 1 |
| First Bank | $24,885,000 | 4.5% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $3,643,000 | 0.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,181 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 = 49.7² + 17.1² + 15.5² + … (3 more) = 3,181
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 | $311,875,890 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $33,245,853 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,009,421 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $4,002,550 |
| Department of Transportation | $2,422,430 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $493,509 |
| Department of Defense | $312,417 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $65,936 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $36,115 |
| Small Business Administration | $18,394 |
| Department of the Interior | $6,503 |
| Department of Justice | $0 |
That is $18,515 per covered job, against 17,932 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $332.0 m / 17,932 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $18,515
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 #
Cherokee County, SC: 13 findings, 1 at an alert level, 2 at a watch level and 10 noted
alertCherokee County, SC's covered employment is -4.5% 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 = -4.5 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchCherokee County, SC's covered employment is -4.5% 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 = -4.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchCherokee County, SC's typical home value is -2.9% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -2.913521197044943 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteCherokee County, SC's covered employment was 4.5% 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
- -4.5 % = 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
noteCherokee County, SC's average weekly wage was 2.7% 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
- +2.7 % = 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
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.