Kershaw County, SC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.34, -80.59.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 59th pct · 1,227th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 62nd pct · 18th of 46 South Carolina counties · median $218,959
- 80th pct · 2nd of 6 counties in the Columbia metro · median $231,846
- 53rd pct · 1,414th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 75th pct · 12th of 46 South Carolina counties · median +1.2%
- 80th pct · 2nd of 6 counties in the Columbia metro · median +3.1%
- 74th pct · 364th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 88th pct · 4th of 27 South Carolina counties · median $1,528
- counties in the Columbia metro: only 4 of counties in the Columbia metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
- 70th pct · 967th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 51st pct · 23rd of 46 South Carolina counties · median 18,411
- 60th pct · 3rd of 6 counties in the Columbia metro · median 12,641
- 36th pct · 2,051st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 33rd pct · 31st of 46 South Carolina counties · median $1,061
- 20th pct · 5th of 6 counties in the Columbia metro · median $1,187
- 67th pct · 1,003rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 77th pct · 11th of 46 South Carolina counties · median 4.1
- 100th pct · 1st of 6 counties in the Columbia metro · median 3.9
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 $263,450 (Aug 2026), +3.3% over one year, +25.7% over five
- 59th pct · 1,227th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 62nd pct · 18th of 46 South Carolina counties · median $218,959
- 80th pct · 2nd of 6 counties in the Columbia metro · median $231,846
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kershaw County, SC | $263,450 · +3.3% 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 $1,812/mo (Aug 2026), +1.7% over one year; price-to-rent 12.1
- 74th pct · 364th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 88th pct · 4th of 27 South Carolina counties · median $1,528
- counties in the Columbia metro: only 4 of counties in the Columbia metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kershaw County, SC | $1,812/mo · +1.7% 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 $1,442 a month on $263,450 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,234 a month: 34.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $263,450 × 80% = $210,760, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,442/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $977 × 52 / 12 = $4,234) = 34% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $263,450 / ($977 × 52) = 5.2
- price-to-rent = $263,450 / ($1,812 × 12) = 12.1
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 #
18,890 jobs at 1,581 employers (2026 Q1); +2.2% jobs and +2.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 70th pct · 967th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 51st pct · 23rd of 46 South Carolina counties · median 18,411
- 60th pct · 3rd of 6 counties in the Columbia metro · median 12,641
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kershaw County, SC | 18,890 jobs · $977/wk · +2.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 3,401 | $692 | 1.85 | -4.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,286 | $1,359 | 0.80 | +1.8% |
| Manufacturing | 2,239 | $1,244 | 1.47 | -0.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,763 | $411 | 1.04 | -1.8% |
| Construction | 1,050 | $1,094 | 1.06 | +1.7% |
| Other services | 924 | $654 | 1.64 | +71.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 757 | $1,000 | 0.71 | -4.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 587 | $1,437 | 0.45 | -3.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 496 | $1,436 | 0.64 | -0.4% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 387 | $1,033 | 2.84 | -16.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 380 | $1,101 | 0.48 | +15.2% |
| Educational services | 275 | $733 | 0.68 | +13.2% |
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 #
D1 moderate 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 #
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 #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$980.5 m in deposits at 11 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,952, highly concentrated. $623.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $620.6 m, grants $1.6 m), $32,978 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Palmetto Bank | $307.6 m · 31.4% share · 4 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $180.4 m · 18.4% share · 1 office | |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $176.4 m · 18.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Kershaw, SC | $623.0 m FY2026 · $32,978/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $613.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Palmetto Bank | $307,636,000 | 31.4% | 4 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $180,364,000 | 18.4% | 1 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $176,414,000 | 18.0% | 2 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $118,232,000 | 12.1% | 1 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $103,496,000 | 10.6% | 1 |
| First Community Bank | $57,830,000 | 5.9% | 1 |
| The Citizens Bank | $36,490,000 | 3.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,952 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 = 31.4² + 18.4² + 18.0² + … (4 more) = 1,952
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 | $394,533,883 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $217,228,579 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,753,784 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $2,529,858 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,877,653 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,429,119 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $220,000 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $210,956 |
| Department of Education | $136,661 |
| Department of Labor | $45,204 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of State | $0 |
That is $32,978 per covered job, against 18,890 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $623.0 m / 18,890 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $32,978
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 | -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 #
Kershaw County, SC: 10 findings, 10 noted
noteKershaw County, SC's average weekly wage was 2.3% 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
- +2.3 % = 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
noteKershaw County, SC's covered employment was 2.2% 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
- +2.2 % = 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
noteKershaw County, SC's typical asking rent rose 1.8% from $1,779 in July 2026 to $1,812 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.8% = (1812 - 1779.418880345194) / 1779.418880345194 × 100
- 1812 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1779.418880345194 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteKershaw County, SC's momentum index of 0.44 ranks 1st of 6 counties in the Columbia metro, against a median of 0.30.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 6 counties in the Columbia metro that published momentum
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteKershaw County, SC's years of wages of 5.2 ranks 1st of 6 counties in the Columbia metro, against a median of 3.9.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 6 counties in the Columbia metro that published yearsOfWages
- 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
Read all 10 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.