Laurens County, SC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.48, -82.01.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 42nd pct · 1,764th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 46th pct · 25th of 46 South Carolina counties · median $218,959
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 11th pct · 2,711th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 22nd pct · 36th of 46 South Carolina counties · median +1.2%
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 12th pct · 1,222nd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 0th pct · 27th of 27 South Carolina counties · median $1,528
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 71st pct · 907th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 55th pct · 21st of 46 South Carolina counties · median 18,411
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 52nd pct · 1,512th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 46th pct · 25th of 46 South Carolina counties · median $1,061
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 42nd pct · 1,749th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 48th pct · 24th of 46 South Carolina counties · median 4.1
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer 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 $215,357 (Aug 2026), -1.7% over one year, -13.8% over five
- 42nd pct · 1,764th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 46th pct · 25th of 46 South Carolina counties · median $218,959
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Laurens County, SC | $215,357 · -1.7% 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 $1,070/mo (Aug 2026), +3.2% over one year; price-to-rent 16.8
- 12th pct · 1,222nd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 0th pct · 27th of 27 South Carolina counties · median $1,528
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Laurens County, SC | $1,070/mo · +3.2% 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 $1,179 a month on $215,357 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,559 a month: 25.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $215,357 × 80% = $172,286, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,179/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,052 × 52 / 12 = $4,559) = 26% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $215,357 / ($1,052 × 52) = 3.9
- price-to-rent = $215,357 / ($1,070 × 12) = 16.8
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 #
20,580 jobs at 1,119 employers (2026 Q1); +1.3% jobs and +1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 71st pct · 907th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 55th pct · 21st of 46 South Carolina counties · median 18,411
- counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Laurens County, SC | 20,580 jobs · $1,052/wk · +1.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 7,350 | $1,310 | 4.44 | +4.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,856 | $1,003 | 0.60 | +4.4% |
| Retail trade | 1,626 | $587 | 0.81 | -1.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,240 | $378 | 0.67 | +8.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,093 | $1,199 | 1.26 | +0.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 690 | $708 | 0.59 | -10.3% |
| Construction | 619 | $1,200 | 0.57 | -3.7% |
| Educational services | 457 | $971 | 1.03 | +6.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 397 | $381 | 1.17 | -5.3% |
| Other services | 248 | $848 | 0.40 | -4.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 236 | $1,141 | 0.28 | -8.2% |
| Information | 93 | $1,528 | 0.25 | +12.0% |
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 #
15 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 15, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LAKE GREENWOOD NEAR CHAPPELLS, SC | 438.8 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 36 km |
| NEAL SHOALS RESERVOIR NEAR CARLISLE, SC | 333.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 55 km |
| LAKE BLALOCK NEAR COWPENS, SC | 710.5 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 65 km |
| MONTICELLO RES NR JENKINSVILLE, SC | 422.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 66 km |
| PARR SHOALS RESERVOIR AT PARR, SC | 260.5 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 67 km |
| LAKE WILLIAM C. BOWEN NEAR FINGERVILLE, SC | 815.3 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 70 km |
| RUSSELL LAKE ABOVE CALHOUN FALLS, SC | 473.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 71 km |
| NINETYNINE ISLAND RES. BELOW CHEROKEE FALLS, SC | 99.3 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 77 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 #
101 gauges · 0 flooding · 7 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 26 stale
Sites found: 101, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE RIVER AT LAURENS, SC | flow 3.64 ft³/s · no flooding | 2 km |
| NORTH RABON CREEK NEAR HICKORY TAVERN, SC | flow 5.63 ft³/s · no flooding | 13 km |
| SOUTH RABON CREEK NEAR GRAY COURT, SC | flow 2.52 ft³/s · no flooding | 14 km |
| REEDY RIVER NEAR WARE SHOALS, S. C. | flow 3,220 ft³/s · STALE | 15 km |
| REEDY RIVER NEAR WATERLOO, SC | flow 39.8 ft³/s · no flooding | 16 km |
| BUSH RIVER AT JOANNA, SC | flow 0.23 ft³/s · STALE | 18 km |
| Reedy River at SC 76 | out of service | 20 km |
| ENOREE RIVER NEAR WOODRUFF, SC | flow 94.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 22 km |
| SALUDA RIVER NEAR WARE SHOALS, SC | flow 176.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 22 km |
| DURBIN CREEK ABOVE FOUNTAIN INN, SC | flow 2.39 ft³/s | 30 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 #
9 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 9, 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-342947081454900 | depth 56.0 ft · 1995-09-28 | 23 km |
| USGS-342948081451001 | depth 51.2 ft · 1997-07-23 | 23 km |
| USGS-345145081502900 | depth 43.6 ft · 2024-10-27 | 45 km |
| USGS-343714082285600 | depth 3.91 ft · 2026-10-05 | 46 km |
| USGS-345415082154900 | depth 35.6 ft · 2003-07-14 | 52 km |
| USGS-345335082185800 | depth 36.5 ft · 2001-05-30 | 53 km |
| USGS-340517081401300 | depth 9.34 ft · 2003-07-30 | 54 km |
| USGS-344000081250011 | depth 94.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 58 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 #
$783.9 m in deposits at 10 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,127, highly concentrated. $482.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $467.4 m, grants $13.2 m), $23,431 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $283.4 m · 36.2% share · 2 offices | |
| TD Bank, National Association | $169.3 m · 21.6% share · 2 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $73.3 m · 9.4% share · 1 office | |
| Laurens, SC | $482.2 m FY2026 · $23,431/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $448.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Community Bank | $283,399,000 | 36.2% | 2 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $169,346,000 | 21.6% | 2 |
| Truist Bank | $73,343,000 | 9.4% | 1 |
| Arthur State Bank | $72,186,000 | 9.2% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $62,749,000 | 8.0% | 1 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $62,314,000 | 7.9% | 1 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $57,027,000 | 7.3% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $3,498,000 | 0.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,127 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 36.2² + 21.6² + 9.4² + … (5 more) = 2,127
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 | $403,019,714 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $43,796,817 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $23,605,044 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,665,422 |
| Department of Education | $3,207,162 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,240,026 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,615,065 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $769,896 |
| Department of Defense | $149,948 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $95,000 |
| Department of the Interior | $31,266 |
| Small Business Administration | $17,815 |
That is $23,431 per covered job, against 20,580 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $482.2 m / 20,580 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,431
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 #
Laurens County, SC: 9 findings, 2 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchLaurens County, SC's typical home value is -1.7% 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 = -1.6888512931260449 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchLaurens County, SC's typical asking rent is -1.4% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; 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 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: rent.momPct = -1.4371435186913806 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteLaurens County, SC's typical asking rent fell 1.4% from $1,085 in July 2026 to $1,070 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -1.4% = (1069.5833333333333 - 1085.1789117294588) / 1085.1789117294588 × 100
- 1069.5833333333333 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1085.1789117294588 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteLaurens County, SC's covered employment was 1.3% 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
- +1.3 % = 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
noteLaurens County, SC's average weekly wage was 1.2% 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
- +1.2 % = 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
Read all 9 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.