Pickens County, SC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.89, -82.72.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 70th pct · 893rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 75th pct · 12th 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.
- 46th pct · 1,649th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 66th pct · 16th 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.
- 50th pct · 697th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 30th pct · 19th 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.
- 81st pct · 587th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 73rd pct · 13th 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.
- 59th pct · 1,290th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 57th pct · 20th 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.
- 71st pct · 880th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 82nd pct · 9th 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 $307,009 (Aug 2026), +2.6% over one year, +33.6% over five
- 70th pct · 893rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 75th pct · 12th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pickens County, SC | $307,009 · +2.6% 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 $1,499/mo (Aug 2026), +3.0% over one year; price-to-rent 17.1
- 50th pct · 697th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 30th pct · 19th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pickens County, SC | $1,499/mo · +3.0% 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 $1,680 a month on $307,009 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,710 a month: 35.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $307,009 × 80% = $245,608, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,680/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,087 × 52 / 12 = $4,710) = 36% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $307,009 / ($1,087 × 52) = 5.4
- price-to-rent = $307,009 / ($1,499 × 12) = 17.1
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 #
41,679 jobs at 2,973 employers (2026 Q1); +2.0% jobs and +2.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 81st pct · 587th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 73rd pct · 13th 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pickens County, SC | 41,679 jobs · $1,087/wk · +2.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 6,242 | $379 | 1.67 | -0.4% |
| Retail trade | 6,121 | $678 | 1.51 | +5.5% |
| Manufacturing | 5,696 | $1,329 | 1.70 | +5.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,364 | $1,164 | 0.54 | -0.2% |
| Construction | 1,691 | $1,091 | 0.77 | +21.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,365 | $1,527 | 0.47 | +4.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 1,053 | $397 | 1.53 | -7.7% |
| Other services | 999 | $803 | 0.80 | -3.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 924 | $877 | 0.39 | +0.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 612 | $1,530 | 0.38 | +9.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 578 | $2,361 | 0.34 | -2.9% |
| Real estate and rental | 433 | $892 | 0.68 | +22.3% |
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 #
$2.9 bn in deposits at 28 offices of 15 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,327, moderately concentrated. $958.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $831.7 m, grants $108.4 m), $22,998 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $710.1 m · 24.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $401.2 m · 13.7% share · 3 offices | |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $369.5 m · 12.6% share · 3 offices | |
| Pickens, SC | $958.5 m FY2026 · $22,998/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $804.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $710,122,000 | 24.3% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $401,192,000 | 13.7% | 3 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $369,456,000 | 12.6% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $363,136,000 | 12.4% | 2 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $345,160,000 | 11.8% | 3 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $195,727,000 | 6.7% | 2 |
| Pickens Savings and Loan Association, FA | $117,237,000 | 4.0% | 2 |
| First Community Bank | $116,364,000 | 4.0% | 1 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $68,297,000 | 2.3% | 1 |
| United Community Bank | $64,219,000 | 2.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,327 across 15 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 15 banks with deposits in the county = 24.3² + 13.7² + 12.6² + … (12 more) = 1,327
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 | $696,380,217 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $105,324,499 |
| Department of Education | $35,216,227 |
| Department of Defense | $27,913,528 |
| National Science Foundation | $22,598,945 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $20,076,178 |
| Department of Agriculture | $16,905,630 |
| Department of Transportation | $15,669,053 |
| Department of Energy | $7,684,948 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $5,513,601 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,159,127 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,785,798 |
That is $22,998 per covered job, against 41,679 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $958.5 m / 41,679 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $22,998
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 | 3.00 | 2026-10-06 | -50.0% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| 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 #
Pickens County, SC: 7 findings, 7 noted
notePickens County, SC's average weekly wage was 2.5% 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
- +2.5 % = 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
notePickens County, SC's typical asking rent rose 2.4% from $1,464 in July 2026 to $1,499 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +2.4% = (1498.8624600037645 - 1464.3268322937265) / 1464.3268322937265 × 100
- 1498.8624600037645 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1464.3268322937265 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
notePickens County, SC's covered employment was 2.0% 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 % = 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
notePickens County, SC's covered employment of +2.0% ranks 5th of 46 South Carolina counties, against a median of +0.3%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 91 on the 0-to-100 scale across 46 South Carolina counties that published jobs.yoy.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Pickens County, SC is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
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.