Marion County, TN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.13, -85.62.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 59th pct · 1,251st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 53rd pct · 45th of 95 Tennessee counties · median $259,021
- 40th pct · 4th of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro · median $273,795
- 34th pct · 2,016th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 23rd pct · 73rd of 95 Tennessee counties · median +3.2%
- 80th pct · 2nd of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro · median +1.3%
- US counties: not published this period
- Tennessee counties: not published this period
- counties in the Chattanooga metro: not published this period
- 50th pct · 1,589th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 50th of 95 Tennessee counties · median 8,576
- 40th pct · 4th of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro · median 11,575
- 57th pct · 1,366th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 62nd pct · 36th of 95 Tennessee counties · median $1,030
- 80th pct · 2nd of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro · median $915
- 58th pct · 1,280th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 34th pct · 63rd of 95 Tennessee counties · median 5.0
- 0th pct · 6th of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro · median 5.3
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 $261,113 (Aug 2026), +1.5% over one year, +30.4% over five
- 59th pct · 1,251st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 53rd pct · 45th of 95 Tennessee counties · median $259,021
- 40th pct · 4th of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro · median $273,795
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County, TN | $261,113 · +1.5% 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
- Tennessee counties: not published this period
- counties in the Chattanooga metro: 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 $1,429 a month on $261,113 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,658 a month: 30.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $261,113 × 80% = $208,890, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,429/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,075 × 52 / 12 = $4,658) = 31% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $261,113 / ($1,075 × 52) = 4.7
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 #
8,395 jobs at 593 employers (2026 Q1); -0.6% jobs and +7.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 50th pct · 1,589th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 50th of 95 Tennessee counties · median 8,576
- 40th pct · 4th of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro · median 11,575
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County, TN | 8,395 jobs · $1,075/wk · -0.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2,405 | $1,536 | 3.56 | +6.7% |
| Retail trade | 1,327 | $663 | 1.62 | -3.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,223 | $413 | 1.62 | +7.8% |
| Health care and social assistance | 718 | $765 | 0.57 | -1.0% |
| Construction | 378 | $1,788 | 0.86 | -5.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 181 | $1,123 | 0.51 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 140 | $1,643 | 0.41 | -7.3% |
| Other services | 129 | $767 | 0.51 | -3.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 88 | $1,236 | 0.15 | -14.6% |
| Real estate and rental | 75 | $1,062 | 0.58 | +5.6% |
| Information | 35 | $5,159 | 0.23 | -12.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 29 | $853 | 0.21 | +3.6% |
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 #
D2 severe 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 #
3 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 3, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CARTERS RE-REGULATION LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 39.7 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 km |
| CARTERS LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 1,071 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 104 km |
| ALLATOONA LAKE NEAR CARTERSVILLE, GA | 835.8 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 135 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 #
43 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 15 stale
Sites found: 43, 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-03571000 | flow 89.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 14 km |
| Tennessee River below Nickajack Dam (Jasper 5S) | no flooding | 14 km |
| Tennessee River above Nickajack Dam (Jasper 5S) | no readings | 15 km |
| Tennessee River at South Pittsburg | no readings | 15 km |
| USGS-03569008 | stage 4.82 ft | 27 km |
| USGS-03569190 | flow 0.19 ft³/s · no flooding | 27 km |
| USGS-03578000 | flow 67.2 ft³/s · no flooding | 29 km |
| Tennessee River at Chattanooga | no flooding | 30 km |
| USGS-03568933 | flow 21.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 30 km |
| USGS-03568000 | flow 12,000 ft³/s · STALE | 31 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 #
30 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 30, 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-350234085181200 | depth 16.5 ft · 1998-10-26 | 30 km |
| USGS-345848085173701 | depth 70.7 ft · 1981-06-27 | 34 km |
| USGS-351248085131601 | depth 22.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 37 km |
| USGS-351146085122701 | depth 69.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 38 km |
| USGS-351249085110101 | depth 99.8 ft · 2011-06-01 | 41 km |
| USGS-345403085160001 | depth 16.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 41 km |
| USGS-352129085585503 | depth 38.5 ft · 2026-02-26 | 41 km |
| USGS-352333086012801 | depth 36.5 ft · 2025-10-14 | 47 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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$738.4 m in deposits at 14 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,973, highly concentrated. $216.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $205.9 m, grants $10.0 m), $25,734 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tower Community Bank | $274.5 m · 37.2% share · 4 offices | |
| Citizens Tri-County Bank | $256.8 m · 34.8% share · 4 offices | |
| Builtwell Bank | $134.6 m · 18.2% share · 3 offices | |
| Marion, TN | $216.0 m FY2026 · $25,734/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $204.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Community Bank | $274,530,000 | 37.2% | 4 |
| Citizens Tri-County Bank | $256,816,000 | 34.8% | 4 |
| Builtwell Bank | $134,646,000 | 18.2% | 3 |
| Mountain Valley Bank | $38,868,000 | 5.3% | 2 |
| First Jackson Bank, Inc. | $33,492,000 | 4.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,973 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 37.2² + 34.8² + 18.2² + … (2 more) = 2,973
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 | $187,574,213 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $13,870,775 |
| Department of Transportation | $8,699,538 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,879,986 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,386,773 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,377,778 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $179,842 |
| Department of Defense | $48,663 |
| Department of Education | $16,099 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $0 |
That is $25,734 per covered job, against 8,395 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $216.0 m / 8,395 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $25,734
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 #
Marion County, TN: 6 findings, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchMarion County, TN's covered employment is -0.6% 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 = -0.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteMarion County, TN's average weekly wage was 7.2% 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
- +7.2 % = 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
noteMarion County, TN's covered employment was 0.6% 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
- -0.6 % = 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
noteMarion County, TN's years of wages of 4.7 ranks 6th of 6 counties in the Chattanooga metro, against a median of 5.3.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 0 on the 0-to-100 scale across 6 counties in the Chattanooga 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Marion County, TN 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 6 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.