Clarke County, VA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.12, -77.99.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 95th pct · 134th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 92nd pct · 11th of 133 Virginia counties · median $307,999
- 50th pct · 12th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $568,558
- 54th pct · 1,385th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 58th pct · 56th of 133 Virginia counties · median +2.9%
- 86th pct · 4th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median +1.4%
- 72nd pct · 391st of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 51st pct · 39th of 79 Virginia counties · median $1,757
- 0th pct · 22nd of 22 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $2,260
- 32nd pct · 2,185th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 94th of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
- 9th pct · 21st of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 38,075
- 61st pct · 1,232nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 56th pct · 58th of 133 Virginia counties · median $1,048
- 18th pct · 19th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $1,341
- 97th pct · 83rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 96th pct · 5th of 133 Virginia counties · median 5.4
- 86th pct · 4th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 7.1
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 $568,558 (Aug 2026), +3.4% over one year, +20.1% over five
- 95th pct · 134th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 92nd pct · 11th of 133 Virginia counties · median $307,999
- 50th pct · 12th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $568,558
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke County, VA | $568,558 · +3.4% 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 $1,775/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 26.7
- 72nd pct · 391st of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 51st pct · 39th of 79 Virginia counties · median $1,757
- 0th pct · 22nd of 22 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $2,260
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke County, VA | $1,775/mo · n/a 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 $3,112 a month on $568,558 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,754 a month: 65.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $568,558 × 80% = $454,847, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $3,112/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,097 × 52 / 12 = $4,754) = 65% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $568,558 / ($1,097 × 52) = 10.0
- price-to-rent = $568,558 / ($1,775 × 12) = 26.7
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 #
4,087 jobs at 485 employers (2026 Q1); +1.6% jobs and +1.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 32nd pct · 2,185th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 94th of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
- 9th pct · 21st of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 38,075
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke County, VA | 4,087 jobs · $1,097/wk · +1.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 575 | $1,044 | 1.75 | +0.7% |
| Construction | 423 | $1,196 | 1.97 | -9.6% |
| Health care and social assistance | 363 | $863 | 0.59 | +11.7% |
| Educational services | 336 | $1,042 | 3.82 | +15.9% |
| Retail trade | 317 | $608 | 0.80 | -0.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 264 | $1,963 | 0.94 | -7.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 222 | $499 | 0.60 | -4.3% |
| Other services | 136 | $1,274 | 1.11 | +8.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 106 | $1,078 | 0.68 | +6.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 90 | $2,829 | 0.54 | +9.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 33 | $757 | 0.49 | +6.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 25 | $726 | 0.40 | +19.0% |
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 #
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 #
$421.7 m in deposits at 3 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 7,433, highly concentrated. $118.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $116.0 m, grants $4.3 m), $28,874 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bank Of Clarke | $357.9 m · 84.9% share · 2 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $63.8 m · 15.1% share · 1 office | |
| Clarke, VA | $118.0 m FY2026 · $28,874/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $114.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Of Clarke | $357,933,000 | 84.9% | 2 |
| Truist Bank | $63,782,000 | 15.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 7,433 across 2 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 2 banks with deposits in the county = 84.9² + 15.1² = 7,433
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 | $98,779,251 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $16,042,403 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,914,408 |
| Department of State | $661,088 |
| Department of Agriculture | $603,691 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $492,702 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $455,005 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $188,784 |
| National Endowment for the Humanities | $30,000 |
| Department of Justice | $12,500 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$3,173,158 |
That is $28,874 per covered job, against 4,087 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $118.0 m / 4,087 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $28,874
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 #
Clarke County, VA: 14 findings, 3 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchClarke County, VA's years of wages of 10.0 ranks 83rd of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; 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: yearsOfWages percentile = 97.32201175702156 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchClarke County, VA's price-to-rent ratio of 26.7 ranks 49th of 1,399 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; 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: priceToRent percentile = 96.56652360515021 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchClarke County, VA's price-to-rent ratio is 26.7, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; 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: priceToRent = 26.69288366578662 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteClarke County, VA's covered employment was 1.6% 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
- +1.6 % = 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
noteClarke County, VA's average weekly wage was 1.5% 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
- +1.5 % = 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
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.