Russell County, VA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.93, -82.10.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 13th pct · 2,638th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 6th pct · 124th of 133 Virginia counties · median $307,999
- 62nd pct · 1,154th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 68th pct · 42nd of 133 Virginia counties · median +2.9%
- US counties: not published this period
- Virginia counties: not published this period
- 43rd pct · 1,835th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 40th pct · 79th of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
- 32nd pct · 2,174th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 28th pct · 95th of 133 Virginia counties · median $1,048
- 17th pct · 2,534th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 7th pct · 123rd of 133 Virginia counties · median 5.4
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 $144,232 (Aug 2026), +4.1% over one year, +17.2% over five
- 13th pct · 2,638th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 6th pct · 124th of 133 Virginia counties · median $307,999
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Russell County, VA | $144,232 · +4.1% 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
- Virginia counties: 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 $789 a month on $144,232 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,169 a month: 18.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $144,232 × 80% = $115,386, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $789/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $962 × 52 / 12 = $4,169) = 19% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $144,232 / ($962 × 52) = 2.9
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 #
6,225 jobs at 566 employers (2026 Q1); +2.3% jobs and +1.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 43rd pct · 1,835th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 40th pct · 79th of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Russell County, VA | 6,225 jobs · $962/wk · +2.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 880 | $1,106 | 0.94 | +0.0% |
| Retail trade | 813 | $664 | 1.34 | +9.3% |
| Manufacturing | 595 | $1,091 | 1.19 | +11.4% |
| Construction | 516 | $1,195 | 1.58 | +13.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 411 | $1,268 | 0.96 | +0.2% |
| Educational services | 174 | $420 | 1.30 | +0.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 171 | $1,575 | 7.71 | +1.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 170 | $1,275 | 0.67 | +0.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 127 | $966 | 0.48 | -9.9% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 49 | $973 | 1.09 | +8.9% |
| Real estate and rental | 21 | $580 | 0.22 | +31.2% |
| Utilities | withheld |
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 #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
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 #
2 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 2, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| W. KERR SCOTT RESERVOIR AT DAM NR WILKESBORO, NC | 30.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 118 km |
| LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR RADFORD, VA | 231.0 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 136 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 #
89 gauges · 0 flooding · 7 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 11 stale
Sites found: 89, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CLINCH RIVER AT CLEVELAND, VA | flow 242.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) · no flooding | 5 km |
| Big Cedar Creek 1E Lebanon | no flooding | 7 km |
| Clinch River at Blackford | no flooding | 15 km |
| N Fork Holston River at White Mills 2N | no flooding | 17 km |
| GUEST RIVER NEAR MILLER YARD, VA | flow 33.0 ft³/s · STALE | 28 km |
| Clear Creek (VA) above Clear Creek Lake near Bristol VA | no readings | 30 km |
| N F HOLSTON RIVER NEAR SALTVILLE, VA | flow 96.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 31 km |
| Russell Fork River at Birchleaf | out of service | 32 km |
| Guest River at Coeburn | observation not current | 32 km |
| Levisa Fork at Oakwood | no readings | 32 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 #
10 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 10, 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-370443082022301 | depth 3.68 ft · 2002-04-11 | 17 km |
| USGS-371841081584201 | depth 21.0 ft · 2026-10-05 | 43 km |
| USGS-371033082374301 | depth 22.9 ft · 1984-11-08 | 54 km |
| USGS-370604082403901 | depth 34.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 55 km |
| USGS-372606081530001 | depth 30.6 ft · 1982-09-28 | 59 km |
| USGS-372608081530201 | depth 17.9 ft · 1982-09-28 | 59 km |
| USGS-372634081524601 | depth 7.09 ft · 1982-09-28 | 60 km |
| USGS-364022082450201 | depth 75.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 65 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 #
$686.4 m in deposits at 10 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,209, highly concentrated. $241.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $197.5 m, contracts $40.1 m), $38,815 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The First Bank and Trust Company | $339.9 m · 49.5% share · 2 offices | |
| New Peoples Bank, Inc. | $163.9 m · 23.9% share · 4 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $63.1 m · 9.2% share · 1 office | |
| Russell, VA | $241.6 m FY2026 · $38,815/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $192.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The First Bank and Trust Company | $339,862,000 | 49.5% | 2 |
| New Peoples Bank, Inc. | $163,910,000 | 23.9% | 4 |
| Truist Bank | $63,098,000 | 9.2% | 1 |
| TruPoint Bank | $45,522,000 | 6.6% | 1 |
| First Sentinel Bank | $38,999,000 | 5.7% | 1 |
| The Bank of Marion | $34,963,000 | 5.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,209 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 49.5² + 23.9² + 9.2² + … (3 more) = 3,209
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 | $173,588,822 |
| Department of Labor | $39,971,191 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $13,757,000 |
| Department of Agriculture | $5,324,500 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $5,288,744 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,656,794 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,651,649 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $142,159 |
| Department of Justice | $121,200 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $119,757 |
| Small Business Administration | $2,023 |
That is $38,815 per covered job, against 6,225 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $241.6 m / 6,225 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $38,815
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 #
Russell County, VA: 6 findings, 6 noted
noteRussell County, VA's covered employment 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
noteRussell County, VA's average weekly wage was 1.1% 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
- +1.1 % = 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
noteRussell County, VA's typical home value rose 0.6% from $143,307 in July 2026 to $144,232 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (144232.4118277512 - 143306.5718789591) / 143306.5718789591 × 100
- 144232.4118277512 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 143306.5718789591 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteRussell County, VA's typical home value of $144,232 ranks 124th of 133 Virginia counties, against a median of $307,999.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 7 on the 0-to-100 scale across 133 Virginia counties that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteRussell County, VA's years of wages of 2.9 ranks 123rd of 133 Virginia counties, against a median of 5.4.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 8 on the 0-to-100 scale across 133 Virginia counties 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 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.