Covington city, VA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.78, -79.99.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 5th pct · 2,896th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 1st pct · 131st of 133 Virginia counties · median $307,999
- 95th pct · 144th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 94th pct · 8th of 133 Virginia counties · median +2.9%
- US counties: not published this period
- Virginia counties: not published this period
- 29th pct · 2,282nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 23rd pct · 102nd of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
- 85th pct · 457th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 83rd pct · 23rd of 133 Virginia counties · median $1,048
- 1st pct · 3,013th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 0th pct · 132nd 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 $115,505 (Aug 2026), +9.6% over one year, +50.9% over five
- 5th pct · 2,896th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 1st pct · 131st of 133 Virginia counties · median $307,999
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Covington city, VA | $115,505 · +9.6% 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 #
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 $632 a month on $115,505 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,694 a month: 11.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $115,505 × 80% = $92,404, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $632/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,314 × 52 / 12 = $5,694) = 11% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $115,505 / ($1,314 × 52) = 1.7
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 #
3,646 jobs at 289 employers (2026 Q1); -1.4% jobs and +7.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 29th pct · 2,282nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 23rd pct · 102nd of 133 Virginia counties · median 9,944
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Covington city, VA | 3,646 jobs · $1,314/wk · -1.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 503 | $617 | 1.42 | -9.0% |
| Other services | 122 | $472 | 1.12 | +13.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 88 | $1,458 | 0.59 | -1.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 48 | $809 | 0.19 | +11.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 42 | $1,057 | 0.20 | -37.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 32 | $1,298 | 0.23 | -20.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 25 | $1,106 | 0.45 | +4.2% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Information | 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 #
1 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 1, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR RADFORD, VA | 231.0 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 94 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 #
116 gauges · 0 flooding · 36 with quality panels averaging 99 % · 30 stale
Sites found: 116, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ROANOKE RIVER AT THIRTEENTH ST BR AT ROANOKE, VA | stage 3.12 ft · quality 80 % (5) · STALE | 58 km |
| JACKSON RIVER BL DUNLAP CREEK AT COVINGTON, VA | flow 254.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 2 km |
| JACKSON RIV AT FILTRATION PLANT AT COVINGTON, VA | temp 15.5 °C · quality 100 % (1) | 3 km |
| DUNLAP CREEK NEAR COVINGTON, VA | flow 17.2 ft³/s · no flooding | 6 km |
| POTTS CREEK NEAR COVINGTON, VA | flow 26.8 ft³/s · no flooding | 8 km |
| JACKSON RIVER AT FALLING SPRING, VA | stage 3.58 ft · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 11 km |
| CRAIG CREEK AT PARR, VA | flow 53.5 ft³/s · no flooding | 14 km |
| JAMES RIVER AT LICK RUN, VA | flow 357.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 18 km |
| Jackson River at Gathright Dam | observation not current | 19 km |
| Lake Moomaw at Gathright Dam | no flooding | 19 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 #
17 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 17, 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-380252079472801 | depth 7.68 ft · 2026-10-06 | 34 km |
| USGS-372603079553301 | depth 31.7 ft · 2026-10-06 | 39 km |
| USGS-380653080155301 | depth 69.6 ft · 2026-10-06 | 44 km |
| USGS-375055079290201 | depth 12.2 ft · 2026-09-08 | 45 km |
| USGS-373758079271601 | depth 29.6 ft · 2026-10-05 | 50 km |
| USGS-372224079423601 | depth 12.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 51 km |
| USGS-372150079422301 | depth 41.5 ft · 2026-10-06 | 53 km |
| USGS-373234080320101 | depth 88.7 ft · 2026-10-06 | 55 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 + 0.2×0.01 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$371.9 m in deposits at 4 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,710, highly concentrated. $51.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $50.0 m, grants $1.5 m), $14,123 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Highlands Community Bank | $123.7 m · 33.2% share · 1 office | |
| Truist Bank | $110.5 m · 29.7% share · 1 office | |
| Atlantic Union Bank | $84.7 m · 22.8% share · 1 office | |
| Covington (City), VA | $51.5 m FY2026 · $14,123/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $49.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands Community Bank | $123,662,000 | 33.2% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $110,480,000 | 29.7% | 1 |
| Atlantic Union Bank | $84,731,000 | 22.8% | 1 |
| Peoples Bank | $53,053,000 | 14.3% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,710 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 33.2² + 29.7² + 22.8² + … (1 more) = 2,710
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 | $36,375,826 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $10,667,243 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,593,337 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,475,499 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $289,824 |
| National Credit Union Administration | $50,000 |
| Department of Defense | $38,527 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,760 |
That is $14,123 per covered job, against 3,646 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $51.5 m / 3,646 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,123
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 #
Covington city, VA: 11 findings, 1 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchCovington city, VA's covered employment is -1.4% 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 = -1.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteCovington city, VA's average weekly wage was 7.6% 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
- +7.6 % = 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
noteCovington city, VA's covered employment was 1.4% 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
- -1.4 % = 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
noteCovington city, VA's years of wages of 1.7 ranks 132nd of 133 Virginia counties, against a median of 5.4.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 1 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
noteCovington city, VA's typical home value of $115,505 ranks 131st of 133 Virginia counties, against a median of $307,999.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 2 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
Read all 11 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.