Island County, WA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 48.12, -122.54.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 97th pct · 92nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 92nd pct · 4th of 39 Washington counties · median $433,836
- 24th pct · 2,298th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 57th pct · 17th of 39 Washington counties · median +0.4%
- 88th pct · 168th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 78th pct · 7th of 29 Washington counties · median $1,767
- 69th pct · 996th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 21st of 39 Washington counties · median 18,771
- 81st pct · 589th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 55th pct · 18th of 39 Washington counties · median $1,237
- 96th pct · 93rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 94th pct · 3rd of 39 Washington counties · median 6.7
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 $638,463 (Aug 2026), +0.5% over one year, +8.5% over five
- 97th pct · 92nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 92nd pct · 4th of 39 Washington counties · median $433,836
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Island County, WA | $638,463 · +0.5% 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 #
Typical rent $2,118/mo (Aug 2026), +5.2% over one year; price-to-rent 25.1
- 88th pct · 168th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 78th pct · 7th of 29 Washington counties · median $1,767
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Island County, WA | $2,118/mo · +5.2% 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 $3,495 a month on $638,463 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,456 a month: 64.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $638,463 × 80% = $510,770, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $3,495/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,259 × 52 / 12 = $5,456) = 64% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $638,463 / ($1,259 × 52) = 9.8
- price-to-rent = $638,463 / ($2,118 × 12) = 25.1
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 #
18,165 jobs at 2,140 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and +6.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 69th pct · 996th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 21st of 39 Washington counties · median 18,771
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Island County, WA | 18,165 jobs · $1,259/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 2,215 | $761 | 1.25 | +0.5% |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,209 | $927 | 0.81 | +2.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,055 | $581 | 1.26 | -7.3% |
| Construction | 1,205 | $1,167 | 1.27 | +1.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,058 | $2,498 | 0.84 | +2.3% |
| Other services | 815 | $915 | 1.50 | -4.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 642 | $1,096 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| Educational services | 472 | $749 | 1.21 | -1.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 363 | $3,724 | 0.49 | +1.1% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 359 | $590 | 1.20 | -3.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 292 | $826 | 1.05 | +1.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 207 | $1,555 | 0.30 | -4.6% |
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 #
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 #
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 #
$1.3 bn in deposits at 14 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,419, highly concentrated. $929.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $819.5 m, contracts $82.4 m), $51,146 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Bank | $515.1 m · 40.0% share · 5 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $274.9 m · 21.3% share · 2 offices | |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $187.1 m · 14.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Island, WA | $929.1 m FY2026 · $51,146/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $813.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Bank | $515,087,000 | 40.0% | 5 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $274,864,000 | 21.3% | 2 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $187,085,000 | 14.5% | 2 |
| Peoples Bank | $97,734,000 | 7.6% | 2 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $95,428,000 | 7.4% | 1 |
| Coastal Community Bank | $69,369,000 | 5.4% | 1 |
| KeyBank National Association | $49,275,000 | 3.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,419 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 40.0² + 21.3² + 14.5² + … (4 more) = 2,419
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 | $638,669,481 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $172,341,920 |
| Department of Defense | $82,135,706 |
| Department of Education | $14,511,225 |
| Department of Transportation | $7,111,535 |
| Department of Agriculture | $6,046,197 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $4,168,752 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,455,304 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $843,919 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $462,577 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $136,000 |
| Department of State | $98,062 |
That is $51,146 per covered job, against 18,165 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $929.1 m / 18,165 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $51,146
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 | -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 #
Island County, WA: 12 findings, 5 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchIsland County, WA's years of wages of 9.8 ranks 93rd 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 = 96.99542782495101 >= 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
watchIsland County, WA's price-to-rent ratio of 25.1 ranks 85th 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 = 93.99141630901288 >= 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
watchIsland County, WA's price-to-rent ratio is 25.1, 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 = 25.11597961743144 >= 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
watchIsland County, WA's covered employment is -0.1% 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 = -0.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchIsland County, WA's typical home value of +0.5% scores 25 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 58 across Washington counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |25 across US counties - 58 across Washington counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.