Gilmer County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.92, -80.85.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 7th pct · 2,832nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 22nd pct · 43rd of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
- 87th pct · 376th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 92nd pct · 5th of 55 West Virginia counties · median +3.3%
- US counties: not published this period
- West Virginia counties: not published this period
- 14th pct · 2,750th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 49th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- 37th pct · 2,003rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 33rd pct · 37th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- 9th pct · 2,784th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 33rd pct · 37th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 2.8
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 $123,430 (Aug 2026), +7.3% over one year, +21.5% over five
- 7th pct · 2,832nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 22nd pct · 43rd of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Gilmer County, WV | $123,430 · +7.3% 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
- West 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 $676 a month on $123,430 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,264 a month: 15.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $123,430 × 80% = $98,744, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $676/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $984 × 52 / 12 = $4,264) = 16% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $123,430 / ($984 × 52) = 2.4
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 #
1,825 jobs at 166 employers (2026 Q1); +0.3% jobs and +2.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 14th pct · 2,750th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 11th pct · 49th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Gilmer County, WV | 1,825 jobs · $984/wk · +0.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 199 | $958 | 1.36 | +12.4% |
| Retail trade | 143 | $618 | 0.80 | -2.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 30 | $794 | 0.24 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 20 | $705 | 0.27 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 17 | $760 | 0.31 | +0.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 11 | $2,035 | 0.14 | -15.4% |
| Real estate and rental | 4 | $1,655 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4 | $869 | 0.04 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| DEEP CREEK LAKE NEAR THAYERVILLE, MD | 2,459 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 149 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 #
42 gauges · 0 flooding · 10 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 2 stale
Sites found: 42, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT GLENVILLE, WV | flow 149.0 ft³/s | 2 km |
| SAND FORK NEAR GLENVILLE, WV | flow 15.3 ft³/s | 10 km |
| LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT BURNSVILLE, WV | flow 124.0 ft³/s | 16 km |
| LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT GRANTSVILLE, WV | stage 7.50 ft | 21 km |
| ELK RIVER AT SUTTON, WV | stage 11.7 ft | 31 km |
| WEST FORK LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT ROCKSDALE, WV | flow 40.2 ft³/s | 33 km |
| WEST FORK R BL STONEWALL JACKSON DAM NR WESTON, WV | flow 189.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) | 34 km |
| LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER NR WILDCAT, WV | flow 78.4 ft³/s | 34 km |
| WEST FORK RIVER AT WALKERSVILLE, WV | stage 2.98 ft · quality 100 % (1) | 34 km |
| WEST FORK RIVER AT WESTON, WV | stage 6.78 ft | 35 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 #
6 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 6, 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-391226081024901 | depth 19.4 ft · 1995-10-17 | 37 km |
| USGS-391308081064201 | depth 25.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 41 km |
| USGS-391020080244101 | depth 41.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 47 km |
| USGS-393211081021201 | depth 18.9 ft · 1995-10-01 | 71 km |
| USGS-382008080292801 | depth 23.3 ft · 2026-10-05 | 72 km |
| USGS-391712081333201 | depth 32.5 ft · 1980-11-21 | 74 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 #
$198.5 m in deposits at 2 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 6,500, highly concentrated. $45.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $40.0 m, grants $3.8 m), $25,059 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| United Bank | $153.6 m · 77.4% share · 1 office | |
| Calhoun County Bank, Inc. | $44.9 m · 22.6% share · 1 office | |
| Gilmer, WV | $45.7 m FY2026 · $25,059/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $36.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Bank | $153,590,000 | 77.4% | 1 |
| Calhoun County Bank, Inc. | $44,882,000 | 22.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 6,500 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 = 77.4² + 22.6² = 6,500
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 | $30,780,383 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $5,543,982 |
| Department of Education | $3,641,690 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,595,325 |
| Department of Justice | $1,921,111 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $140,029 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $100,000 |
| Department of Agriculture | $10,311 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $77 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $25,059 per covered job, against 1,825 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $45.7 m / 1,825 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $25,059
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 #
Gilmer County, WV: 7 findings, 7 noted
noteGilmer County, WV's average weekly wage was 2.2% 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
- +2.2 % = 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
noteGilmer County, WV's covered employment was 0.3% 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
- +0.3 % = 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
noteGilmer County, WV's typical home value rose 0.3% from $123,091 in July 2026 to $123,430 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (123429.913975191 - 123091.34202606954) / 123091.34202606954 × 100
- 123429.913975191 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 123091.34202606954 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteGilmer County, WV's typical home value of +7.3% ranks 5th of 55 West Virginia counties, against a median of +3.3%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across 55 West Virginia counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteGilmer County, WV's typical home value of $123,430 ranks 2,832nd of 3,063 US counties, against a median of $234,566.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 8 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3063 US counties that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 7 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.