McDowell County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.38, -81.66.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 0th pct · 3,063rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 0th pct · 55th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
- 0th pct · 3,046th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 0th pct · 55th of 55 West Virginia counties · median +3.3%
- US counties: not published this period
- West Virginia counties: not published this period
- 28th pct · 2,292nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 33rd pct · 37th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- 58th pct · 1,349th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 51st pct · 27th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- 0th pct · 3,063rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 0th pct · 55th 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 $42,866 (Aug 2026), -15.8% over one year, -37.6% over five
- 0th pct · 3,063rd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 0th pct · 55th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| McDowell County, WV | $42,866 · -15.8% 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 $235 a month on $42,866 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,671 a month: 5.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $42,866 × 80% = $34,293, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $235/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,078 × 52 / 12 = $4,671) = 5% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $42,866 / ($1,078 × 52) = 0.8
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 #
3,585 jobs at 369 employers (2026 Q1); -6.3% jobs and +1.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 28th pct · 2,292nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 33rd pct · 37th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| McDowell County, WV | 3,585 jobs · $1,078/wk · -6.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 445 | $824 | 0.82 | +0.7% |
| Retail trade | 381 | $471 | 1.09 | -5.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 105 | $552 | 0.52 | -25.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 89 | $1,105 | 0.59 | -27.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 80 | $815 | 0.55 | -5.9% |
| Other services | 66 | $851 | 0.62 | +22.2% |
| Real estate and rental | 32 | $901 | 0.58 | -28.9% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR RADFORD, VA | 231.0 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 102 km |
| W. KERR SCOTT RESERVOIR AT DAM NR WILKESBORO, NC | 30.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 144 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 #
69 gauges · 0 flooding · 7 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 9 stale
Sites found: 69, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| TUG FORK DOWNSTREAM OF ELKHORN CREEK AT WELCH, WV | flow 60.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 8 km |
| DRY FORK AT BEARTOWN, WV | flow 42.5 ft³/s · no flooding | 13 km |
| TUG FORK AT LITWAR, WV | flow 138.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 19 km |
| PANTHER CREEK NEAR PANTHER, WV | flow 4.45 ft³/s · no flooding | 20 km |
| JOHNS KNOB BRANCH AT ELKHORN, WV | flow 2.90 ft³/s · STALE | 23 km |
| Dismal Creek at Whitewood | out of service | 24 km |
| GUYANDOTTE RIVER AT PINEVILLE, WV | flow 124.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 25 km |
| GUYANDOTTE RIVER NEAR BAILEYSVILLE, WV | flow 96.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 25 km |
| LITTLE HUFF CR AT LITTLE CUB CR RD AT HANOVER, WV | flow 0.84 ft³/s | 27 km |
| CLEAR FORK AT CLEAR FORK, WV | flow 15.8 ft³/s · no flooding | 27 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 #
18 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 18, 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-372634081524601 | depth 7.09 ft · 1982-09-28 | 21 km |
| USGS-372606081530001 | depth 30.6 ft · 1982-09-28 | 21 km |
| USGS-372608081530201 | depth 17.9 ft · 1982-09-28 | 21 km |
| USGS-372322081241501 | depth 22.8 ft · 2026-10-06 | 22 km |
| USGS-373554081493401 | depth 35.7 ft · 2006-09-06 | 28 km |
| USGS-371841081584201 | depth 21.0 ft · 2026-10-06 | 29 km |
| USGS-373452081254301 | depth 17.6 ft · 1979-11-30 | 30 km |
| USGS-373701081271301 | depth 30.6 ft · 1983-01-11 | 32 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 #
$219.9 m in deposits at 5 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,139, highly concentrated. $146.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $130.4 m, grants $12.2 m), $40,853 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| MCNB Bank and Trust Co. | $128.3 m · 58.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Pioneer Community Bank, Inc. | $91.6 m · 41.6% share · 3 offices | |
| McDowell, WV | $146.5 m FY2026 · $40,853/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $130.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCNB Bank and Trust Co. | $128,326,000 | 58.4% | 2 |
| Pioneer Community Bank, Inc. | $91,594,000 | 41.6% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 5,139 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 = 58.4² + 41.6² = 5,139
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 | $116,784,090 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $11,809,049 |
| Department of Transportation | $9,451,486 |
| Department of Justice | $3,934,509 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,293,806 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,587,419 |
| Department of Agriculture | $478,801 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $105,550 |
| General Services Administration | $39,749 |
| Small Business Administration | -$27,797 |
That is $40,853 per covered job, against 3,585 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $146.5 m / 3,585 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $40,853
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 #
McDowell County, WV: 19 findings, 2 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 14 noted
alertMcDowell County, WV's typical home value is -15.8% against a year earlier, an alert level here: typical home value at least 5 percent below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -15.840552995305943 <= -5
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
alertMcDowell County, WV's covered employment is -6.3% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -6.3 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchMcDowell County, WV's typical home value is -15.8% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -15.840552995305943 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchMcDowell County, WV's covered employment is -6.3% 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 = -6.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchMcDowell County, WV's momentum index is -0.64, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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: momentum = -0.6372549019607843 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, 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.