Preston County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.47, -79.67.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 14th pct · 2,626th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 42nd pct · 32nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 84th pct · 481st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 88th pct · 7th of 55 West Virginia counties · median +3.3%
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- West Virginia counties: not published this period
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 46th pct · 1,718th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 55th pct · 25th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 68th pct · 1,003rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 70th pct · 17th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 9th pct · 2,768th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 38th pct · 34th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 2.8
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $145,257 (Aug 2026), +6.7% over one year, +28.8% over five
- 14th pct · 2,626th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 42nd pct · 32nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Preston County, WV | $145,257 · +6.7% 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
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $795 a month on $145,257 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,936 a month: 16.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $145,257 × 80% = $116,206, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $795/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,139 × 52 / 12 = $4,936) = 16% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $145,257 / ($1,139 × 52) = 2.5
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 #
7,230 jobs at 883 employers (2026 Q1); -2.8% jobs and +4.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 46th pct · 1,718th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 55th pct · 25th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Preston County, WV | 7,230 jobs · $1,139/wk · -2.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 1,080 | $1,071 | 0.99 | -2.3% |
| Construction | 997 | $1,292 | 2.63 | -1.7% |
| Retail trade | 793 | $573 | 1.13 | -1.5% |
| Manufacturing | 598 | $1,246 | 1.03 | -10.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 442 | $411 | 0.68 | -2.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 192 | $990 | 0.47 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 183 | $652 | 0.85 | +4.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 136 | $1,241 | 0.45 | -11.1% |
| Information | 133 | $1,339 | 1.00 | +11.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 133 | $1,710 | 0.45 | -5.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 66 | $469 | 0.55 | -18.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 65 | $1,184 | 0.23 | -3.0% |
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 #
4 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 4, 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) | 32 km |
| SAVAGE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR BLOOMINGTON, MD | 1,442 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 46 km |
| JENNINGS RANDOLPH LAKE NEAR ELK GARDEN, WV | 1,446 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 47 km |
| Loyalhanna Creek Lake, PA | 3,652 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 111 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 #
104 gauges · 0 flooding · 22 with quality panels averaging 99 % · 24 stale
Sites found: 104, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| CHEAT RIVER AT ALBRIGHT, WV | flow 813.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 4 km |
| CHEAT RIVER BELOW SALTLICK CREEK AT ROWLESBURG, WV | flow 725.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 13 km |
| CHEAT RIVER AT HWY 50 NEAR ROWLESBURG, WV | flow 8,970 ft³/s · out of service · STALE | 17 km |
| BIG SANDY CREEK AT ROCKVILLE, WV | flow 53.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| YOUGHIOGHENY RIVER NEAR OAKLAND, MD | flow 69.3 ft³/s | 22 km |
| YOUGHIOGHENY RIVER NEAR SWALLOW FALLS PARK, MD | flow 82.9 ft³/s | 22 km |
| YOUGHIOGHENY RIVER NEAR MCHENRY, MD | flow 134.0 ft³/s | 23 km |
| COBUN CREEK AT MORGANTOWN, WV | flow 0.12 ft³/s · STALE | 29 km |
| ARROWHEAD RUN AT THAYERVILLE, MD | flow 0.34 ft³/s | 30 km |
| DECKERS CREEK AT MORGANTOWN, WV | flow 18.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 30 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 #
35 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 35, 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-393814079484601 | depth 45.7 ft · 2014-10-07 | 22 km |
| USGS-392923079571801 | depth 70.6 ft · 1985-11-04 | 25 km |
| USGS-393959079555901 | depth 92.9 ft · 2026-10-06 | 32 km |
| USGS-391602079240301 | depth 253.5 ft · 1996-09-29 | 32 km |
| USGS-393749079190301 | depth 13.8 ft · 2026-10-06 | 35 km |
| USGS-391652079181401 | depth 7.71 ft · 2006-12-12 | 38 km |
| USGS-394843079351401 | depth 22.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 39 km |
| USGS-390605079254201 | depth 71.8 ft · 1994-04-12 | 46 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 #
$532.6 m in deposits at 7 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,945, highly concentrated. $236.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $217.8 m, contracts $11.1 m), $32,729 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Mountain Bank | $345.0 m · 64.8% share · 5 offices | |
| WesBanco Bank, Inc. | $136.5 m · 25.6% share · 1 office | |
| Truist Bank | $51.1 m · 9.6% share · 1 office | |
| Preston, WV | $236.6 m FY2026 · $32,729/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $214.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Mountain Bank | $345,024,000 | 64.8% | 5 |
| WesBanco Bank, Inc. | $136,533,000 | 25.6% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $51,069,000 | 9.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,945 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 64.8² + 25.6² + 9.6² = 4,945
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 | $184,359,640 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $27,863,454 |
| Department of Justice | $9,028,823 |
| Department of Transportation | $6,907,324 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,056,102 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,465,496 |
| Department of Defense | $1,496,882 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $507,732 |
| General Services Administration | $406,886 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $381,551 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $175,773 |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $62,528 |
That is $32,729 per covered job, against 7,230 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $236.6 m / 7,230 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $32,729
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 #
Preston County, WV: 6 findings, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchPreston County, WV's covered employment is -2.8% 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 = -2.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
notePreston County, WV's average weekly wage was 4.5% 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
- +4.5 % = 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
notePreston County, WV's covered employment was 2.8% 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
- -2.8 % = 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
notePreston County, WV's typical home value rose 0.5% from $144,574 in July 2026 to $145,257 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (145257.37607602988 - 144573.83950128927) / 144573.83950128927 × 100
- 145257.37607602988 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 144573.83950128927 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
notePreston County, WV's years of wages of 2.5 ranks 2,768th of 3,063 US counties, against a median of 4.3.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 10 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3063 US 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.