Ritchie County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.18, -81.07.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 6th pct · 2,872nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 20th pct · 44th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
- 5th pct · 2,881st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 3rd pct · 53rd of 55 West Virginia counties · median +3.3%
- US counties: not published this period
- West Virginia counties: not published this period
- 23rd pct · 2,464th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 25th pct · 41st of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- 38th pct · 1,983rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 35th pct · 36th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- 7th pct · 2,830th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 29th pct · 39th 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 $119,105 (Aug 2026), -3.9% over one year, +3.6% over five
- 6th pct · 2,872nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 20th pct · 44th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $154,872
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ritchie County, WV | $119,105 · -3.9% 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 $652 a month on $119,105 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,277 a month: 15.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $119,105 × 80% = $95,284, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $652/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $987 × 52 / 12 = $4,277) = 15% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $119,105 / ($987 × 52) = 2.3
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 #
2,891 jobs at 264 employers (2026 Q1); -1.2% jobs and +2.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 23rd pct · 2,464th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 25th pct · 41st of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ritchie County, WV | 2,891 jobs · $987/wk · -1.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 631 | $962 | 2.71 | -6.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 578 | $1,485 | 56.15 | -0.2% |
| Retail trade | 321 | $532 | 1.14 | +4.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 146 | $1,272 | 0.73 | +43.1% |
| Construction | 109 | $1,176 | 0.72 | -20.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 63 | $1,049 | 0.52 | +1.6% |
| Utilities | 19 | $2,479 | 1.66 | +11.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 14 | $1,159 | 0.13 | -26.3% |
| Information | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | withheld | |||
| Management of companies | 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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
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 #
45 gauges · 0 flooding · 6 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 5 stale
Sites found: 45, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SOUTH FORK HUGHES RIVER BELOW MACFARLAN, WV | flow 33.2 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT GRANTSVILLE, WV | stage 7.48 ft · no flooding | 29 km |
| Ohio River at Willow Island Lock | no flooding | 30 km |
| MEATHOUSE FORK AT HWY 18 NEAR WEST UNION, WV | flow 8.46 ft³/s · no flooding | 30 km |
| LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT PALESTINE, WV | flow 432.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 31 km |
| LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT GLENVILLE, WV | flow 141.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 34 km |
| MIDDLE ISLAND CREEK AT LITTLE, WV | flow 69.6 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 34 km |
| MIDDLE ISLAND CREEK AT HWY 18 NR MIDDLEBOURNE, WV | stage 9.14 ft · no flooding | 38 km |
| WEST FORK LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER AT ROCKSDALE, WV | flow 39.1 ft³/s | 39 km |
| SAND FORK NEAR GLENVILLE, WV | flow 15.3 ft³/s | 40 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 #
8 wells in 1 named aquifer: Sand and gravel aquifers (glaciated regions)
Sites found: 8, 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 | 4 km |
| USGS-391308081064201 | depth 25.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 6 km |
| USGS-393211081021201 | depth 18.9 ft · 1995-10-01 | 40 km |
| USGS-392458081271100 | depth 27.4 ft · 1982-10-13 | 43 km |
| USGS-391712081333201 | depth 32.5 ft · 1980-11-21 | 44 km |
| Sand and gravel aquifers (glaciated regions) | depth 29.2 ft · 2026-10-05 | 45 km |
| USGS-391020080244101 | depth 41.8 ft · 2026-10-05 | 56 km |
| USGS-393241081353500 | depth 13.5 ft · 1998-04-24 | 61 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 #
$300.3 m in deposits at 7 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,679, highly concentrated. $73.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $71.4 m, grants $2.0 m), $25,399 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Community Bank | $97.7 m · 32.5% share · 3 offices | |
| West Union Bank | $88.9 m · 29.6% share · 2 offices | |
| The Huntington National Bank | $68.0 m · 22.7% share · 1 office | |
| Ritchie, WV | $73.4 m FY2026 · $25,399/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $70.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Community Bank | $97,706,000 | 32.5% | 3 |
| West Union Bank | $88,864,000 | 29.6% | 2 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $68,040,000 | 22.7% | 1 |
| Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company | $45,672,000 | 15.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,679 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 = 32.5² + 29.6² + 22.7² + … (1 more) = 2,679
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 | $60,100,580 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $10,448,687 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,635,301 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $400,000 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $383,356 |
| Department of Agriculture | $184,585 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $163,946 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $128,968 |
| Department of Transportation | -$17,292 |
That is $25,399 per covered job, against 2,891 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $73.4 m / 2,891 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $25,399
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 #
Ritchie County, WV: 10 findings, 2 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchRitchie County, WV's typical home value is -3.9% 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 = -3.881754785973047 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchRitchie County, WV's covered employment is -1.2% 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 = -1.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteRitchie County, WV's average weekly wage was 2.5% 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
- +2.5 % = 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
noteRitchie County, WV's covered employment was 1.2% 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
- -1.2 % = 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
noteRitchie County, WV's typical home value rose 0.4% from $118,670 in July 2026 to $119,105 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.4% = (119105.45420424982 - 118669.7278319142) / 118669.7278319142 × 100
- 119105.45420424982 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 118669.7278319142 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 10 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.