Jefferson County, WI
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 43.01, -88.77.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 82nd pct · 539th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 85th pct · 11th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $298,900
- 73rd pct · 805th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 35th pct · 47th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median +6.0%
- 37th pct · 873rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 75th pct · 10th of 38 Wisconsin counties · median $1,216
- 78th pct · 696th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 67th pct · 24th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 15,405
- 64th pct · 1,156th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 69th pct · 23rd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $1,037
- 83rd pct · 511th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 80th pct · 15th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 5.4
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 $372,112 (Aug 2026), +5.2% over one year, +31.8% over five
- 82nd pct · 539th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 85th pct · 11th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $298,900
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, WI | $372,112 · +5.2% 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 $1,364/mo (Aug 2026), +4.9% over one year; price-to-rent 22.7
- 37th pct · 873rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 75th pct · 10th of 38 Wisconsin counties · median $1,216
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, WI | $1,364/mo · +4.9% 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 $2,037 a month on $372,112 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,810 a month: 42.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $372,112 × 80% = $297,690, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,037/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,110 × 52 / 12 = $4,810) = 42% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $372,112 / ($1,110 × 52) = 6.4
- price-to-rent = $372,112 / ($1,364 × 12) = 22.7
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 #
32,186 jobs at 2,381 employers (2026 Q1); -1.9% jobs and +3.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 78th pct · 696th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 67th pct · 24th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 15,405
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, WI | 32,186 jobs · $1,110/wk · -1.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 8,866 | $1,520 | 3.42 | -1.6% |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,976 | $938 | 0.82 | +0.0% |
| Retail trade | 3,541 | $640 | 1.13 | -3.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,238 | $352 | 0.77 | -2.0% |
| Construction | 2,012 | $1,492 | 1.19 | +7.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,563 | $818 | 0.85 | +5.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,111 | $987 | 0.82 | -8.3% |
| Other services | 756 | $822 | 0.79 | -2.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 665 | $1,284 | 0.30 | -12.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 650 | $1,597 | 0.50 | +1.6% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 528 | $436 | 1.00 | +5.0% |
| Management of companies | 387 | $2,356 | 0.72 | -1.5% |
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 #
$2.3 bn in deposits at 23 offices of 11 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,446, moderately concentrated. $541.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $532.0 m, grants $9.9 m), $16,810 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ixonia Bank | $533.9 m · 22.8% share · 3 offices | |
| Bank of Lake Mills | $432.3 m · 18.4% share · 2 offices | |
| PremierBank | $347.4 m · 14.8% share · 5 offices | |
| Jefferson, WI | $541.1 m FY2026 · $16,810/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $497.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ixonia Bank | $533,893,000 | 22.8% | 3 |
| Bank of Lake Mills | $432,278,000 | 18.4% | 2 |
| PremierBank | $347,365,000 | 14.8% | 5 |
| Bank Cmg | $345,409,000 | 14.7% | 2 |
| Associated Bank, National Association | $183,179,000 | 7.8% | 2 |
| BMO Bank National Association | $129,590,000 | 5.5% | 1 |
| Badger Bank | $113,291,000 | 4.8% | 3 |
| Farmers & Merchants State Bank | $105,722,000 | 4.5% | 2 |
| Bank First, N.A. | $60,890,000 | 2.6% | 1 |
| Johnson Bank | $54,250,000 | 2.3% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,446 across 11 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 11 banks with deposits in the county = 22.8² + 18.4² + 14.8² + … (8 more) = 1,446
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 | $459,355,772 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $36,979,015 |
| Department of Agriculture | $29,449,554 |
| Department of Transportation | $7,957,671 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,679,624 |
| Department of Education | $1,617,001 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,406,187 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,022,993 |
| Department of Defense | $696,404 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $681,800 |
| Department of Justice | $212,910 |
| Department of the Interior | $52,194 |
That is $16,810 per covered job, against 32,186 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $541.1 m / 32,186 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,810
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 #
Jefferson County, WI: 7 findings, 3 at a watch level and 4 noted
watchJefferson County, WI's covered employment is -1.9% 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 = -1.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchJefferson County, WI's typical home value of +5.2% scores 74 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 35 across Wisconsin counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |74 across US counties - 35 across Wisconsin counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchJefferson County, WI's typical asking rent of $1,364 scores 38 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 76 across Wisconsin counties, a gap of 38 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 38 = |38 across US counties - 76 across Wisconsin counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteJefferson County, WI's average weekly wage was 3.5% 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
- +3.5 % = 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
noteJefferson County, WI's covered employment was 1.9% 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
- -1.9 % = 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
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.