Chatham County, GA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 31.98, -81.09.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 76th pct · 711th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 79th pct · 33rd of 159 Georgia counties · median $215,610
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 6th pct · 2,870th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 1st pct · 156th of 159 Georgia counties · median +2.5%
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 67th pct · 438th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 54th pct · 32nd of 69 Georgia counties · median $1,701
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 94th pct · 193rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 97th pct · 5th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 81st pct · 599th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 91st pct · 15th of 159 Georgia counties · median $964
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 66th pct · 1,017th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 67th pct · 52nd of 159 Georgia counties · median 4.2
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah 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 $332,415 (Sep 2026), -3.4% over one year, +29.8% over five
- 76th pct · 711th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 79th pct · 33rd of 159 Georgia counties · median $215,610
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chatham County, GA | $332,415 · -3.4% 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 $1,734/mo (Sep 2026), -0.9% over one year; price-to-rent 16.0
- 67th pct · 438th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 54th pct · 32nd of 69 Georgia counties · median $1,701
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chatham County, GA | $1,734/mo · -0.9% 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 $1,841 a month on $332,415 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,438 a month: 33.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $332,415 × 80% = $265,932, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,841/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,255 × 52 / 12 = $5,438) = 34% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $332,415 / ($1,255 × 52) = 5.1
- price-to-rent = $332,415 / ($1,734 × 12) = 16.0
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 #
172,587 jobs at 11,097 employers (2026 Q1); +1.1% jobs and +2.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 94th pct · 193rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 97th pct · 5th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- counties in the Savannah metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Savannah metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chatham County, GA | 172,587 jobs · $1,255/wk · +1.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 22,257 | $583 | 1.44 | +2.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 22,129 | $1,287 | 0.85 | +1.0% |
| Retail trade | 20,151 | $821 | 1.20 | -0.7% |
| Manufacturing | 19,359 | $2,044 | 1.39 | -3.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 18,597 | $1,211 | 2.56 | +22.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 11,028 | $845 | 1.12 | -13.1% |
| Construction | 7,515 | $1,477 | 0.83 | -3.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 6,491 | $1,611 | 0.55 | +6.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 6,268 | $1,728 | 0.95 | -1.9% |
| Other services | 5,134 | $923 | 1.00 | +1.6% |
| Educational services | 3,885 | $1,415 | 1.05 | -0.2% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 3,303 | $723 | 1.16 | +8.9% |
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 #
$7.8 bn in deposits at 65 offices of 20 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,147, moderately concentrated. $2.4 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.9 bn, contracts $411.5 m), $13,937 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1.4 bn · 18.3% share · 10 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $1.4 bn · 17.4% share · 9 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $1.3 bn · 16.2% share · 7 offices | |
| Chatham, GA | $2.4 bn FY2026 · $13,937/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.7 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,433,163,000 | 18.3% | 10 |
| Truist Bank | $1,363,166,000 | 17.4% | 9 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $1,271,622,000 | 16.2% | 7 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $706,058,000 | 9.0% | 4 |
| Ameris Bank | $634,765,000 | 8.1% | 5 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $445,266,000 | 5.7% | 3 |
| United Community Bank | $370,513,000 | 4.7% | 3 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $301,676,000 | 3.8% | 5 |
| BankSouth | $222,690,000 | 2.8% | 1 |
| Bank OZK | $186,392,000 | 2.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,147 across 20 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 20 banks with deposits in the county = 18.3² + 17.4² + 16.2² + … (17 more) = 1,147
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 | $1,320,888,830 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $423,283,027 |
| Department of Defense | $366,005,555 |
| Department of Education | $113,900,596 |
| Department of Transportation | $69,892,834 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $60,322,762 |
| General Services Administration | $15,550,780 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $15,152,524 |
| Department of Justice | $10,213,902 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $8,635,203 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $3,601,301 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,465,060 |
That is $13,937 per covered job, against 172,587 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $2.4 bn / 172,587 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,937
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 | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| 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 · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +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 | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| 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 | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| 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 | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
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 #
Chatham County, GA: 13 findings, 1 at a watch level and 12 noted
watchChatham County, GA's typical home value is -3.4% 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 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.yoyPct = -3.356666075899703 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteChatham County, GA's average weekly wage was 2.1% 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
- +2.1 % = 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
noteChatham County, GA's covered employment was 1.1% 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
- +1.1 % = 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
noteChatham County, GA's typical asking rent fell 0.7% from $1,747 in August 2026 to $1,734 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.7% = (1734.2043074407309 - 1747.0822696089342) / 1747.0822696089342 × 100
- 1734.2043074407309 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1747.0822696089342 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteChatham County, GA's typical home value fell 0.3% from $333,499 in August 2026 to $332,415 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (332414.9716546042 - 333499.4143744881) / 333499.4143744881 × 100
- 332414.9716546042 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 333499.4143744881 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
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.