Hancock County, ME
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 44.56, -68.37.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 88th pct · 359th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 66th pct · 6th of 16 Maine counties · median $322,387
- 50th pct · 1,527th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 93rd pct · 2nd of 16 Maine counties · median +1.4%
- 74th pct · 342nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 66th pct · 5th of 13 Maine counties · median $1,801
- 71st pct · 912th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 7th of 16 Maine counties · median 16,807
- 65th pct · 1,118th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 46th pct · 9th of 16 Maine counties · median $1,117
- 90th pct · 301st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 80th pct · 4th of 16 Maine counties · median 5.8
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 $419,630 (Sep 2026), +2.9% over one year, +20.7% over five
- 88th pct · 359th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 66th pct · 6th of 16 Maine counties · median $322,387
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, ME | $419,630 · +2.9% 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 #
Typical rent $1,836/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 19.0
- 74th pct · 342nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 66th pct · 5th of 13 Maine counties · median $1,801
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, ME | $1,836/mo · n/a 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 $2,324 a month on $419,630 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,836 a month: 48.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $419,630 × 80% = $335,704, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,324/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,116 × 52 / 12 = $4,836) = 48% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $419,630 / ($1,116 × 52) = 7.2
- price-to-rent = $419,630 / ($1,836 × 12) = 19.0
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 #
20,386 jobs at 2,875 employers (2026 Q1); -1.3% jobs and +1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 71st pct · 912th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 7th of 16 Maine counties · median 16,807
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, ME | 20,386 jobs · $1,116/wk · -1.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 3,370 | $739 | 1.70 | -1.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,719 | $1,146 | 0.89 | -1.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,959 | $645 | 1.07 | +1.8% |
| Construction | 1,864 | $1,140 | 1.74 | +4.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,824 | $2,160 | 1.30 | -10.1% |
| Other services | 1,024 | $1,015 | 1.68 | -3.9% |
| Manufacturing | 800 | $1,013 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 444 | $1,867 | 0.53 | -0.7% |
| Educational services | 428 | $802 | 0.98 | +10.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 396 | $944 | 0.34 | -19.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 366 | $990 | 1.09 | +4.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 319 | $1,173 | 0.37 | +8.5% |
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 #
D2 severe drought
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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$2.9 bn in deposits at 29 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,366, highly concentrated. $592.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $431.4 m, grants $123.1 m), $29,075 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bar Harbor Bank & Trust | $1.5 bn · 53.7% share · 8 offices | |
| First National Bank | $383.0 m · 13.3% share · 5 offices | |
| The Camden National Bank | $381.3 m · 13.3% share · 7 offices | |
| Hancock, ME | $592.7 m FY2026 · $29,075/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $411.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Harbor Bank & Trust | $1,543,288,000 | 53.7% | 8 |
| First National Bank | $383,027,000 | 13.3% | 5 |
| The Camden National Bank | $381,250,000 | 13.3% | 7 |
| Machias Savings Bank | $242,852,000 | 8.4% | 2 |
| Bangor Savings Bank | $205,279,000 | 7.1% | 4 |
| Bar Harbor Savings and Loan Association | $73,776,000 | 2.6% | 1 |
| KeyBank National Association | $35,255,000 | 1.2% | 1 |
| Franklin Savings Bank | $10,180,000 | 0.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,366 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 53.7² + 13.3² + 13.3² + … (5 more) = 3,366
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 | $372,737,617 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $69,791,722 |
| Department of Transportation | $49,770,401 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $37,860,513 |
| Department of Defense | $18,505,974 |
| Department of Agriculture | $12,836,814 |
| Department of the Interior | $8,387,325 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $6,609,143 |
| Department of Education | $6,490,420 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $6,185,371 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $930,000 |
| National Science Foundation | $929,952 |
That is $29,075 per covered job, against 20,386 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $592.7 m / 20,386 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $29,075
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 | 17.40 | 2026-10-19 | -3.1% |
| 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 | 2026-10-20 | +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 #
Hancock County, ME: 11 findings, 4 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchHancock County, ME's typical asking rent is -2.3% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; 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 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: rent.momPct = -2.311431567293467 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchHancock County, ME's covered employment is -1.3% 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 = -1.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchHancock County, ME's years of wages of 7.2 ranks 301st of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; 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: yearsOfWages percentile = 90.20248203788374 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchHancock County, ME's typical home value of +2.9% scores 50 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 93 across Maine counties, a gap of 43 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 43 = |50 across US counties - 93 across Maine counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteHancock County, ME's typical asking rent fell 2.3% from $1,879 in August 2026 to $1,836 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -2.3% = (1835.777777777778 - 1879.2145357748452) / 1879.2145357748452 × 100
- 1835.777777777778 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1879.2145357748452 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
Read all 11 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.