Hampden County, MA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.14, -72.64.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 79th pct · 619th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 0th pct · 14th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 64th pct · 1,081st of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 84th pct · 3rd of 14 Massachusetts counties · median +2.7%
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 71st pct · 388th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 9th pct · 11th of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 95th pct · 162nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 53rd pct · 7th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 84th pct · 484th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 23rd pct · 11th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $1,471
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 68th pct · 970th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 7th pct · 13th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 7.4
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield 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 $351,040 (Sep 2026), +4.0% over one year, +29.7% over five
- 79th pct · 619th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 0th pct · 14th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hampden County, MA | $351,040 · +4.0% 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 $1,783/mo (Sep 2026), +3.4% over one year; price-to-rent 16.4
- 71st pct · 388th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 9th pct · 11th of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hampden County, MA | $1,783/mo · +3.4% 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 $1,944 a month on $351,040 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,642 a month: 34.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $351,040 × 80% = $280,832, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,944/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,302 × 52 / 12 = $5,642) = 34% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $351,040 / ($1,302 × 52) = 5.2
- price-to-rent = $351,040 / ($1,783 × 12) = 16.4
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 #
197,784 jobs at 19,153 employers (2026 Q1); -0.9% jobs and +3.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 95th pct · 162nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 53rd pct · 7th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- counties in the Springfield metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Springfield metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hampden County, MA | 197,784 jobs · $1,302/wk · -0.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 52,539 | $1,107 | 1.77 | -0.7% |
| Retail trade | 18,385 | $795 | 0.95 | -0.8% |
| Manufacturing | 16,100 | $1,461 | 1.01 | -3.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 15,579 | $536 | 0.88 | -1.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 7,652 | $1,051 | 0.92 | -2.3% |
| Construction | 7,233 | $1,679 | 0.70 | +0.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 6,573 | $4,087 | 0.82 | -0.7% |
| Other services | 6,357 | $949 | 1.08 | +1.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 6,271 | $2,011 | 0.83 | -1.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 6,078 | $982 | 0.54 | +0.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 5,362 | $1,664 | 0.39 | -2.8% |
| Educational services | 5,006 | $846 | 1.18 | -2.1% |
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 #
$14.1 bn in deposits at 119 offices of 18 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,077, moderately concentrated. $3.2 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $3.0 bn, grants $131.7 m), $16,367 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| PeoplesBank | $2.4 bn · 17.1% share · 11 offices | |
| TD Bank, National Association | $2.2 bn · 15.9% share · 13 offices | |
| Westfield Bank | $2.0 bn · 13.9% share · 20 offices | |
| Hampden, MA | $3.2 bn FY2026 · $16,367/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $2.8 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| PeoplesBank | $2,402,081,000 | 17.1% | 11 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $2,232,072,000 | 15.9% | 13 |
| Westfield Bank | $1,957,945,000 | 13.9% | 20 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $1,530,368,000 | 10.9% | 8 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $994,596,000 | 7.1% | 13 |
| Beacon Bank and Trust | $990,283,000 | 7.0% | 11 |
| KeyBank National Association | $897,608,000 | 6.4% | 7 |
| Country Bank for Savings | $735,193,000 | 5.2% | 6 |
| Monson Savings Bank | $647,383,000 | 4.6% | 4 |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $641,218,000 | 4.6% | 9 |
Deposit concentration is 1,077 across 18 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 18 banks with deposits in the county = 17.1² + 15.9² + 13.9² + … (15 more) = 1,077
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 | $2,417,417,106 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $224,298,165 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $214,029,800 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $173,987,825 |
| Department of Education | $59,420,403 |
| Department of Defense | $57,379,874 |
| Department of Transportation | $37,399,665 |
| Department of Labor | $18,634,432 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $7,614,080 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $6,698,490 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $6,642,000 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,708,416 |
That is $16,367 per covered job, against 197,784 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $3.2 bn / 197,784 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,367
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 #
Hampden County, MA: 17 findings, 7 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchHampden County, MA's covered employment is -0.9% 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 = -0.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchHampden County, MA's typical home value of $351,040 scores 80 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 0 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 80 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 80 = |80 across US counties - 0 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHampden County, MA's typical asking rent of $1,783 scores 71 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 9 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 62 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 62 = |71 across US counties - 9 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHampden County, MA's average weekly wage of $1,302 scores 85 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 23 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 62 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 62 = |85 across US counties - 23 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHampden County, MA's years of wages of 5.2 scores 68 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 8 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 61 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 61 = |68 across US counties - 8 across Massachusetts counties|
- 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 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.