Hampshire County, MA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.34, -72.66.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 90th pct · 285th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 23rd pct · 11th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 49th pct · 1,533rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 53rd pct · 7th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median +2.7%
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 93rd pct · 91st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 45th pct · 7th of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 86th pct · 428th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 30th pct · 10th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 81st pct · 604th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 7th pct · 13th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $1,471
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 87th pct · 371st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 46th pct · 8th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 7.4
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton 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 $449,669 (Sep 2026), +2.8% over one year, +27.8% over five
- 90th pct · 285th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 23rd pct · 11th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hampshire County, MA | $449,669 · +2.8% 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 $2,419/mo (Sep 2026), +3.3% over one year; price-to-rent 15.5
- 93rd pct · 91st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 45th pct · 7th of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hampshire County, MA | $2,419/mo · +3.3% 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 $2,491 a month on $449,669 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,430 a month: 45.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $449,669 × 80% = $359,735, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,491/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,253 × 52 / 12 = $5,430) = 46% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $449,669 / ($1,253 × 52) = 6.9
- price-to-rent = $449,669 / ($2,419 × 12) = 15.5
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 #
63,369 jobs at 4,949 employers (2026 Q1); -1.2% jobs and +4.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 86th pct · 428th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 30th pct · 10th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Amherst Town-Northampton metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hampshire County, MA | 63,369 jobs · $1,253/wk · -1.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 10,399 | $1,065 | 1.09 | +1.2% |
| Educational services | 7,380 | $1,242 | 5.41 | -1.7% |
| Retail trade | 6,906 | $761 | 1.12 | -4.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 5,428 | $528 | 0.95 | +0.0% |
| Manufacturing | 2,550 | $1,981 | 0.50 | -2.6% |
| Construction | 2,168 | $1,373 | 0.65 | -1.9% |
| Other services | 2,049 | $1,005 | 1.08 | -1.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,029 | $1,728 | 0.46 | -1.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,398 | $1,554 | 0.58 | -2.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,267 | $1,221 | 0.35 | -0.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,078 | $2,235 | 0.42 | +0.1% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 1,036 | $432 | 0.99 | -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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
$6.6 bn in deposits at 49 offices of 15 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,533, moderately concentrated. $1.3 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.0 bn, contracts $191.7 m), $21,059 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Florence Bank | $1.7 bn · 25.3% share · 10 offices | |
| Bankesb | $1.5 bn · 22.8% share · 8 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $814.6 m · 12.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Hampshire, MA | $1.3 bn FY2026 · $21,059/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $926.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florence Bank | $1,658,629,000 | 25.3% | 10 |
| Bankesb | $1,498,649,000 | 22.8% | 8 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $814,637,000 | 12.4% | 2 |
| PeoplesBank | $578,848,000 | 8.8% | 3 |
| Country Bank for Savings | $536,874,000 | 8.2% | 2 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $332,000,000 | 5.1% | 2 |
| Greenfield Savings Bank | $300,236,000 | 4.6% | 4 |
| Greenfield Co-operative Bank | $262,175,000 | 4.0% | 4 |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $141,651,000 | 2.2% | 3 |
| Westfield Bank | $108,086,000 | 1.6% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 1,533 across 15 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 15 banks with deposits in the county = 25.3² + 22.8² + 12.4² + … (12 more) = 1,533
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 | $854,933,194 |
| Department of Defense | $118,304,946 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $107,094,639 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $102,313,846 |
| Department of Education | $50,863,444 |
| National Science Foundation | $37,934,829 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $22,948,544 |
| Department of Agriculture | $12,530,553 |
| Department of Transportation | $11,734,967 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $7,517,204 |
| Department of Energy | $4,258,357 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,040,206 |
That is $21,059 per covered job, against 63,369 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.3 bn / 63,369 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,059
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 #
Hampshire County, MA: 16 findings, 6 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchHampshire County, MA'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
watchHampshire County, MA's average weekly wage of $1,253 scores 81 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 8 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 74 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 74 = |81 across US counties - 8 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHampshire County, MA's typical home value of $449,669 scores 91 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 23 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 68 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 68 = |91 across US counties - 23 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHampshire County, MA's covered employment of 63,369 scores 87 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 31 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 56 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 56 = |87 across US counties - 31 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchHampshire County, MA's typical asking rent of $2,419 scores 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 45 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 48 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 48 = |93 across US counties - 45 across Massachusetts counties|
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.