Suffolk County, MA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.34, -71.02.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 98th pct · 59th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 61st pct · 6th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- 66th pct · 3rd of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median $715,954
- 22nd pct · 2,364th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 0th pct · 14th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median +2.7%
- 0th pct · 7th of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median +2.5%
- 98th pct · 21st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median $2,700
- 98th pct · 34th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 2nd of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- 83rd pct · 2nd of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median 319,282
- 99th pct · 6th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 100th pct · 1st of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $1,471
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median $1,613
- 50th pct · 1,512th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 0th pct · 14th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 7.4
- 0th pct · 7th of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median 7.7
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 $738,589 (Sep 2026), +0.2% over one year, +8.2% over five
- 98th pct · 59th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 61st pct · 6th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- 66th pct · 3rd of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median $715,954
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Suffolk County, MA | $738,589 · +0.2% 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 $3,190/mo (Sep 2026), +2.0% over one year; price-to-rent 19.3
- 98th pct · 21st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- 100th pct · 1st of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median $2,700
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Suffolk County, MA | $3,190/mo · +2.0% 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 $4,091 a month on $738,589 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $14,473 a month: 28.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $738,589 × 80% = $590,871, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $4,091/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $3,340 × 52 / 12 = $14,473) = 28% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $738,589 / ($3,340 × 52) = 4.3
- price-to-rent = $738,589 / ($3,190 × 12) = 19.3
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 #
706,225 jobs at 33,952 employers (2026 Q1); -0.7% jobs and +8.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 98th pct · 34th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 2nd of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- 83rd pct · 2nd of 7 counties in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro · median 319,282
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Suffolk County, MA | 706,225 jobs · $3,340/wk · -0.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 149,996 | $1,913 | 1.41 | -0.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 97,607 | $5,129 | 2.00 | -1.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 66,334 | $10,553 | 2.31 | -0.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 62,484 | $874 | 0.98 | -0.7% |
| Educational services | 45,808 | $1,729 | 3.01 | -1.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 32,059 | $2,130 | 0.80 | -0.8% |
| Retail trade | 31,233 | $1,206 | 0.45 | -2.2% |
| Information | 23,989 | $4,371 | 1.84 | +4.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 22,355 | $2,255 | 0.75 | -2.0% |
| Other services | 21,392 | $1,260 | 1.01 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 14,984 | $3,612 | 1.38 | +0.6% |
| Construction | 13,947 | $3,294 | 0.38 | -2.0% |
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 #
$381.2 bn in deposits at 199 offices of 36 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,428, highly concentrated. $11.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $7.1 bn, grants $3.1 bn), $16,277 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| State Street Bank and Trust Company | $242.1 bn · 63.5% share · 1 office | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $62.6 bn · 16.4% share · 26 offices | |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $38.9 bn · 10.2% share · 36 offices | |
| Suffolk, MA | $11.5 bn FY2026 · $16,277/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $5.1 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Street Bank and Trust Company | $242,086,000,000 | 63.5% | 1 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $62,606,672,000 | 16.4% | 26 |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $38,930,053,000 | 10.2% | 36 |
| Santander Bank, N.A. | $12,748,650,000 | 3.3% | 18 |
| Eastern Bank | $9,370,251,000 | 2.5% | 14 |
| Beacon Bank and Trust | $4,239,344,000 | 1.1% | 7 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $2,969,003,000 | 0.8% | 14 |
| Rockland Trust Company | $2,228,119,000 | 0.6% | 20 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1,400,851,000 | 0.4% | 19 |
| Webster Bank, National Association | $827,332,000 | 0.2% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 4,428 across 29 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 29 banks with deposits in the county = 63.5² + 16.4² + 10.2² + … (26 more) = 4,428
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 |
|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | $5,464,898,453 |
| Social Security Administration | $2,285,859,949 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,827,319,687 |
| Department of Defense | $589,598,358 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $450,682,863 |
| Department of Education | $266,398,915 |
| Department of Transportation | $131,391,777 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $119,919,163 |
| General Services Administration | $88,828,656 |
| National Science Foundation | $70,311,291 |
| Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation | $32,709,778 |
| Department of Justice | $30,148,391 |
That is $16,277 per covered job, against 706,225 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $11.5 bn / 706,225 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,277
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 #
Suffolk County, MA: 25 findings, 5 at a watch level and 20 noted
watchSuffolk County, MA's covered employment is -0.7% 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 = -0.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchSuffolk County, MA's typical asking rent is -1.2% 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 = -1.1589310970960272 <= -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
watchSuffolk County, MA's years of wages of 4.3 scores 51 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 0 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 51 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 51 = |51 across US counties - 0 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
watchSuffolk County, MA's typical home value of $738,589 scores 98 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 62 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 37 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 37 = |98 across US counties - 62 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchSuffolk County, MA's price-to-rent ratio of 19.3 scores 69 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 36 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |69 across US counties - 36 across Massachusetts counties|
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
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.