Forsyth County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.13, -80.26.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 65th pct · 1,053rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 54th pct · 46th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
- 75th pct · 2nd of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median $273,458
- 24th pct · 2,321st of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 35th pct · 65th of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median +3.2%
- 52nd pct · 643rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 49th pct · 32nd of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
- counties in the Winston-Salem metro: only 4 of counties in the Winston-Salem metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
- 94th pct · 172nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 95th pct · 5th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 100th pct · 1st of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median 14,902
- 93rd pct · 226th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 95th pct · 5th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 100th pct · 1st of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median $1,016
- 35th pct · 1,983rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 19th pct · 81st of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median 5.1
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 $281,187 (Sep 2026), +0.4% over one year, +24.7% over five
- 65th pct · 1,053rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 54th pct · 46th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
- 75th pct · 2nd of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median $273,458
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Forsyth County, NC | $281,187 · +0.4% 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 $1,533/mo (Sep 2026), +4.6% over one year; price-to-rent 15.3
- 52nd pct · 643rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 49th pct · 32nd of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
- counties in the Winston-Salem metro: only 4 of counties in the Winston-Salem metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Forsyth County, NC | $1,533/mo · +4.6% 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 $1,558 a month on $281,187 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,539 a month: 23.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $281,187 × 80% = $224,949, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,558/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,509 × 52 / 12 = $6,539) = 24% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $281,187 / ($1,509 × 52) = 3.6
- price-to-rent = $281,187 / ($1,533 × 12) = 15.3
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 #
190,054 jobs at 11,271 employers (2026 Q1); +0.5% jobs and +2.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 94th pct · 172nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 95th pct · 5th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 100th pct · 1st of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro · median 14,902
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Forsyth County, NC | 190,054 jobs · $1,509/wk · +0.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 44,720 | $1,667 | 1.56 | +1.7% |
| Retail trade | 21,061 | $799 | 1.14 | -0.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 17,658 | $458 | 1.03 | +0.0% |
| Manufacturing | 17,132 | $1,783 | 1.12 | +0.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 11,237 | $1,006 | 1.04 | -3.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 8,759 | $2,099 | 0.67 | +3.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 7,875 | $2,809 | 1.02 | -6.5% |
| Educational services | 7,074 | $3,513 | 1.73 | +1.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 6,039 | $1,602 | 0.83 | +8.1% |
| Other services | 5,158 | $854 | 0.91 | +9.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 4,631 | $1,146 | 0.58 | -1.0% |
| Management of companies | 4,536 | $4,183 | 1.43 | +2.5% |
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 #
D1 moderate 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 #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$11.0 bn in deposits at 84 offices of 22 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,744, moderately concentrated. $2.8 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $2.4 bn, grants $324.2 m), $14,537 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $3.5 bn · 31.9% share · 12 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $2.4 bn · 21.4% share · 11 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $896.5 m · 8.1% share · 5 offices | |
| Forsyth, NC | $2.8 bn FY2026 · $14,537/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $2.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $3,509,015,000 | 31.9% | 12 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $2,357,722,000 | 21.4% | 11 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $896,486,000 | 8.1% | 5 |
| First Horizon Bank | $858,422,000 | 7.8% | 10 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $766,548,000 | 7.0% | 6 |
| Piedmont Federal Savings Bank | $736,132,000 | 6.7% | 6 |
| Pinnacle Bank | $623,832,000 | 5.7% | 3 |
| The Fidelity Bank | $260,585,000 | 2.4% | 3 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $209,829,000 | 1.9% | 4 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $160,578,000 | 1.5% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,744 across 22 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 22 banks with deposits in the county = 31.9² + 21.4² + 8.1² + … (19 more) = 1,744
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 | $1,959,577,333 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $286,885,340 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $175,809,293 |
| Department of Transportation | $107,908,361 |
| Department of Education | $73,676,448 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $69,294,823 |
| Department of Defense | $47,985,263 |
| National Science Foundation | $18,905,552 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $5,349,771 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $5,116,735 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $3,878,865 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $3,307,554 |
That is $14,537 per covered job, against 190,054 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $2.8 bn / 190,054 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,537
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 #
Forsyth County, NC: 14 findings, 14 noted
noteForsyth County, NC's average weekly wage was 2.6% 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
- +2.6 % = 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
noteForsyth County, NC's typical asking rent rose 0.8% from $1,520 in August 2026 to $1,533 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.8% = (1532.9717898999727 - 1520.1451425459309) / 1520.1451425459309 × 100
- 1532.9717898999727 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1520.1451425459309 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteForsyth County, NC's covered employment was 0.5% 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
- +0.5 % = 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
noteForsyth County, NC's typical home value of +0.4% ranks 5th of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro, against a median of +3.2%.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 0 on the 0-to-100 scale across 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteForsyth County, NC's average weekly wage of $1,509 ranks 1st of 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro, against a median of $1,016.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 5 counties in the Winston-Salem metro that published jobs.avgWeeklyWage
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.