Johnston County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.51, -78.37.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 78th pct · 670th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 72nd pct · 28th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 16th pct · 2,549th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 19th pct · 81st of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 69th pct · 420th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 75th pct · 16th of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 87th pct · 411th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 16th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 66th pct · 1,078th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 78th pct · 22nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 77th pct · 680th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 68th pct · 32nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary 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 $339,986 (Sep 2026), -0.6% over one year, +18.2% over five
- 78th pct · 670th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 72nd pct · 28th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston County, NC | $339,986 · -0.6% 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 $1,754/mo (Sep 2026), +1.7% over one year; price-to-rent 16.2
- 69th pct · 420th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 75th pct · 16th of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston County, NC | $1,754/mo · +1.7% 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 $1,883 a month on $339,986 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,866 a month: 38.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $339,986 × 80% = $271,989, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,883/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,123 × 52 / 12 = $4,866) = 39% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $339,986 / ($1,123 × 52) = 5.8
- price-to-rent = $339,986 / ($1,754 × 12) = 16.2
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 #
66,836 jobs at 5,767 employers (2026 Q1); +4.8% jobs and -1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 87th pct · 411th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 16th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Raleigh-Cary metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston County, NC | 66,836 jobs · $1,123/wk · +4.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 8,960 | $682 | 1.38 | +4.9% |
| Manufacturing | 8,441 | $2,036 | 1.57 | -0.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 7,731 | $1,036 | 0.77 | +3.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 7,062 | $420 | 1.18 | +6.7% |
| Construction | 6,467 | $1,185 | 1.85 | +4.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,621 | $937 | 1.22 | +4.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 3,802 | $1,014 | 1.35 | +49.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,051 | $1,503 | 0.44 | -1.8% |
| Other services | 1,471 | $831 | 0.74 | +3.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,100 | $1,865 | 0.40 | +0.9% |
| Real estate and rental | 688 | $1,082 | 0.67 | +0.4% |
| Educational services | 600 | $710 | 0.42 | +5.1% |
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 #
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 #
5 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 5, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| FALLS LAKE ABOVE DAM NR FALLS, NC | 246.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 51 km |
| BEAVERDAM CREEK AT DAM NEAR CREEDMOOR, NC | 248.6 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 64 km |
| B. EVERETT JORDAN LAKE AT DAM NR MONCURE, NC | 213.5 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 65 km |
| AFTERBAY RESERVOIR AT DAM NR MCGEHEES MILL, NC | 364.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 126 km |
| HYCO LAKE AT DAM NR ROXBORO, NC | 7.92 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 127 km |
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 #
155 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 67 % · 43 stale
Sites found: 155, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| CAPE FEAR RIVER AT LILLINGTON, NC | flow 444.0 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) · no flooding | 42 km |
| NEUSE RIVER AT SMITHFIELD, NC | flow 298.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 2 km |
| BLACK CREEK NEAR FOUR OAKS, NC | stage 2.52 ft · STALE | 9 km |
| SWIFT CREEK AT SR1555 NEAR CLAYTON, NC | flow 24.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 14 km |
| NEUSE RIVER NEAR CLAYTON, NC | flow 318.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 15 km |
| LITTLE RIVER NEAR KENLY, NC | flow 367.0 ft³/s · STALE | 18 km |
| LITTLE RIVER NEAR PRINCETON, NC | flow 5.87 ft³/s · observation not current | 19 km |
| MIDDLE CREEK NEAR CLAYTON, NC | flow 23.0 ft³/s · observation not current | 21 km |
| NEUSE RIVER NEAR COX MILL, NC | flow 451.0 ft³/s | 22 km |
| MILL CREEK AT COX MILL, NC | stage 1.38 ft · STALE | 23 km |
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 #
25 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 25, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-351849078163901 | depth 7.83 ft · 2026-10-18 | 24 km |
| USGS-354315078300101 | depth 21.6 ft · 2026-10-18 | 26 km |
| USGS-354315078300103 | depth 19.7 ft · 2026-10-18 | 26 km |
| USGS-354315078300102 | depth 17.7 ft · 2009-06-08 | 26 km |
| USGS-353509078404101 | depth 12.7 ft · 2026-10-18 | 29 km |
| USGS-353509078404102 | depth 35.7 ft · 2026-10-18 | 29 km |
| USGS-354818078234101 | depth 21.8 ft · 2026-10-18 | 33 km |
| USGS-354748078315901 | depth 31.6 ft · 2026-10-18 | 35 km |
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 (0.44)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.33 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$3.3 bn in deposits at 37 offices of 13 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,722, moderately concentrated. $1.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.3 bn, grants $150.3 m), $21,995 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $963.4 m · 29.4% share · 5 offices | |
| United Community Bank | $574.2 m · 17.5% share · 5 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $486.2 m · 14.8% share · 5 offices | |
| Johnston, NC | $1.5 bn FY2026 · $21,995/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $963,423,000 | 29.4% | 5 |
| United Community Bank | $574,229,000 | 17.5% | 5 |
| Truist Bank | $486,181,000 | 14.8% | 5 |
| KS Bank, Inc. | $478,189,000 | 14.6% | 6 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $280,730,000 | 8.6% | 3 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $125,531,000 | 3.8% | 2 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $123,818,000 | 3.8% | 1 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $95,888,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
| Southern Bank and Trust Company | $62,163,000 | 1.9% | 2 |
| First Federal Bank | $42,201,000 | 1.3% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,722 across 13 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 13 banks with deposits in the county = 29.4² + 17.5² + 14.8² + … (10 more) = 1,722
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 | $1,011,700,283 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $214,116,071 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $108,115,936 |
| Department of Transportation | $38,166,499 |
| Department of Defense | $32,513,152 |
| Department of Agriculture | $17,509,412 |
| General Services Administration | $15,758,884 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $15,748,681 |
| Department of Education | $9,822,677 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,494,074 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $2,920,887 |
| Department of Justice | $216,465 |
That is $21,995 per covered job, against 66,836 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.5 bn / 66,836 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,995
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 #
Johnston County, NC: 11 findings, 2 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchJohnston County, NC's average weekly wage is -1.2% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.avgWeeklyWage = -1.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchJohnston County, NC's typical home value is -0.6% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -0.5862646545761654 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteJohnston County, NC's covered employment was 4.8% 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
- +4.8 % = 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
noteJohnston County, NC's average weekly wage was 1.2% lower 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
- -1.2 % = 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
noteJohnston County, NC's typical asking rent rose 0.5% from $1,745 in August 2026 to $1,754 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (1753.5476680636227 - 1744.6583915729982) / 1744.6583915729982 × 100
- 1753.5476680636227 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1744.6583915729982 = 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.