Rutherford County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.40, -81.92.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 43rd pct · 1,725th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 25th pct · 75th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
- 44th pct · 1,692nd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 68th pct · 32nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- 23rd pct · 1,042nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 14th pct · 53rd of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
- 69th pct · 990th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 52nd pct · 48th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- 34th pct · 2,113th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 43rd pct · 57th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- 50th pct · 1,506th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 33rd pct · 67th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
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 $214,563 (Sep 2026), +2.4% over one year, +19.4% over five
- 43rd pct · 1,725th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 25th pct · 75th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County, NC | $214,563 · +2.4% 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 $1,227/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 14.6
- 23rd pct · 1,042nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 14th pct · 53rd of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County, NC | $1,227/mo · n/a 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 $1,188 a month on $214,563 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,199 a month: 28.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $214,563 × 80% = $171,651, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,188/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $969 × 52 / 12 = $4,199) = 28% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $214,563 / ($969 × 52) = 4.3
- price-to-rent = $214,563 / ($1,227 × 12) = 14.6
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 #
18,309 jobs at 1,505 employers (2026 Q1); +1.6% jobs and +0.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 69th pct · 990th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 52nd pct · 48th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County, NC | 18,309 jobs · $969/wk · +1.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2,891 | $1,304 | 1.96 | -0.8% |
| Retail trade | 2,808 | $610 | 1.57 | +5.8% |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,287 | $922 | 0.83 | +5.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,877 | $431 | 1.14 | +4.7% |
| Construction | 1,257 | $1,270 | 1.31 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 858 | $827 | 0.82 | -12.2% |
| Information | 495 | $1,420 | 1.47 | -6.2% |
| Other services | 469 | $753 | 0.86 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 426 | $1,384 | 0.34 | +13.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 298 | $1,434 | 0.42 | +2.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 288 | $1,353 | 0.39 | -4.6% |
| Educational services | 259 | $771 | 0.66 | -5.5% |
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 #
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 #
$881.0 m in deposits at 10 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,526, moderately concentrated. $652.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $473.9 m, grants $188.2 m), $35,656 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $207.2 m · 23.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $186.1 m · 21.1% share · 1 office | |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $121.3 m · 13.8% share · 1 office | |
| Rutherford, NC | $652.8 m FY2026 · $35,656/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $459.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $207,151,000 | 23.5% | 2 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $186,147,000 | 21.1% | 1 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $121,273,000 | 13.8% | 1 |
| United Bank | $88,961,000 | 10.1% | 1 |
| Bank OZK | $78,277,000 | 8.9% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $72,495,000 | 8.2% | 1 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $60,827,000 | 6.9% | 1 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $55,112,000 | 6.3% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $10,749,000 | 1.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,526 across 9 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 9 banks with deposits in the county = 23.5² + 21.1² + 13.8² + … (6 more) = 1,526
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 | $403,009,645 |
| Department of Transportation | $172,240,920 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $55,318,266 |
| Department of Agriculture | $11,912,996 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $8,395,380 |
| Department of Education | $5,568,170 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $3,765,366 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $2,032,028 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,691,900 |
| Department of Justice | $274,082 |
| Small Business Administration | $177,651 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $135,074 |
That is $35,656 per covered job, against 18,309 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $652.8 m / 18,309 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $35,656
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 #
Rutherford County, NC: 8 findings, 1 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchRutherford County, NC's typical asking rent is -2.0% 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 = -1.9743632442039547 <= -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
noteRutherford County, NC's typical asking rent fell 2.0% from $1,251 in August 2026 to $1,227 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -2.0% = (1226.6666666666667 - 1251.3733215756301) / 1251.3733215756301 × 100
- 1226.6666666666667 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1251.3733215756301 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteRutherford County, NC's covered employment was 1.6% 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
- +1.6 % = 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
noteRutherford County, NC's typical home value fell 0.5% from $215,684 in August 2026 to $214,563 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.5% = (214563.3809920605 - 215683.81740852763) / 215683.81740852763 × 100
- 214563.3809920605 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 215683.81740852763 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteRutherford County, NC's average weekly wage was 0.4% 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
- +0.4 % = 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
Read all 8 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.