Cass County, ND
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 46.93, -97.25.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 78th pct · 674th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 90th pct · 5th of 43 North Dakota counties · median $196,408
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 63rd pct · 1,116th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 23rd pct · 33rd of 43 North Dakota counties · median +5.9%
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 14th pct · 1,157th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 22nd pct · 8th of 10 North Dakota counties · median $1,235
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 92nd pct · 252nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 53 North Dakota counties · median 1,520
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 88th pct · 368th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 82nd pct · 10th of 53 North Dakota counties · median $1,064
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 60th pct · 1,205th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 92nd pct · 4th of 43 North Dakota counties · median 3.3
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo 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 $339,508 (Sep 2026), +4.0% over one year, +19.3% over five
- 78th pct · 674th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 90th pct · 5th of 43 North Dakota counties · median $196,408
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cass County, ND | $339,508 · +4.0% 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 $1,107/mo (Sep 2026), +3.7% over one year; price-to-rent 25.6
- 14th pct · 1,157th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 22nd pct · 8th of 10 North Dakota counties · median $1,235
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cass County, ND | $1,107/mo · +3.7% 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 $1,881 a month on $339,508 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,963 a month: 31.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $339,508 × 80% = $271,606, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,881/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,376 × 52 / 12 = $5,963) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $339,508 / ($1,376 × 52) = 4.7
- price-to-rent = $339,508 / ($1,107 × 12) = 25.6
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 #
126,659 jobs at 9,668 employers (2026 Q1); -0.6% jobs and +3.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 92nd pct · 252nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 53 North Dakota counties · median 1,520
- counties in the Fargo metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fargo metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cass County, ND | 126,659 jobs · $1,376/wk · -0.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 23,716 | $1,493 | 1.24 | +2.8% |
| Retail trade | 12,664 | $812 | 1.03 | -0.5% |
| Manufacturing | 10,692 | $1,512 | 1.05 | -5.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 10,102 | $489 | 0.89 | -2.2% |
| Construction | 8,897 | $1,520 | 1.34 | +6.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 7,691 | $2,345 | 1.49 | -3.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 7,568 | $1,898 | 1.56 | -3.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 6,438 | $1,888 | 0.74 | -0.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 5,384 | $1,115 | 1.01 | -14.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,250 | $935 | 0.59 | +8.0% |
| Other services | 3,477 | $966 | 0.92 | +1.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 2,741 | $515 | 1.31 | -1.7% |
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 #
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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$11.3 bn in deposits at 76 offices of 28 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,237, moderately concentrated. $87.2 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $86.6 bn, contracts $449.1 m), $688,646 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bell Bank | $3.1 bn · 27.5% share · 9 offices | |
| First International Bank & Trust | $1.4 bn · 12.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Gate City Bank | $1.0 bn · 9.2% share · 13 offices | |
| Cass, ND | $87.2 bn FY2026 · $688,646/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $86.6 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Bank | $3,093,212,000 | 27.5% | 9 |
| First International Bank & Trust | $1,384,600,000 | 12.3% | 3 |
| Gate City Bank | $1,037,774,000 | 9.2% | 13 |
| Choice Financial Group | $1,000,448,000 | 8.9% | 2 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $930,707,000 | 8.3% | 6 |
| Alerus Financial, National Association | $610,550,000 | 5.4% | 2 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $503,843,000 | 4.5% | 4 |
| Western State Bank | $454,973,000 | 4.0% | 2 |
| Old National Bank | $312,074,000 | 2.8% | 2 |
| Cornerstone Bank | $288,893,000 | 2.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,237 across 28 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 28 banks with deposits in the county = 27.5² + 12.3² + 9.2² + … (25 more) = 1,237
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 | $86,087,043,639 |
| Social Security Administration | $697,206,205 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $140,273,654 |
| Department of Transportation | $89,682,376 |
| Department of Defense | $71,000,677 |
| Department of Agriculture | $56,547,462 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $22,659,471 |
| National Science Foundation | $19,771,439 |
| Department of Education | $19,547,177 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $11,144,001 |
| Department of Justice | $4,480,506 |
| Department of Commerce | $1,326,631 |
That is $688,646 per covered job, against 126,659 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $87.2 bn / 126,659 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $688,646
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 #
Cass County, ND: 16 findings, 5 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchCass County, ND's price-to-rent ratio of 25.6 ranks 78th of 1,358 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; 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: priceToRent percentile = 94.32571849668386 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchCass County, ND's covered employment is -0.6% 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 = -0.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchCass County, ND's price-to-rent ratio is 25.6, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; 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: priceToRent = 25.550763912054695 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchCass County, ND's typical home value of +4.0% scores 64 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 24 across North Dakota counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |64 across US counties - 24 across North Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchCass County, ND's years of wages of 4.7 scores 61 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 93 across North Dakota counties, a gap of 32 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 32 = |61 across US counties - 93 across North Dakota 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
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.