Union County, SD
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.83, -96.65.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 80th pct · 594th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 87th pct · 7th of 50 South Dakota counties · median $251,658
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 48th pct · 1,586th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 40th pct · 30th of 50 South Dakota counties · median +3.1%
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 31st pct · 926th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 60th pct · 5th of 11 South Dakota counties · median $1,275
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 53rd pct · 1,483rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 11th of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 90th pct · 318th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 100th pct · 1st of 66 South Dakota counties · median $978
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 62nd pct · 1,153rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 51st pct · 25th of 50 South Dakota counties · median 4.8
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City 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 $355,956 (Sep 2026), +2.7% over one year, +21.4% over five
- 80th pct · 594th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 87th pct · 7th of 50 South Dakota counties · median $251,658
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, SD | $355,956 · +2.7% 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 $1,311/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 22.6
- 31st pct · 926th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 60th pct · 5th of 11 South Dakota counties · median $1,275
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, SD | $1,311/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 $1,972 a month on $355,956 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,153 a month: 32.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $355,956 × 80% = $284,765, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,972/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,420 × 52 / 12 = $6,153) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $355,956 / ($1,420 × 52) = 4.8
- price-to-rent = $355,956 / ($1,311 × 12) = 22.6
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 #
9,561 jobs at 904 employers (2026 Q1); +1.5% jobs and -1.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 53rd pct · 1,483rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 11th of 66 South Dakota counties · median 1,825
- counties in the Sioux City metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Sioux City metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, SD | 9,561 jobs · $1,420/wk · +1.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2,332 | $1,522 | 3.03 | +3.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,254 | $1,358 | 0.87 | -3.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 812 | $2,242 | 1.23 | +3.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 628 | $414 | 0.73 | -0.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 612 | $2,108 | 1.57 | -3.8% |
| Construction | 551 | $1,372 | 1.10 | +17.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 469 | $1,469 | 0.86 | +8.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 449 | $1,912 | 1.23 | -5.3% |
| Retail trade | 422 | $785 | 0.45 | -5.0% |
| Management of companies | 246 | $2,652 | 1.54 | -3.9% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 202 | $448 | 1.28 | +9.8% |
| Other services | 189 | $817 | 0.66 | -9.6% |
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 #
$773.2 m in deposits at 11 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,836, highly concentrated. $219.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $111.1 m, contracts $81.1 m), $22,965 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty National Bank | $242.3 m · 31.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Premier Bank | $152.8 m · 19.8% share · 1 office | |
| First Savings Bank | $107.4 m · 13.9% share · 1 office | |
| Union, SD | $219.6 m FY2026 · $22,965/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $101.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty National Bank | $242,323,000 | 31.3% | 3 |
| Premier Bank | $152,823,000 | 19.8% | 1 |
| First Savings Bank | $107,425,000 | 13.9% | 1 |
| Security National Bank of South Dakota | $89,263,000 | 11.5% | 1 |
| Central Bank | $56,061,000 | 7.3% | 1 |
| Pioneer Bank | $51,599,000 | 6.7% | 1 |
| First Dakota National Bank | $43,352,000 | 5.6% | 1 |
| Peoples Bank | $18,886,000 | 2.4% | 1 |
| 1st Financial Bank USA | $11,437,000 | 1.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,836 across 9 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 9 banks with deposits in the county = 31.3² + 19.8² + 13.9² + … (6 more) = 1,836
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 | $89,258,650 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $27,697,217 |
| Department of Transportation | $27,114,855 |
| Department of Defense | $26,749,896 |
| Department of the Treasury | $15,964,631 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $14,181,697 |
| Department of Agriculture | $9,647,228 |
| Department of the Interior | $2,906,577 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,304,565 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,251,110 |
| Department of Justice | $697,701 |
| Department of State | $518,246 |
That is $22,965 per covered job, against 9,561 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $219.6 m / 9,561 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $22,965
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 #
Union County, SD: 10 findings, 2 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchUnion County, SD's average weekly wage is -1.0% 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 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchUnion County, SD's covered employment of 9,561 scores 54 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 85 across South Dakota counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |54 across US counties - 85 across South Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteUnion County, SD's covered employment was 1.5% 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
- +1.5 % = 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
noteUnion County, SD's average weekly wage was 1.0% 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 % = 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
notetypical asking rent (rent.latest) and typical asking rent (rent.momPct) for Union County, SD could not be lined up against the previous published period this run, so no change is printed for them.
Show the arithmetic
- not comparable this run: rent.latest, rent.momPct
the two newest month columns in the published file are not the two this table carries
Read all 10 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.