Cowlitz County, WA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 46.20, -122.68.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 88th pct · 363rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 44th pct · 22nd of 39 Washington counties · median $428,499
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 21st pct · 2,405th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 34th pct · 26th of 39 Washington counties · median +0.2%
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 42nd pct · 788th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 7th pct · 25th of 27 Washington counties · median $1,705
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 81st pct · 598th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 65th pct · 14th of 39 Washington counties · median 18,771
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 88th pct · 364th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 68th pct · 13th of 39 Washington counties · median $1,237
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 77th pct · 677th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 28th pct · 28th of 39 Washington counties · median 6.7
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso 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 $417,827 (Sep 2026), +0.1% over one year, +10.1% over five
- 88th pct · 363rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 44th pct · 22nd of 39 Washington counties · median $428,499
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz County, WA | $417,827 · +0.1% 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 $1,417/mo (Sep 2026), +2.4% over one year; price-to-rent 24.6
- 42nd pct · 788th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 7th pct · 25th of 27 Washington counties · median $1,705
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz County, WA | $1,417/mo · +2.4% 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 $2,314 a month on $417,827 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,971 a month: 38.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $417,827 × 80% = $334,262, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,314/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,378 × 52 / 12 = $5,971) = 39% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $417,827 / ($1,378 × 52) = 5.8
- price-to-rent = $417,827 / ($1,417 × 12) = 24.6
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 #
40,775 jobs at 2,701 employers (2026 Q1); -0.7% jobs and +3.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 81st pct · 598th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 65th pct · 14th of 39 Washington counties · median 18,771
- counties in the Longview-Kelso metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Longview-Kelso metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cowlitz County, WA | 40,775 jobs · $1,378/wk · -0.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 7,207 | $1,674 | 2.20 | -0.6% |
| Health care and social assistance | 6,678 | $1,346 | 1.09 | +1.3% |
| Retail trade | 4,775 | $791 | 1.20 | -0.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,229 | $516 | 0.88 | +5.1% |
| Construction | 3,201 | $1,940 | 1.50 | -0.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,285 | $987 | 0.55 | +0.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,220 | $1,670 | 0.78 | -2.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,129 | $1,834 | 0.68 | +2.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,103 | $2,996 | 0.64 | -25.9% |
| Other services | 1,015 | $1,005 | 0.83 | -8.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 424 | $875 | 0.68 | +1.4% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 248 | $550 | 0.37 | +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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
$956.8 m in deposits at 8 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,019, highly concentrated. $951.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $806.0 m, contracts $103.6 m), $23,332 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank National Association | $290.3 m · 30.3% share · 2 offices | |
| Columbia Bank | $184.3 m · 19.3% share · 2 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $157.7 m · 16.5% share · 1 office | |
| Cowlitz, WA | $951.3 m FY2026 · $23,332/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $775.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank National Association | $290,279,000 | 30.3% | 2 |
| Columbia Bank | $184,312,000 | 19.3% | 2 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $157,695,000 | 16.5% | 1 |
| Heritage Bank | $146,936,000 | 15.4% | 1 |
| Twin City Bank | $135,364,000 | 14.1% | 1 |
| KeyBank National Association | $42,213,000 | 4.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,019 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 30.3² + 19.3² + 16.5² + … (3 more) = 2,019
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 | $683,475,931 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $87,082,186 |
| Department of Agriculture | $61,144,302 |
| Department of Defense | $38,333,490 |
| Department of Transportation | $25,721,292 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $24,925,989 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $10,006,500 |
| Department of Education | $8,819,040 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $6,146,456 |
| Department of the Interior | $3,685,300 |
| Department of Justice | $1,382,481 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $478,894 |
That is $23,332 per covered job, against 40,775 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $951.3 m / 40,775 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,332
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 | 17.40 | 2026-10-19 | -3.1% |
| 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 | 2026-10-20 | +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 #
Cowlitz County, WA: 12 findings, 5 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchCowlitz County, WA's price-to-rent ratio of 24.6 ranks 108th 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 = 92.11495946941784 >= 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
watchCowlitz County, WA's covered employment is -0.7% 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 = -0.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchCowlitz County, WA's years of wages of 5.8 scores 78 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 29 across Washington counties, a gap of 49 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 49 = |78 across US counties - 29 across Washington 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
watchCowlitz County, WA's typical home value of $417,827 scores 88 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 45 across Washington counties, a gap of 43 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 43 = |88 across US counties - 45 across Washington counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchCowlitz County, WA's typical asking rent of $1,417 scores 42 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 8 across Washington counties, a gap of 34 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 34 = |42 across US counties - 8 across Washington counties|
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.