Jefferson County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.31, -77.86.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 86th pct · 423rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 100th pct · 1st of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- 4th pct · 22nd of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $562,284
- 65th pct · 1,072nd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 68th pct · 18th of 55 West Virginia counties · median +2.6%
- 90th pct · 3rd of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median +1.6%
- 83rd pct · 228th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 16 West Virginia counties · median $1,066
- 19th pct · 18th of 22 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $2,255
- 67th pct · 1,048th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 79th pct · 12th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- 27th pct · 17th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 38,075
- 81st pct · 585th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 87th pct · 8th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- 27th pct · 17th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $1,341
- 80th pct · 598th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 98th pct · 2nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median 2.7
- 27th pct · 17th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 7.1
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 $399,235 (Sep 2026), +4.1% over one year, +29.4% over five
- 86th pct · 423rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 100th pct · 1st of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- 4th pct · 22nd of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $562,284
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, WV | $399,235 · +4.1% 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 $1,992/mo (Sep 2026), +4.1% over one year; price-to-rent 16.7
- 83rd pct · 228th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 16 West Virginia counties · median $1,066
- 19th pct · 18th of 22 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median $2,255
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, WV | $1,992/mo · +4.1% 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 $2,211 a month on $399,235 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,464 a month: 40.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $399,235 × 80% = $319,388, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,211/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,261 × 52 / 12 = $5,464) = 40% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $399,235 / ($1,261 × 52) = 6.1
- price-to-rent = $399,235 / ($1,992 × 12) = 16.7
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 #
16,889 jobs at 2,564 employers (2026 Q1); -1.1% jobs and +4.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 67th pct · 1,048th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 79th pct · 12th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- 27th pct · 17th of 23 counties in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro · median 38,075
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, WV | 16,889 jobs · $1,261/wk · -1.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 3,150 | $604 | 2.08 | +0.8% |
| Retail trade | 1,963 | $651 | 1.19 | +0.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,700 | $1,372 | 0.67 | +11.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 965 | $1,970 | 0.83 | -5.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 796 | $1,258 | 0.83 | +19.5% |
| Educational services | 661 | $1,135 | 1.82 | +2.3% |
| Construction | 619 | $1,451 | 0.70 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 538 | $1,004 | 1.07 | -0.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 489 | $1,757 | 0.76 | +2.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 485 | $1,934 | 0.70 | +8.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 310 | $488 | 1.12 | +12.7% |
| Real estate and rental | 200 | $1,268 | 0.77 | +3.6% |
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 #
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 #
$1.4 bn in deposits at 13 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,138, highly concentrated. $700.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $492.0 m, contracts $193.6 m), $41,493 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Potomac Bank | $423.7 m · 30.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Jefferson Security Bank | $321.8 m · 23.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $239.9 m · 17.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Jefferson, WV | $700.8 m FY2026 · $41,493/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $385.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potomac Bank | $423,718,000 | 30.7% | 3 |
| Jefferson Security Bank | $321,791,000 | 23.3% | 3 |
| Truist Bank | $239,930,000 | 17.4% | 2 |
| United Bank | $225,413,000 | 16.3% | 2 |
| City National Bank of West Virginia | $106,569,000 | 7.7% | 2 |
| Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company | $61,642,000 | 4.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,138 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 = 30.7² + 23.3² + 17.4² + … (3 more) = 2,138
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 | $305,058,221 |
| Department of Education | $103,121,947 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $77,552,016 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $63,386,755 |
| Department of the Treasury | $62,039,091 |
| Department of Defense | $35,359,233 |
| General Services Administration | $16,518,887 |
| Department of Agriculture | $11,996,094 |
| Department of Transportation | $10,539,948 |
| Department of the Interior | $8,715,748 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,149,007 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,351,867 |
That is $41,493 per covered job, against 16,889 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $700.8 m / 16,889 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $41,493
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 #
Jefferson County, WV: 15 findings, 2 at a watch level and 13 noted
watchJefferson County, WV's covered employment is -1.1% 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 = -1.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchJefferson County, WV's price-to-rent ratio of 16.7 scores 47 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 87 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |47 across US counties - 87 across West Virginia counties|
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteJefferson County, WV's average weekly wage was 4.0% 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 % = 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
noteJefferson County, WV's covered employment was 1.1% 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
- -1.1 % = 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
noteJefferson County, WV's typical home value rose 0.3% from $397,939 in August 2026 to $399,235 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (399235.16460808646 - 397939.4717119027) / 397939.4717119027 × 100
- 399235.16460808646 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 397939.4717119027 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
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.