Marion County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.51, -80.24.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 23rd pct · 2,330th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 64th pct · 20th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- 42nd pct · 1,754th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 42nd pct · 32nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median +2.6%
- 19th pct · 1,094th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 73rd pct · 5th of 16 West Virginia counties · median $1,066
- 68th pct · 1,019th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 81st pct · 11th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- 67th pct · 1,059th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 64th pct · 20th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- 17th pct · 2,517th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 57th pct · 24th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 2.7
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 $167,401 (Sep 2026), +2.3% over one year, +18.3% over five
- 23rd pct · 2,330th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 64th pct · 20th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County, WV | $167,401 · +2.3% 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 $1,171/mo (Sep 2026), +3.8% over one year; price-to-rent 11.9
- 19th pct · 1,094th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 73rd pct · 5th of 16 West Virginia counties · median $1,066
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County, WV | $1,171/mo · +3.8% 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 $927 a month on $167,401 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,879 a month: 19.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $167,401 × 80% = $133,921, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $927/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,126 × 52 / 12 = $4,879) = 19% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $167,401 / ($1,126 × 52) = 2.9
- price-to-rent = $167,401 / ($1,171 × 12) = 11.9
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 #
17,451 jobs at 1,782 employers (2026 Q1); -0.2% jobs and +2.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 68th pct · 1,019th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 81st pct · 11th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Marion County, WV | 17,451 jobs · $1,126/wk · -0.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 2,812 | $1,048 | 1.07 | +2.3% |
| Retail trade | 2,103 | $719 | 1.24 | -0.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,585 | $374 | 1.01 | +0.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 983 | $1,683 | 0.82 | -3.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 698 | $1,369 | 0.70 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | 684 | $3,142 | 9.92 | -6.3% |
| Other services | 650 | $677 | 1.25 | -1.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 555 | $1,122 | 0.75 | -4.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 485 | $1,517 | 0.73 | +7.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 407 | $1,604 | 0.57 | +3.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 220 | $331 | 0.77 | +12.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 155 | $1,053 | 0.58 | +3.3% |
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 #
$2.1 bn in deposits at 16 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,286, highly concentrated. $472.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $387.3 m, contracts $59.5 m), $27,083 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| MVB Bank, Inc | $1.4 bn · 63.0% share · 2 offices | |
| First Exchange Bank | $249.4 m · 11.6% share · 4 offices | |
| The Huntington National Bank | $208.5 m · 9.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Marion, WV | $472.6 m FY2026 · $27,083/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $366.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVB Bank, Inc | $1,350,028,000 | 63.0% | 2 |
| First Exchange Bank | $249,440,000 | 11.6% | 4 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $208,487,000 | 9.7% | 3 |
| WesBanco Bank, Inc. | $153,919,000 | 7.2% | 2 |
| Truist Bank | $128,247,000 | 6.0% | 1 |
| Freedom Bank, Inc. | $44,661,000 | 2.1% | 2 |
| Clear Mountain Bank | $6,337,000 | 0.3% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $3,015,000 | 0.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,286 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 63.0² + 11.6² + 9.7² + … (5 more) = 4,286
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 | $317,968,150 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $47,353,276 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $20,862,221 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $19,236,811 |
| Department of Justice | $15,891,384 |
| Department of Education | $12,271,569 |
| Department of Transportation | $11,801,073 |
| Department of Commerce | $11,800,810 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $11,093,911 |
| Federal Election Commission | $1,631,480 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,596,982 |
| Department of Defense | $679,525 |
That is $27,083 per covered job, against 17,451 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $472.6 m / 17,451 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,083
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 #
Marion County, WV: 13 findings, 4 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchMarion County, WV's covered employment is -0.2% 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 = -0.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchMarion County, WV's typical asking rent of $1,171 scores 19 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 73 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 54 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 54 = |19 across US counties - 73 across West Virginia counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMarion County, WV's typical home value of $167,401 scores 24 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 65 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 41 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 41 = |24 across US counties - 65 across West Virginia counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMarion County, WV's years of wages of 2.9 scores 18 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 57 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |18 across US counties - 57 across West Virginia 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
noteMarion County, WV's average weekly wage was 2.7% 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
- +2.7 % = 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 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.