Monongalia County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.63, -80.06.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 60th pct · 1,200th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 94th pct · 4th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 52nd pct · 1,442nd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 53rd pct · 26th of 55 West Virginia counties · median +2.6%
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 38th pct · 832nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 86th pct · 3rd of 16 West Virginia counties · median $1,066
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 86th pct · 446th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 98th pct · 2nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 88th pct · 377th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 96th pct · 3rd of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 38th pct · 1,893rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 77th pct · 13th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 2.7
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown 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 $263,546 (Sep 2026), +3.1% over one year, +15.0% over five
- 60th pct · 1,200th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 94th pct · 4th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Monongalia County, WV | $263,546 · +3.1% 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 $1,384/mo (Sep 2026), +3.5% over one year; price-to-rent 15.9
- 38th pct · 832nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 86th pct · 3rd of 16 West Virginia counties · median $1,066
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Monongalia County, WV | $1,384/mo · +3.5% 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 $1,460 a month on $263,546 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,937 a month: 24.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $263,546 × 80% = $210,836, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,460/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,370 × 52 / 12 = $5,937) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $263,546 / ($1,370 × 52) = 3.7
- price-to-rent = $263,546 / ($1,384 × 12) = 15.9
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 #
60,320 jobs at 4,419 employers (2026 Q1); +0.9% jobs and +5.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 86th pct · 446th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 98th pct · 2nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- counties in the Morgantown metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Morgantown metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Monongalia County, WV | 60,320 jobs · $1,370/wk · +0.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 18,434 | $1,579 | 2.03 | +3.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 6,009 | $446 | 1.11 | -3.3% |
| Retail trade | 5,638 | $672 | 0.96 | -5.6% |
| Administrative and waste services | 2,913 | $1,135 | 0.85 | +13.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,629 | $1,834 | 0.63 | -17.6% |
| Construction | 2,357 | $1,352 | 0.75 | -2.7% |
| Other services | 1,752 | $897 | 0.97 | +3.9% |
| Manufacturing | 1,225 | $2,935 | 0.25 | -14.5% |
| Management of companies | 1,180 | $1,955 | 1.17 | +12.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 945 | $3,430 | 0.41 | -3.2% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 899 | $3,024 | 4.19 | +18.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 782 | $971 | 0.85 | -2.6% |
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 #
$5.1 bn in deposits at 33 offices of 13 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,903, highly concentrated. $1.0 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $481.7 m, contracts $434.5 m), $17,108 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| United Bank | $1.5 bn · 29.3% share · 6 offices | |
| MVB Bank, Inc | $1.4 bn · 26.5% share · 2 offices | |
| The Huntington National Bank | $678.2 m · 13.2% share · 6 offices | |
| Monongalia, WV | $1.0 bn FY2026 · $17,108/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $431.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Bank | $1,507,022,000 | 29.3% | 6 |
| MVB Bank, Inc | $1,365,483,000 | 26.5% | 2 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $678,196,000 | 13.2% | 6 |
| Clear Mountain Bank | $387,263,000 | 7.5% | 3 |
| Truist Bank | $336,844,000 | 6.5% | 3 |
| WesBanco Bank, Inc. | $305,785,000 | 5.9% | 3 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $243,974,000 | 4.7% | 1 |
| First United Bank & Trust | $166,299,000 | 3.2% | 3 |
| First Exchange Bank | $45,293,000 | 0.9% | 2 |
| Citizens Bank of Morgantown, Inc. | $42,527,000 | 0.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,903 across 13 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 13 banks with deposits in the county = 29.3² + 26.5² + 13.2² + … (10 more) = 1,903
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 | $377,800,253 |
| Department of Energy | $345,742,905 |
| Department of Justice | $56,910,781 |
| Department of Transportation | $53,689,712 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $52,971,480 |
| Department of Education | $40,584,859 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $40,245,807 |
| Department of Defense | $25,986,108 |
| National Science Foundation | $22,252,492 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,012,450 |
| General Services Administration | $2,957,260 |
| Department of Commerce | $2,913,200 |
That is $17,108 per covered job, against 60,320 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.0 bn / 60,320 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $17,108
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 #
Monongalia County, WV: 13 findings, 4 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchMonongalia County, WV's typical asking rent of $1,384 scores 39 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 87 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 48 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 48 = |39 across US counties - 87 across West Virginia counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMonongalia County, WV's price-to-rent ratio of 15.9 scores 38 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 80 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 42 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 42 = |38 across US counties - 80 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
watchMonongalia County, WV's years of wages of 3.7 scores 38 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 78 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |38 across US counties - 78 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
watchMonongalia County, WV's typical home value of $263,546 scores 61 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 94 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 34 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 34 = |61 across US counties - 94 across West Virginia counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMonongalia County, WV's average weekly wage was 5.7% 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
- +5.7 % = 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.