Waukesha County, WI
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 43.02, -88.30.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 93rd pct · 192nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 98th pct · 2nd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $298,510
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 81st pct · 553rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 47th pct · 38th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median +6.0%
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 77th pct · 301st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 38 Wisconsin counties · median $1,275
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 95th pct · 134th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 97th pct · 3rd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 15,405
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 91st pct · 269th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 97th pct · 3rd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $1,037
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 85th pct · 447th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 85th pct · 11th of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 5.4
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 $502,911 (Sep 2026), +6.0% over one year, +31.0% over five
- 93rd pct · 192nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 98th pct · 2nd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $298,510
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Waukesha County, WI | $502,911 · +6.0% 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 $1,871/mo (Sep 2026), +4.8% over one year; price-to-rent 22.4
- 77th pct · 301st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 100th pct · 1st of 38 Wisconsin counties · median $1,275
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Waukesha County, WI | $1,871/mo · +4.8% 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 $2,786 a month on $502,911 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,344 a month: 43.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $502,911 × 80% = $402,329, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,786/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,464 × 52 / 12 = $6,344) = 44% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $502,911 / ($1,464 × 52) = 6.6
- price-to-rent = $502,911 / ($1,871 × 12) = 22.4
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 #
245,794 jobs at 15,049 employers (2026 Q1); +0.4% jobs and +1.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 95th pct · 134th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 97th pct · 3rd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 15,405
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Waukesha County, WI | 245,794 jobs · $1,464/wk · +0.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 41,783 | $1,959 | 2.11 | +0.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 32,544 | $1,244 | 0.88 | +1.0% |
| Retail trade | 24,667 | $734 | 1.03 | -1.5% |
| Construction | 20,371 | $1,690 | 1.58 | +7.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 17,137 | $457 | 0.78 | -0.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 14,972 | $2,066 | 0.88 | +0.2% |
| Wholesale trade | 14,918 | $1,967 | 1.58 | -1.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 12,593 | $951 | 0.90 | +3.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 11,120 | $2,905 | 1.11 | +1.9% |
| Other services | 7,963 | $951 | 1.08 | -0.1% |
| Management of companies | 6,924 | $2,454 | 1.68 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 4,301 | $423 | 1.06 | -2.0% |
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 #
$18.9 bn in deposits at 148 offices of 34 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 702, unconcentrated. $3.3 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $2.8 bn, contracts $358.7 m), $13,244 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| BMO Bank National Association | $2.2 bn · 11.9% share · 14 offices | |
| Town Bank, National Association | $2.1 bn · 11.1% share · 6 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1.8 bn · 9.7% share · 11 offices | |
| Waukesha, WI | $3.3 bn FY2026 · $13,244/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $2.8 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMO Bank National Association | $2,244,779,000 | 11.9% | 14 |
| Town Bank, National Association | $2,109,298,000 | 11.1% | 6 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1,844,099,000 | 9.7% | 11 |
| Associated Bank, National Association | $1,779,783,000 | 9.4% | 13 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $1,554,095,000 | 8.2% | 13 |
| Bank Five Nine | $1,496,103,000 | 7.9% | 8 |
| Waukesha State Bank | $1,288,903,000 | 6.8% | 15 |
| Citizens Bank | $895,329,000 | 4.7% | 9 |
| North Shore Bank | $580,332,000 | 3.1% | 7 |
| Old National Bank | $550,256,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 702 across 34 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 34 banks with deposits in the county = 11.9² + 11.1² + 9.7² + … (31 more) = 702
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 | $2,616,659,782 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $297,583,136 |
| Department of Defense | $216,409,597 |
| Department of Transportation | $69,977,940 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $17,447,375 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $9,083,557 |
| Department of Education | $8,468,814 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $7,278,015 |
| Department of Justice | $4,746,186 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,066,740 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,910,685 |
| Department of Energy | $1,804,000 |
That is $13,244 per covered job, against 245,794 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $3.3 bn / 245,794 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,244
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 #
Waukesha County, WI: 14 findings, 1 at a watch level and 13 noted
watchWaukesha County, WI's typical home value of +6.0% scores 82 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 48 across Wisconsin counties, a gap of 34 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 34 = |82 across US counties - 48 across Wisconsin counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteWaukesha County, WI's average weekly wage was 1.9% 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
- +1.9 % = 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
noteWaukesha County, WI's typical home value rose 0.4% from $500,822 in August 2026 to $502,911 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.4% = (502911.3203323744 - 500821.55622995464) / 500821.55622995464 × 100
- 502911.3203323744 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 500821.55622995464 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteWaukesha County, WI's covered employment was 0.4% 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
- +0.4 % = 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
noteWaukesha County, WI's typical asking rent of $1,871 ranks 1st of 38 Wisconsin counties, against a median of $1,275.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 38 Wisconsin counties that published rent.latest
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.