Baxter County, AR
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.28, -92.33.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 51st pct · 1,487th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 89th pct · 9th of 74 Arkansas counties · median $165,493
- 29th pct · 2,162nd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 30th pct · 52nd of 74 Arkansas counties · median +3.0%
- 19th pct · 1,098th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 41st pct · 11th of 18 Arkansas counties · median $1,178
- 67th pct · 1,057th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 79th pct · 16th of 75 Arkansas counties · median 5,609
- 21st pct · 2,522nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 50th pct · 37th of 75 Arkansas counties · median $912
- 65th pct · 1,068th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 83rd pct · 13th of 74 Arkansas counties · median 3.5
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 $235,278 (Sep 2026), +1.0% over one year, +20.0% over five
- 51st pct · 1,487th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 89th pct · 9th of 74 Arkansas counties · median $165,493
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Baxter County, AR | $235,278 · +1.0% 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 $1,167/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 16.8
- 19th pct · 1,098th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 41st pct · 11th of 18 Arkansas counties · median $1,178
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Baxter County, AR | $1,167/mo · n/a 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 $1,303 a month on $235,278 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,952 a month: 33.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $235,278 × 80% = $188,222, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,303/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $912 × 52 / 12 = $3,952) = 33% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $235,278 / ($912 × 52) = 5.0
- price-to-rent = $235,278 / ($1,167 × 12) = 16.8
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 #
16,656 jobs at 1,406 employers (2026 Q1); +2.6% jobs and +5.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 67th pct · 1,057th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 79th pct · 16th of 75 Arkansas counties · median 5,609
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Baxter County, AR | 16,656 jobs · $912/wk · +2.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 4,432 | $1,138 | 1.77 | +2.9% |
| Retail trade | 2,478 | $702 | 1.53 | +2.0% |
| Manufacturing | 2,046 | $928 | 1.53 | -6.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,584 | $388 | 1.06 | +7.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,220 | $926 | 1.29 | +15.6% |
| Construction | 733 | $851 | 0.84 | +11.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 553 | $1,651 | 0.81 | -4.8% |
| Other services | 341 | $696 | 0.69 | +7.2% |
| Real estate and rental | 231 | $618 | 0.90 | +7.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 215 | $1,160 | 0.34 | +10.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 156 | $451 | 0.57 | +12.2% |
| Information | 125 | $1,094 | 0.41 | -22.8% |
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 #
D2 severe drought
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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.6 bn in deposits at 23 offices of 10 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,481, moderately concentrated. $435.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $410.2 m, contracts $15.3 m), $26,157 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Security Bank | $396.6 m · 24.4% share · 5 offices | |
| Arvest Bank | $281.5 m · 17.3% share · 3 offices | |
| The Farmers & Merchants Bank | $256.1 m · 15.7% share · 4 offices | |
| Baxter, AR | $435.7 m FY2026 · $26,157/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Security Bank | $396,631,000 | 24.4% | 5 |
| Arvest Bank | $281,463,000 | 17.3% | 3 |
| The Farmers & Merchants Bank | $256,090,000 | 15.7% | 4 |
| Anstaff Bank | $189,907,000 | 11.7% | 3 |
| Bank OZK | $170,595,000 | 10.5% | 2 |
| First Community Bank | $98,753,000 | 6.1% | 1 |
| FNBC Bank | $78,591,000 | 4.8% | 2 |
| Centennial Bank | $76,599,000 | 4.7% | 1 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $53,875,000 | 3.3% | 1 |
| Century Bank of the Ozarks | $25,734,000 | 1.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,481 across 10 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 10 banks with deposits in the county = 24.4² + 17.3² + 15.7² + … (7 more) = 1,481
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 #
That is $26,157 per covered job, against 16,656 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $435.7 m / 16,656 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,157
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 #
Baxter County, AR: 8 findings, 2 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchBaxter County, AR's typical home value of $235,278 scores 51 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 89 across Arkansas counties, a gap of 38 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 38 = |51 across US counties - 89 across Arkansas counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchBaxter County, AR's price-to-rent ratio of 16.8 scores 48 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 82 across Arkansas counties, a gap of 34 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 34 = |48 across US counties - 82 across Arkansas 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
noteBaxter County, AR's average weekly wage was 5.2% 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
- +5.2 % = 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
noteBaxter County, AR's covered employment was 2.6% 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
- +2.6 % = 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
noteBaxter County, AR's covered employment of +2.6% ranks 6th of 75 Arkansas counties, against a median of -0.7%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across 75 Arkansas counties that published jobs.yoy.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 8 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.