Rabun County, GA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.88, -83.40.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 86th pct · 409th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 92nd pct · 13th of 159 Georgia counties · median $215,610
- 30th pct · 2,136th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 30th pct · 111th of 159 Georgia counties · median +2.5%
- 84th pct · 209th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 83rd pct · 12th of 69 Georgia counties · median $1,701
- 40th pct · 1,906th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 46th pct · 86th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
- 9th pct · 2,926th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 7th pct · 147th of 159 Georgia counties · median $964
- 96th pct · 108th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 97th pct · 5th of 159 Georgia counties · median 4.2
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 $402,742 (Sep 2026), +1.1% over one year, +25.3% over five
- 86th pct · 409th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 92nd pct · 13th of 159 Georgia counties · median $215,610
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rabun County, GA | $402,742 · +1.1% 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 $2,028/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 16.6
- 84th pct · 209th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 83rd pct · 12th of 69 Georgia counties · median $1,701
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rabun County, GA | $2,028/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 $2,231 a month on $402,742 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,601 a month: 61.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $402,742 × 80% = $322,194, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,231/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $831 × 52 / 12 = $3,601) = 62% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $402,742 / ($831 × 52) = 9.3
- price-to-rent = $402,742 / ($2,028 × 12) = 16.6
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 #
5,702 jobs at 640 employers (2026 Q1); +3.7% jobs and +4.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 40th pct · 1,906th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 46th pct · 86th of 159 Georgia counties · median 7,095
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rabun County, GA | 5,702 jobs · $831/wk · +3.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 1,116 | $726 | 2.01 | -3.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,066 | $474 | 2.08 | +16.6% |
| Construction | 474 | $976 | 1.59 | +7.7% |
| Manufacturing | 285 | $869 | 0.62 | -14.2% |
| Other services | 171 | $621 | 1.00 | +3.6% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 158 | $807 | 1.68 | +1.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 150 | $741 | 0.46 | +4.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 123 | $1,572 | 0.53 | +5.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 86 | $999 | 0.36 | +681.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 31 | $746 | 0.35 | -35.4% |
| Information | 26 | $1,249 | 0.25 | +52.9% |
| Unclassified | 24 | $962 | 1.98 | +20.0% |
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 #
D1 moderate 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 #
11 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 11, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| HARTWELL LAKE NEAR ANDERSON, SC | 649.0 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 65 km |
| LAKE LOGAN AT DAM NEAR HAZELWOOD, NC | 52.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 74 km |
| LAKE SIDNEY LANIER NEAR BUFORD, GA | 1,063 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 101 km |
| RUSSELL LAKE ABOVE CALHOUN FALLS, SC | 473.5 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 113 km |
| CARTERS LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 1,072 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 120 km |
| CARTERS RE-REGULATION LAKE NEAR CARTERS, GA | 30.8 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 122 km |
| LAKE WILLIAM C. BOWEN NEAR FINGERVILLE, SC | 815.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 127 km |
| CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER AT MORGAN FALLS DAM, GA | 865.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 136 km |
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 #
96 gauges · 0 flooding · 14 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 15 stale
Sites found: 96, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| TIGER CREEK NEAR LAKEMONT, GA | flow 21.0 ft³/s | 11 km |
| TALLULAH RIVER NEAR CLAYTON, GA | flow 53.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 11 km |
| CHATTOOGA RIVER NEAR CLAYTON, GA | flow 182.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 12 km |
| Tallulah River at MATHIS-TERRORA DAM | no flooding | 13 km |
| TALLULAH R AT TERRORA PWRHSE, NR TALLULAH FALLS,GA | flow 34.2 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 15 km |
| Tallulah River at BURTON DAM | observation not current | 16 km |
| Tallulah River at TALLULAH FALLS DAM | no flooding | 16 km |
| Tallulah River at NACOOCHEE DAM | observation not current | 17 km |
| TALLULAH RIVER AB POWERHOUSE, NR TALLULAH FALLS,GA | flow 41.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| Little Tennessee River near Otto | out of service | 19 km |
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 #
5 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 5, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-345051083041800 | depth 31.0 ft · 2026-10-18 | 31 km |
| USGS-344314083433201 | depth 6.07 ft · 2026-10-18 | 34 km |
| USGS-351117083545001 | depth 27.7 ft · 2009-10-04 | 57 km |
| USGS-351121083545002 | depth 7.62 ft · 2026-10-18 | 57 km |
| USGS-352519083272401 | depth 5.05 ft · 2009-10-06 | 67 km |
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 (0.16)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$712.3 m in deposits at 7 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,282, highly concentrated. $156.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $145.4 m, grants $6.4 m), $27,415 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rabun County Bank | $219.8 m · 30.9% share · 2 offices | |
| United Community Bank | $217.0 m · 30.5% share · 1 office | |
| Regions Bank | $99.3 m · 13.9% share · 1 office | |
| Rabun, GA | $156.3 m FY2026 · $27,415/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $144.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabun County Bank | $219,812,000 | 30.9% | 2 |
| United Community Bank | $216,960,000 | 30.5% | 1 |
| Regions Bank | $99,267,000 | 13.9% | 1 |
| First American Bank and Trust Company | $67,880,000 | 9.5% | 1 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $60,842,000 | 8.5% | 1 |
| Oconee Federal Savings and Loan Association | $47,582,000 | 6.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,282 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 = 30.9² + 30.5² + 13.9² + … (3 more) = 2,282
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 | $132,553,700 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $11,586,027 |
| Department of Transportation | $5,990,831 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,491,307 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $601,397 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $568,264 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $492,348 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $33,056 |
| Department of Defense | $11,852 |
| Small Business Administration | -$9,088 |
That is $27,415 per covered job, against 5,702 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $156.3 m / 5,702 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,415
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 #
Rabun County, GA: 12 findings, 2 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchRabun County, GA's years of wages of 9.3 ranks 108th of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: yearsOfWages percentile = 96.5055519268452 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchRabun County, GA's typical asking rent is -1.3% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: rent.momPct = -1.3177161887926325 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteRabun County, GA's average weekly wage was 4.1% 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
- +4.1 % = 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
noteRabun County, GA's covered employment was 3.7% 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
- +3.7 % = 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
noteRabun County, GA's typical asking rent fell 1.3% from $2,055 in August 2026 to $2,028 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -1.3% = (2027.777777777778 - 2054.8549338979556) / 2054.8549338979556 × 100
- 2027.777777777778 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 2054.8549338979556 = Zillow ZORI, 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.