Clay County, IL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.75, -88.48.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 4th pct · 2,939th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 10th pct · 91st of 102 Illinois counties · median $158,551
- 69th pct · 936th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 44th pct · 57th of 102 Illinois counties · median +5.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Illinois counties: not published this period
- 35th pct · 2,075th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 33rd pct · 68th of 102 Illinois counties · median 7,611
- 45th pct · 1,734th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 38th pct · 63rd of 102 Illinois counties · median $1,061
- 4th pct · 2,934th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 9th pct · 92nd of 102 Illinois counties · median 2.8
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 $106,056 (Sep 2026), +4.5% over one year, +14.6% over five
- 4th pct · 2,939th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 10th pct · 91st of 102 Illinois counties · median $158,551
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clay County, IL | $106,056 · +4.5% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Illinois counties: not published this period
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 $587 a month on $106,056 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,429 a month: 13.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $106,056 × 80% = $84,845, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $587/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,022 × 52 / 12 = $4,429) = 13% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $106,056 / ($1,022 × 52) = 2.0
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 #
4,708 jobs at 297 employers (2026 Q1); -0.7% jobs and +6.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 35th pct · 2,075th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 33rd pct · 68th of 102 Illinois counties · median 7,611
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Clay County, IL | 4,708 jobs · $1,022/wk · -0.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,505 | $1,260 | 3.97 | -1.2% |
| Retail trade | 523 | $578 | 1.14 | -6.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 312 | $868 | 0.44 | +1.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 233 | $387 | 0.55 | +4.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 176 | $1,580 | 0.98 | -0.6% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 154 | $698 | 4.53 | +7.7% |
| Finance and insurance | 116 | $981 | 0.60 | -2.5% |
| Information | 104 | $1,525 | 1.20 | -1.0% |
| Other services | 91 | $566 | 0.65 | -4.2% |
| Construction | 75 | $1,073 | 0.30 | +23.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 67 | $983 | 4.00 | -8.2% |
| Real estate and rental | 57 | $797 | 0.79 | -1.7% |
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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
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 #
21 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 4 stale
Sites found: 21, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE WABASH RIVER BELOW CLAY CITY, IL | flow 103.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 20 km |
| Embarras River (IL) at Newton | no readings | 40 km |
| LITTLE WABASH RIVER NEAR EFFINGHAM, IL | flow 0.91 ft³/s · no flooding | 41 km |
| SKILLET FORK AT WAYNE CITY, IL | stage 4.15 ft · low threshold | 44 km |
| HORSE CREEK NEAR KEENES, IL | flow 0.10 ft³/s · STALE | 44 km |
| EMBARRAS RIVER AT STE. MARIE, IL | flow 55.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 45 km |
| HICKORY CREEK NEAR BROWNSTOWN, IL | flow 0.01 ft³/s | 46 km |
| LITTLE WABASH RIVER NEAR GOLDEN GATE, IL | stage 4.80 ft | 47 km |
| EAST FORK KASKASKIA RIVER NEAR SANDOVAL, IL | flow 0.21 ft³/s | 54 km |
| NORTH FORK EMBARRAS RIVER NEAR OBLONG, IL | flow 5.24 ft³/s · no flooding | 55 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 #
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 (0.16)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$439.9 m in deposits at 9 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,531, highly concentrated. $96.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $92.6 m, grants $3.6 m), $20,484 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Clay City Banking Co. | $154.0 m · 35.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Flora Bank & Trust | $117.2 m · 26.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Clay County State Bank | $91.7 m · 20.8% share · 1 office | |
| Clay, IL | $96.4 m FY2026 · $20,484/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $76.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Clay City Banking Co. | $153,980,000 | 35.0% | 3 |
| Flora Bank & Trust | $117,223,000 | 26.7% | 2 |
| Clay County State Bank | $91,702,000 | 20.8% | 1 |
| First Community Bank, Xenia-Flora | $47,309,000 | 10.8% | 2 |
| Community Partners Savings Bank | $29,647,000 | 6.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,531 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 35.0² + 26.7² + 20.8² + … (2 more) = 2,531
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 | $68,388,177 |
| Department of Agriculture | $17,030,764 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $7,102,628 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,549,809 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,129,319 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $967,553 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $230,745 |
| Department of Education | $39,318 |
That is $20,484 per covered job, against 4,708 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $96.4 m / 4,708 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $20,484
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 #
Clay County, IL: 9 findings, 1 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchClay County, IL's covered employment is -0.7% 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 = -0.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteClay County, IL's average weekly wage was 6.1% 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
- +6.1 % = 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
noteClay County, IL's covered employment was 0.7% lower 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
- -0.7 % = 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
noteClay County, IL's typical home value fell 0.4% from $106,447 in August 2026 to $106,056 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.4% = (106056.017592773 - 106447.02522157982) / 106447.02522157982 × 100
- 106056.017592773 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 106447.02522157982 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteClay County, IL's typical home value of $106,056 ranks 2,939th of 3,063 US counties, against a median of $230,451.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 4 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3063 US counties that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 9 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.