Jay County, IN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.44, -85.00.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 20th pct · 2,440th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 5th pct · 87th of 92 Indiana counties · median $230,095
- 37th pct · 1,909th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 15th pct · 78th of 92 Indiana counties · median +4.2%
- US counties: not published this period
- Indiana counties: not published this period
- 45th pct · 1,766th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 65th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- 37th pct · 2,021st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 26th pct · 68th of 92 Indiana counties · median $1,045
- 23rd pct · 2,329th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 17th pct · 76th of 92 Indiana counties · median 4.1
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 $159,102 (Sep 2026), +1.8% over one year, +28.8% over five
- 20th pct · 2,440th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 5th pct · 87th of 92 Indiana counties · median $230,095
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jay County, IN | $159,102 · +1.8% 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
- Indiana 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 $881 a month on $159,102 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,251 a month: 20.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $159,102 × 80% = $127,282, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $881/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $981 × 52 / 12 = $4,251) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $159,102 / ($981 × 52) = 3.1
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 #
6,799 jobs at 430 employers (2026 Q1); -2.4% jobs and +2.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 45th pct · 1,766th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 29th pct · 65th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jay County, IN | 6,799 jobs · $981/wk · -2.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2,621 | $1,174 | 4.79 | +0.3% |
| Retail trade | 645 | $609 | 0.97 | +0.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 390 | $325 | 0.64 | +0.5% |
| Construction | 193 | $931 | 0.54 | -21.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 189 | $1,086 | 0.73 | -4.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 144 | $1,209 | 0.50 | -13.3% |
| Other services | 142 | $443 | 0.70 | +10.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 139 | $1,474 | 0.50 | -2.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 133 | $725 | 0.34 | -6.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 107 | $885 | 0.23 | -3.6% |
| Utilities | 62 | $2,171 | 2.31 | +1.6% |
| Management of companies | 47 | $1,382 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
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 #
2 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 2, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-03350400 | 22,390 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 97 km |
| USGS-03351700 | 21,980 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 102 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 #
60 gauges · 0 flooding · 6 with quality panels averaging 97 % · 16 stale
Sites found: 60, 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-03324200 | flow 6.04 ft³/s · no flooding | 3 km |
| USGS-03325519 | flow 18.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| USGS-03325500 | flow 16.2 ft³/s · out of service · STALE | 17 km |
| USGS-03322500 | flow 7.00 ft³/s · STALE | 22 km |
| USGS-03322900 | flow 78.9 ft³/s · no flooding | 23 km |
| USGS-03326070 | flow 19.0 ft³/s · STALE | 30 km |
| USGS-03325311 | flow 0.44 ft³/s · STALE | 30 km |
| USGS-402958084363300 | flow 3.63 ft³/s · STALE | 34 km |
| USGS-03322985 | flow 12.0 ft³/s · STALE | 35 km |
| USGS-03323000 | flow 113.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 37 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 #
26 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 26, 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-401532085085301 | depth 13.4 ft · 2026-10-19 | 23 km |
| OH015-402833084375200 | depth 72.7 ft · 2024-09-20 | 32 km |
| USGS-404331085064701 | depth 25.4 ft · 2026-10-18 | 34 km |
| USGS-404006085244801 | depth 26.6 ft · 2025-06-11 | 43 km |
| USGS-402848085340201 | depth 20.3 ft · 2025-02-02 | 48 km |
| USGS-400541085213701 | depth 47.2 ft · 2026-10-18 | 48 km |
| OH015-400514084345700 | depth 45.5 ft · 2026-10-18 | 53 km |
| OH015-402428084223400 | depth 55.7 ft · 2024-09-29 | 53 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 (0.01)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.03 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$367.9 m in deposits at 6 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,843, highly concentrated. $127.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $119.2 m, grants $6.7 m), $18,800 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Merchants Bank | $139.2 m · 37.8% share · 2 offices | |
| First Bank of Berne | $119.6 m · 32.5% share · 1 office | |
| First Financial Bank | $58.8 m · 16.0% share · 1 office | |
| Jay, IN | $127.8 m FY2026 · $18,800/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $112.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Merchants Bank | $139,178,000 | 37.8% | 2 |
| First Bank of Berne | $119,628,000 | 32.5% | 1 |
| First Financial Bank | $58,766,000 | 16.0% | 1 |
| The Farmers & Merchants State Bank | $31,434,000 | 8.5% | 1 |
| The Farmers State Bank | $18,854,000 | 5.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,843 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 = 37.8² + 32.5² + 16.0² + … (2 more) = 2,843
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 | $102,945,820 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $8,905,001 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,771,701 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $4,002,709 |
| Department of Transportation | $2,695,510 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $964,964 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $340,108 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $194,960 |
That is $18,800 per covered job, against 6,799 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $127.8 m / 6,799 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $18,800
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 #
Jay County, IN: 7 findings, 1 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchJay County, IN's covered employment is -2.4% 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 = -2.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteJay County, IN's average weekly wage was 2.8% 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
- +2.8 % = 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
noteJay County, IN's covered employment was 2.4% 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
- -2.4 % = 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
noteJay County, IN's typical home value rose 0.3% from $158,644 in August 2026 to $159,102 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (159102.0214283192 - 158643.6813294805) / 158643.6813294805 × 100
- 159102.0214283192 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 158643.6813294805 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteJay County, IN's typical home value of $159,102 ranks 87th of 92 Indiana counties, against a median of $230,095.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 5 on the 0-to-100 scale across 92 Indiana counties that published home.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 7 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.