Dallas County, IA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 41.69, -94.04.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 80th pct · 604th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 98th pct · 2nd of 99 Iowa counties · median $192,339
- 100th pct · 1st of 6 counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro · median $301,333
- 17th pct · 2,533rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 4th pct · 95th of 99 Iowa counties · median +4.2%
- 0th pct · 6th of 6 counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro · median +1.8%
- 54th pct · 620th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 2nd of 22 Iowa counties · median $1,052
- counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro: only 4 of counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
- 85th pct · 473rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 93rd pct · 7th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- 80th pct · 2nd of 6 counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro · median 12,053
- 96th pct · 99th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 100th pct · 1st of 99 Iowa counties · median $1,057
- 100th pct · 1st of 6 counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro · median $1,088
- 42nd pct · 1,773rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 66th pct · 34th of 99 Iowa counties · median 3.5
- 20th pct · 5th of 6 counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro · median 4.4
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 $355,003 (Sep 2026), -0.5% over one year, +13.0% over five
- 80th pct · 604th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 98th pct · 2nd of 99 Iowa counties · median $192,339
- 100th pct · 1st of 6 counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro · median $301,333
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, IA | $355,003 · -0.5% 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 #
Typical rent $1,563/mo (Sep 2026), +4.3% over one year; price-to-rent 18.9
- 54th pct · 620th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 2nd of 22 Iowa counties · median $1,052
- counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro: only 4 of counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, IA | $1,563/mo · +4.3% 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 $1,966 a month on $355,003 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $7,674 a month: 25.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $355,003 × 80% = $284,002, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,966/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,771 × 52 / 12 = $7,674) = 26% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $355,003 / ($1,771 × 52) = 3.9
- price-to-rent = $355,003 / ($1,563 × 12) = 18.9
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 #
55,941 jobs at 3,752 employers (2026 Q1); +1.2% jobs and -0.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 85th pct · 473rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 93rd pct · 7th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- 80th pct · 2nd of 6 counties in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro · median 12,053
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, IA | 55,941 jobs · $1,771/wk · +1.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finance and insurance | 16,244 | $3,386 | 7.13 | -1.3% |
| Retail trade | 7,818 | $689 | 1.43 | +1.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 6,478 | $1,285 | 0.77 | +3.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 4,663 | $497 | 0.93 | -0.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,896 | $1,810 | 0.75 | +7.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 2,195 | $1,041 | 0.69 | +17.1% |
| Construction | 1,618 | $1,279 | 0.55 | -5.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 1,188 | $489 | 1.29 | +9.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,078 | $2,119 | 0.50 | +0.0% |
| Educational services | 945 | $1,098 | 0.79 | +5.1% |
| Other services | 913 | $864 | 0.55 | +8.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 760 | $2,054 | 0.89 | -0.5% |
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 #
$2.6 bn in deposits at 43 offices of 28 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 682, unconcentrated. $512.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $474.6 m, grants $28.0 m), $9,164 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Raccoon Valley Bank | $380.2 m · 14.8% share · 3 offices | |
| Bank Iowa | $242.6 m · 9.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Earlham Savings Bank | $216.7 m · 8.4% share · 5 offices | |
| Dallas, IA | $512.6 m FY2026 · $9,164/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raccoon Valley Bank | $380,170,000 | 14.8% | 3 |
| Bank Iowa | $242,628,000 | 9.4% | 2 |
| Earlham Savings Bank | $216,702,000 | 8.4% | 5 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $215,950,000 | 8.4% | 2 |
| Freedom Financial Bank | $165,787,000 | 6.4% | 1 |
| Luana Savings Bank | $148,005,000 | 5.8% | 1 |
| South Story Bank & Trust | $144,559,000 | 5.6% | 1 |
| BMO Bank National Association | $114,927,000 | 4.5% | 2 |
| Farmers State Bank | $114,457,000 | 4.5% | 1 |
| Lincoln Savings Bank | $109,145,000 | 4.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 682 across 27 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 27 banks with deposits in the county = 14.8² + 9.4² + 8.4² + … (24 more) = 682
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 $9,164 per covered job, against 55,941 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $512.6 m / 55,941 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $9,164
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 #
Dallas County, IA: 19 findings, 3 at a watch level and 16 noted
watchDallas County, IA's average weekly wage is -0.7% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.avgWeeklyWage = -0.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchDallas County, IA's typical home value is -0.5% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -0.5054112193490763 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchDallas County, IA's typical asking rent of $1,563 scores 54 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 95 across Iowa counties, a gap of 41 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 41 = |54 across US counties - 95 across Iowa counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteDallas County, IA's covered employment was 1.2% 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
- +1.2 % = 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
noteDallas County, IA's typical asking rent rose 1.1% from $1,546 in August 2026 to $1,563 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +1.1% = (1563.0569511540525 - 1545.7512150770585) / 1545.7512150770585 × 100
- 1563.0569511540525 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1545.7512150770585 = 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.