Dubuque County, IA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.46, -90.88.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 64th pct · 1,084th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 86th pct · 14th of 99 Iowa counties · median $192,339
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 67th pct · 1,010th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 52nd pct · 48th of 99 Iowa counties · median +4.2%
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 11th pct · 1,203rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 52nd pct · 11th of 22 Iowa counties · median $1,052
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 85th pct · 471st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 94th pct · 6th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 77th pct · 738th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 86th pct · 14th of 99 Iowa counties · median $1,057
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 54th pct · 1,409th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 81st pct · 19th of 99 Iowa counties · median 3.5
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $277,182 (Sep 2026), +4.3% over one year, +30.3% over five
- 64th pct · 1,084th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 86th pct · 14th of 99 Iowa counties · median $192,339
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dubuque County, IA | $277,182 · +4.3% 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 $1,063/mo (Sep 2026), +4.3% over one year; price-to-rent 21.7
- 11th pct · 1,203rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 52nd pct · 11th of 22 Iowa counties · median $1,052
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dubuque County, IA | $1,063/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 $1,535 a month on $277,182 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,235 a month: 29.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $277,182 × 80% = $221,745, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,535/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,208 × 52 / 12 = $5,235) = 29% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $277,182 / ($1,208 × 52) = 4.4
- price-to-rent = $277,182 / ($1,063 × 12) = 21.7
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 #
56,311 jobs at 3,707 employers (2026 Q1); -1.5% jobs and +5.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 85th pct · 471st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 94th pct · 6th of 99 Iowa counties · median 5,685
- counties in the Dubuque metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Dubuque metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dubuque County, IA | 56,311 jobs · $1,208/wk · -1.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 9,725 | $1,467 | 2.15 | -3.6% |
| Health care and social assistance | 8,411 | $1,104 | 0.99 | -2.1% |
| Retail trade | 6,260 | $701 | 1.14 | -1.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 4,138 | $386 | 0.82 | -1.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 4,099 | $2,196 | 1.79 | -1.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 2,899 | $1,528 | 1.34 | -1.7% |
| Educational services | 2,519 | $753 | 2.08 | -3.5% |
| Construction | 2,379 | $1,387 | 0.81 | +2.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,893 | $1,924 | 0.49 | -1.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,569 | $881 | 0.49 | +2.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 1,404 | $637 | 1.51 | -2.6% |
| Other services | 1,260 | $824 | 0.75 | +2.1% |
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 #
$3.6 bn in deposits at 32 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,937, highly concentrated. $742.9 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $711.0 m, grants $31.4 m), $13,192 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| UMB Bank, National Association | $977.5 m · 27.5% share · 7 offices | |
| Nicolet National Bank | $869.4 m · 24.5% share · 7 offices | |
| Fidelity Bank & Trust | $667.0 m · 18.8% share · 8 offices | |
| Dubuque, IA | $742.9 m FY2026 · $13,192/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| UMB Bank, National Association | $977,466,000 | 27.5% | 7 |
| Nicolet National Bank | $869,420,000 | 24.5% | 7 |
| Fidelity Bank & Trust | $666,975,000 | 18.8% | 8 |
| Capra Bank | $379,275,000 | 10.7% | 1 |
| Premier Bank | $304,822,000 | 8.6% | 3 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $208,581,000 | 5.9% | 2 |
| Ohnward Bank & Trust | $81,443,000 | 2.3% | 1 |
| Citizens State Bank | $39,571,000 | 1.1% | 1 |
| Community Savings Bank | $25,803,000 | 0.7% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,937 across 9 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 9 banks with deposits in the county = 27.5² + 24.5² + 18.8² + … (6 more) = 1,937
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 $13,192 per covered job, against 56,311 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $742.9 m / 56,311 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,192
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 #
Dubuque County, IA: 9 findings, 2 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchDubuque County, IA's covered employment is -1.5% 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 = -1.5 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchDubuque County, IA's typical asking rent of $1,063 scores 11 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 52 across Iowa counties, a gap of 41 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 41 = |11 across US counties - 52 across Iowa counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteDubuque County, IA's average weekly wage was 5.7% 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
- +5.7 % = 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
noteDubuque County, IA's covered employment was 1.5% 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
- -1.5 % = 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
noteDubuque County, IA's typical asking rent rose 0.5% from $1,059 in August 2026 to $1,063 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (1063.4375 - 1058.625714756075) / 1058.625714756075 × 100
- 1063.4375 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1058.625714756075 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
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.