Mercer County, KY
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.81, -84.88.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 53rd pct · 1,434th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 76th pct · 29th of 120 Kentucky counties · median $179,218
- 17th pct · 2,531st of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 57th pct · 52nd of 120 Kentucky counties · median -1.4%
- 4th pct · 1,303rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 0th pct · 28th of 28 Kentucky counties · median $1,281
- 44th pct · 1,801st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 58th pct · 50th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
- 84th pct · 509th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 93rd pct · 9th of 120 Kentucky counties · median $953
- 35th pct · 1,976th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 53rd pct · 56th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 3.5
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 $241,303 (Sep 2026), -0.5% over one year, +28.8% over five
- 53rd pct · 1,434th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 76th pct · 29th of 120 Kentucky counties · median $179,218
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer County, KY | $241,303 · -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 $932/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 21.6
- 4th pct · 1,303rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 0th pct · 28th of 28 Kentucky counties · median $1,281
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer County, KY | $932/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 $1,337 a month on $241,303 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,599 a month: 23.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $241,303 × 80% = $193,043, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,337/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,292 × 52 / 12 = $5,599) = 24% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $241,303 / ($1,292 × 52) = 3.6
- price-to-rent = $241,303 / ($932 × 12) = 21.6
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 #
6,446 jobs at 622 employers (2026 Q1); +0.6% jobs and +4.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 44th pct · 1,801st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 58th pct · 50th of 120 Kentucky counties · median 5,237
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer County, KY | 6,446 jobs · $1,292/wk · +0.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,809 | $2,090 | 3.49 | -4.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 832 | $855 | 0.86 | -0.1% |
| Retail trade | 651 | $753 | 1.04 | +6.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 505 | $1,567 | 1.38 | +5.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 442 | $370 | 0.76 | -2.9% |
| Construction | 354 | $1,084 | 1.05 | +7.9% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 189 | $697 | 1.78 | +6.2% |
| Other services | 149 | $678 | 0.77 | +28.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 135 | $1,097 | 0.50 | -10.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 116 | $1,527 | 0.44 | -11.5% |
| Educational services | 15 | $349 | 0.11 | +36.4% |
| Information | 12 | $1,288 | 0.10 | +9.1% |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
61 gauges · 0 flooding · 18 with quality panels averaging 97 % · 15 stale
Sites found: 61, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 6 NEAR SALVISA, KY | flow 2,050 ft³/s | 14 km |
| MOCKS BRANCH AT HIGHWAY 1896 | flow 1.20 ft³/s · STALE | 14 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 7 AT HIGHBRIDGE, KY | flow 3,560 ft³/s | 14 km |
| DIX RIVER AT DIX DAM NEAR BURGIN, KY | flow 179.0 ft³/s | 15 km |
| SPEARS CREEK AT STREAMLAND DRIVE | flow 1.60 ft³/s · STALE | 18 km |
| CLARKS RUN NEAR DANVILLE, KY | flow 2.40 ft³/s · STALE | 24 km |
| SALT RIVER AT GLENSBORO, KY | flow 34.9 ft³/s | 26 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 8 NEAR CAMP NELSON, KY | flow 1,490 ft³/s | 27 km |
| DIX RIVER NEAR DANVILLE, KY | flow 28.3 ft³/s | 27 km |
| KENTUCKY RIVER AT LOCK 5 NEAR TYRONE, KY | flow 1,970 ft³/s | 27 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 (0.01)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.03 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$377.4 m in deposits at 8 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,790, highly concentrated. $152.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $151.2 m, grants $746,870), $23,582 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Farmers National Bank of Danville | $118.5 m · 31.4% share · 3 offices | |
| Community Trust Bank, Inc. | $114.0 m · 30.2% share · 1 office | |
| Whitaker Bank | $105.6 m · 28.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Mercer, KY | $152.0 m FY2026 · $23,582/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $149.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Farmers National Bank of Danville | $118,549,000 | 31.4% | 3 |
| Community Trust Bank, Inc. | $114,042,000 | 30.2% | 1 |
| Whitaker Bank | $105,561,000 | 28.0% | 3 |
| First Financial Bank | $39,266,000 | 10.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,790 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 31.4² + 30.2² + 28.0² + … (1 more) = 2,790
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 | $130,761,937 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $17,945,653 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,238,206 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,172,188 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,008,567 |
| Department of Education | $50,939 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $41,011 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $37,789 |
| Small Business Administration | -$18,709 |
| Department of Transportation | -$229,477 |
That is $23,582 per covered job, against 6,446 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $152.0 m / 6,446 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,582
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 #
Mercer County, KY: 12 findings, 2 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchMercer County, KY'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 = -0.5024931451819332 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchMercer County, KY's typical home value of -0.5% scores 17 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 57 across Kentucky counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |17 across US counties - 57 across Kentucky counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMercer County, KY's average weekly wage was 4.4% 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
- +4.4 % = 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
noteMercer County, KY's covered employment was 0.6% 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
- +0.6 % = 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
notetypical asking rent (rent.latest) and typical asking rent (rent.momPct) for Mercer County, KY could not be lined up against the previous published period this run, so no change is printed for them.
Show the arithmetic
- not comparable this run: rent.latest, rent.momPct
the two newest month columns in the published file are not the two this table carries
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.