Aroostook County, ME
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 46.71, -68.61.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 24th pct · 2,314th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 0th pct · 16th of 16 Maine counties · median $322,387
- 46th pct · 1,631st of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 86th pct · 3rd of 16 Maine counties · median +1.4%
- 5th pct · 1,279th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 0th pct · 13th of 13 Maine counties · median $1,801
- 75th pct · 806th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 66th pct · 6th of 16 Maine counties · median 16,807
- 52nd pct · 1,534th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 26th pct · 12th of 16 Maine counties · median $1,117
- 23rd pct · 2,349th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 0th pct · 16th of 16 Maine counties · median 5.8
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 $168,572 (Sep 2026), +2.6% over one year, +27.7% over five
- 24th pct · 2,314th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 0th pct · 16th of 16 Maine counties · median $322,387
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Aroostook County, ME | $168,572 · +2.6% 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 $969/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 14.5
- 5th pct · 1,279th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 0th pct · 13th of 13 Maine counties · median $1,801
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Aroostook County, ME | $969/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 $934 a month on $168,572 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,546 a month: 20.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $168,572 × 80% = $134,858, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $934/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,049 × 52 / 12 = $4,546) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $168,572 / ($1,049 × 52) = 3.1
- price-to-rent = $168,572 / ($969 × 12) = 14.5
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 #
24,751 jobs at 2,354 employers (2026 Q1); -2.7% jobs and +3.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 75th pct · 806th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 66th pct · 6th of 16 Maine counties · median 16,807
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Aroostook County, ME | 24,751 jobs · $1,049/wk · -2.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 4,560 | $1,040 | 1.22 | -2.0% |
| Retail trade | 3,451 | $698 | 1.43 | -6.7% |
| Manufacturing | 2,529 | $1,380 | 1.27 | -2.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 1,117 | $961 | 6.25 | +0.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 859 | $1,064 | 0.82 | -3.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 845 | $1,557 | 0.84 | +3.8% |
| Construction | 742 | $1,169 | 0.57 | -10.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 554 | $732 | 0.39 | +3.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 475 | $1,479 | 0.28 | -1.5% |
| Other services | 475 | $795 | 0.64 | -1.2% |
| Educational services | 258 | $857 | 0.48 | -9.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 217 | $802 | 0.57 | +16.0% |
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 #
D2 severe 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 #
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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.4 bn in deposits at 23 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,337, highly concentrated. $774.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $567.5 m, contracts $103.4 m), $31,281 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Katahdin Trust Company | $531.3 m · 37.5% share · 12 offices | |
| Machias Savings Bank | $279.5 m · 19.7% share · 3 offices | |
| TD Bank, National Association | $203.7 m · 14.4% share · 1 office | |
| Aroostook, ME | $774.2 m FY2026 · $31,281/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katahdin Trust Company | $531,315,000 | 37.5% | 12 |
| Machias Savings Bank | $279,508,000 | 19.7% | 3 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $203,705,000 | 14.4% | 1 |
| Aroostook County Federal Savings and Loan Association | $184,981,000 | 13.0% | 2 |
| KeyBank National Association | $181,182,000 | 12.8% | 4 |
| Bangor Savings Bank | $37,952,000 | 2.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,337 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 37.5² + 19.7² + 14.4² + … (3 more) = 2,337
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 $31,281 per covered job, against 24,751 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $774.2 m / 24,751 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $31,281
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 #
Aroostook County, ME: 14 findings, 2 at a watch level and 12 noted
watchAroostook County, ME's covered employment is -2.7% 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 = -2.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchAroostook County, ME's typical home value of +2.6% scores 47 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 87 across Maine counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |47 across US counties - 87 across Maine counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteAroostook County, ME's average weekly wage was 3.3% 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
- +3.3 % = 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
noteAroostook County, ME's covered employment was 2.7% 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
- -2.7 % = 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
noteAroostook County, ME's typical asking rent rose 2.6% from $945 in August 2026 to $969 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +2.6% = (969.4444444444443 - 945.1879422007584) / 945.1879422007584 × 100
- 969.4444444444443 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 945.1879422007584 = 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.