Dorchester County, MD
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.43, -76.05.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 62nd pct · 1,149th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 13th pct · 21st of 24 Maryland counties · median $417,647
- 28th pct · 2,177th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 60th pct · 10th of 24 Maryland counties · median +0.8%
- 76th pct · 321st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 47th pct · 12th of 22 Maryland counties · median $1,875
- 57th pct · 1,365th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 13th pct · 21st of 24 Maryland counties · median 44,580
- 58th pct · 1,321st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 17th pct · 20th of 24 Maryland counties · median $1,216
- 61st pct · 1,184th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 21st pct · 19th of 24 Maryland 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 $268,747 (Sep 2026), +0.9% over one year, +18.4% over five
- 62nd pct · 1,149th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 13th pct · 21st of 24 Maryland counties · median $417,647
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dorchester County, MD | $268,747 · +0.9% 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 $1,854/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 12.1
- 76th pct · 321st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 47th pct · 12th of 22 Maryland counties · median $1,875
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dorchester County, MD | $1,854/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 $1,489 a month on $268,747 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,689 a month: 31.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $268,747 × 80% = $214,998, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,489/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,082 × 52 / 12 = $4,689) = 32% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $268,747 / ($1,082 × 52) = 4.8
- price-to-rent = $268,747 / ($1,854 × 12) = 12.1
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 #
11,302 jobs at 813 employers (2026 Q1); -3.3% jobs and +3.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 57th pct · 1,365th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 13th pct · 21st of 24 Maryland counties · median 44,580
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dorchester County, MD | 11,302 jobs · $1,082/wk · -3.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2,886 | $1,057 | 3.17 | -0.4% |
| Retail trade | 1,186 | $812 | 1.08 | -2.7% |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,055 | $916 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 886 | $612 | 0.87 | +0.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 439 | $1,129 | 0.92 | +6.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 330 | $1,493 | 0.42 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 303 | $791 | 0.90 | +0.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 296 | $1,364 | 0.68 | -5.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 200 | $1,594 | 0.43 | -3.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 100 | $412 | 0.54 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 91 | $904 | 0.53 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | 54 | $2,788 | 1.21 | +50.0% |
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.
Water #
Banks & federal dollars #
$689.7 m in deposits at 12 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,935, highly concentrated. $383.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $232.7 m, contracts $131.8 m), $33,932 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| BayVanguard Bank | $198.1 m · 28.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Hebron Savings Bank | $179.9 m · 26.1% share · 3 offices | |
| Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company | $88.3 m · 12.8% share · 2 offices | |
| Dorchester, MD | $383.5 m FY2026 · $33,932/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $225.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| BayVanguard Bank | $198,102,000 | 28.7% | 3 |
| Hebron Savings Bank | $179,920,000 | 26.1% | 3 |
| Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Company | $88,311,000 | 12.8% | 2 |
| Shore United Bank, National Association | $63,439,000 | 9.2% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $59,600,000 | 8.6% | 1 |
| The Queenstown Bank of Maryland | $52,088,000 | 7.6% | 1 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $48,273,000 | 7.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,935 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 28.7² + 26.1² + 12.8² + … (4 more) = 1,935
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 | $205,233,834 |
| Department of Defense | $114,868,282 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $34,803,386 |
| Department of Transportation | $8,305,412 |
| Department of Agriculture | $6,393,884 |
| Department of Commerce | $5,834,790 |
| National Science Foundation | $2,813,587 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $2,129,587 |
| Department of the Interior | $1,058,984 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $515,345 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $511,580 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $457,355 |
That is $33,932 per covered job, against 11,302 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $383.5 m / 11,302 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $33,932
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.
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 #
Dorchester County, MD: 16 findings, 1 at an alert level, 6 at a watch level and 9 noted
alertDorchester County, MD's covered employment is -3.3% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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.emp = -3.3 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchDorchester County, MD's covered employment is -3.3% 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 = -3.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchDorchester County, MD's typical home value of $268,747 scores 63 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 13 across Maryland counties, a gap of 49 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 49 = |63 across US counties - 13 across Maryland counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchDorchester County, MD's covered employment of 11,302 scores 58 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 13 across Maryland counties, a gap of 45 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 45 = |58 across US counties - 13 across Maryland counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchDorchester County, MD's average weekly wage of $1,082 scores 59 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 17 across Maryland counties, a gap of 42 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 42 = |59 across US counties - 17 across Maryland counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.