Worcester County, MA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.31, -71.94.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 93rd pct · 201st of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 30th pct · 10th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 38th pct · 1,893rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 30th pct · 10th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median +2.7%
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 87th pct · 167th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 36th pct · 8th of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 97th pct · 82nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 3rd of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 92nd pct · 229th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 61st pct · 6th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $1,471
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 82nd pct · 527th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 30th pct · 10th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 7.4
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester 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 $495,048 (Sep 2026), +1.9% over one year, +29.5% over five
- 93rd pct · 201st of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 30th pct · 10th of 14 Massachusetts counties · median $681,406
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Worcester County, MA | $495,048 · +1.9% 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 $2,119/mo (Sep 2026), +1.5% over one year; price-to-rent 19.5
- 87th pct · 167th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 36th pct · 8th of 12 Massachusetts counties · median $2,499
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Worcester County, MA | $2,119/mo · +1.5% 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 $2,742 a month on $495,048 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,526 a month: 42.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $495,048 × 80% = $396,038, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,742/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,506 × 52 / 12 = $6,526) = 42% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $495,048 / ($1,506 × 52) = 6.3
- price-to-rent = $495,048 / ($2,119 × 12) = 19.5
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 #
350,633 jobs at 28,430 employers (2026 Q1); -0.7% jobs and +1.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 97th pct · 82nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 3rd of 14 Massachusetts counties · median 194,940
- counties in the Worcester metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Worcester metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Worcester County, MA | 350,633 jobs · $1,506/wk · -0.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 73,908 | $1,317 | 1.40 | -0.3% |
| Retail trade | 36,239 | $787 | 1.06 | -1.6% |
| Manufacturing | 33,903 | $2,268 | 1.20 | -1.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 25,437 | $568 | 0.81 | +1.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 17,965 | $2,696 | 0.74 | +0.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 16,460 | $1,011 | 0.83 | -1.1% |
| Construction | 15,154 | $1,844 | 0.82 | -1.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 14,011 | $1,078 | 0.95 | +3.9% |
| Educational services | 11,821 | $1,173 | 1.57 | -2.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 11,237 | $3,319 | 0.79 | -3.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 10,548 | $2,191 | 0.79 | -1.5% |
| Other services | 9,970 | $870 | 0.95 | +1.2% |
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 #
$22.5 bn in deposits at 192 offices of 26 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 700, unconcentrated. $5.8 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $5.3 bn, grants $398.2 m), $16,592 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of America, National Association | $3.0 bn · 13.5% share · 11 offices | |
| UniBank for Savings | $2.5 bn · 11.3% share · 14 offices | |
| TD Bank, National Association | $2.2 bn · 9.9% share · 13 offices | |
| Worcester, MA | $5.8 bn FY2026 · $16,592/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America, National Association | $3,044,769,000 | 13.5% | 11 |
| UniBank for Savings | $2,541,778,000 | 11.3% | 14 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $2,238,060,000 | 9.9% | 13 |
| Cornerstone Bank | $1,937,408,000 | 8.6% | 17 |
| Santander Bank, N.A. | $1,794,041,000 | 8.0% | 12 |
| Beacon Bank and Trust | $1,080,142,000 | 4.8% | 11 |
| Webster Five Cents Savings Bank | $1,000,857,000 | 4.4% | 7 |
| Bankhometown | $971,349,000 | 4.3% | 10 |
| Rockland Trust Company | $965,186,000 | 4.3% | 10 |
| Fidelity Co-operative Bank | $944,728,000 | 4.2% | 11 |
Deposit concentration is 700 across 26 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 26 banks with deposits in the county = 13.5² + 11.3² + 9.9² + … (23 more) = 700
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 $16,592 per covered job, against 350,633 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $5.8 bn / 350,633 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,592
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 #
Worcester County, MA: 13 findings, 5 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchWorcester County, MA's covered employment is -0.7% 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 = -0.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchWorcester County, MA's typical home value of $495,048 scores 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 31 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 63 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 63 = |93 across US counties - 31 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchWorcester County, MA's years of wages of 6.3 scores 83 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 31 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 52 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 52 = |83 across US counties - 31 across Massachusetts counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchWorcester County, MA's typical asking rent of $2,119 scores 88 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 36 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 51 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 51 = |88 across US counties - 36 across Massachusetts counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchWorcester County, MA's average weekly wage of $1,506 scores 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 62 across Massachusetts counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |93 across US counties - 62 across Massachusetts 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.