Alpena County, MI
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 44.90, -83.43.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 35th pct · 1,974th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 28th pct · 60th of 83 Michigan counties · median $225,043
- 93rd pct · 212th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 81st pct · 16th of 83 Michigan counties · median +5.3%
- US counties: not published this period
- Michigan counties: not published this period
- 59th pct · 1,302nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 44th of 83 Michigan counties · median 12,414
- 58th pct · 1,321st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 53rd pct · 39th of 83 Michigan counties · median $1,045
- 31st pct · 2,097th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 20th pct · 66th of 83 Michigan counties · median 4.0
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 $193,096 (Sep 2026), +8.5% over one year, +31.9% over five
- 35th pct · 1,974th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 28th pct · 60th of 83 Michigan counties · median $225,043
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alpena County, MI | $193,096 · +8.5% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Michigan counties: not published this period
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 $1,070 a month on $193,096 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,689 a month: 22.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $193,096 × 80% = $154,476, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,070/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,082 × 52 / 12 = $4,689) = 23% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $193,096 / ($1,082 × 52) = 3.4
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 #
12,254 jobs at 933 employers (2026 Q1); +1.8% jobs and +9.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 59th pct · 1,302nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 47th pct · 44th of 83 Michigan counties · median 12,414
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alpena County, MI | 12,254 jobs · $1,082/wk · +1.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,817 | $1,890 | 1.84 | +0.9% |
| Retail trade | 1,614 | $808 | 1.35 | -0.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 954 | $384 | 0.87 | +1.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 460 | $1,496 | 0.92 | +6.7% |
| Other services | 450 | $760 | 1.23 | +2.3% |
| Construction | 433 | $942 | 0.67 | +7.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 413 | $1,413 | 0.88 | +4.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 367 | $1,100 | 0.43 | +1.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 213 | $446 | 0.31 | +50.0% |
| Information | 135 | $910 | 0.60 | -8.2% |
| Real estate and rental | 111 | $693 | 0.59 | +1.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 82 | $293 | 0.41 | -6.8% |
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 #
$421.8 m in deposits at 4 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,944, highly concentrated. $264.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $247.1 m, contracts $15.0 m), $21,546 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nicolet National Bank | $196.8 m · 46.7% share · 2 offices | |
| The Huntington National Bank | $167.8 m · 39.8% share · 1 office | |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $57.1 m · 13.5% share · 1 office | |
| Alpena, MI | $264.0 m FY2026 · $21,546/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $235.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolet National Bank | $196,841,000 | 46.7% | 2 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $167,813,000 | 39.8% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $57,147,000 | 13.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,944 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 46.7² + 39.8² + 13.5² = 3,944
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 | $211,683,817 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $22,467,315 |
| Department of Defense | $13,248,334 |
| Department of Transportation | $9,395,104 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,592,608 |
| Department of Education | $2,212,747 |
| Department of Commerce | $1,541,997 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $918,497 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $557,927 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $329,068 |
| Department of the Interior | $128,860 |
| General Services Administration | $40,403 |
That is $21,546 per covered job, against 12,254 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $264.0 m / 12,254 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,546
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 | 17.40 | 2026-10-19 | -3.1% |
| 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 | 2026-10-20 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 255,129.00 | 2026-09-01 | -1.4% |
| 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 | 1,221.00 | 2026-09-01 | -5.2% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,400.00 | 2026-09-01 | -0.2% |
| 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 #
Alpena County, MI: 8 findings, 8 noted
noteAlpena County, MI's average weekly wage was 9.5% 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
- +9.5 % = 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
noteAlpena County, MI's covered employment was 1.8% 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
- +1.8 % = 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
noteAlpena County, MI's typical home value rose 0.7% from $191,663 in August 2026 to $193,096 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.7% = (193095.5454807854 - 191663.09370719353) / 191663.09370719353 × 100
- 193095.5454807854 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 191663.09370719353 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteAlpena County, MI's momentum index of 0.81 ranks 3rd of 83 Michigan counties, against a median of 0.48.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 98 on the 0-to-100 scale across 83 Michigan counties that published momentum
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteAlpena County, MI's momentum index of 0.81 ranks 81st of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 0.23.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 98 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published momentum
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 8 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.