Kalamazoo County, MI
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.25, -85.53.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 63rd pct · 1,114th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 80th pct · 17th of 83 Michigan counties · median $225,043
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 66th pct · 1,022nd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 28th pct · 60th of 83 Michigan counties · median +5.3%
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 29th pct · 957th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 38th pct · 25th of 40 Michigan counties · median $1,387
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 91st pct · 262nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 90th pct · 9th of 83 Michigan counties · median 12,414
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 89th pct · 337th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 91st pct · 8th of 83 Michigan counties · median $1,045
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 39th pct · 1,843rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 36th pct · 53rd of 83 Michigan counties · median 4.0
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage 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 $273,812 (Sep 2026), +4.2% over one year, +25.2% over five
- 63rd pct · 1,114th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 80th pct · 17th of 83 Michigan counties · median $225,043
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kalamazoo County, MI | $273,812 · +4.2% 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 $1,287/mo (Sep 2026), +4.9% over one year; price-to-rent 17.7
- 29th pct · 957th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 38th pct · 25th of 40 Michigan counties · median $1,387
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kalamazoo County, MI | $1,287/mo · +4.9% 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 $1,517 a month on $273,812 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,067 a month: 25.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $273,812 × 80% = $219,050, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,517/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,400 × 52 / 12 = $6,067) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $273,812 / ($1,400 × 52) = 3.8
- price-to-rent = $273,812 / ($1,287 × 12) = 17.7
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 #
122,049 jobs at 6,186 employers (2026 Q1); +0.3% jobs and +1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 91st pct · 262nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 90th pct · 9th of 83 Michigan counties · median 12,414
- counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Kalamazoo-Portage metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kalamazoo County, MI | 122,049 jobs · $1,400/wk · +0.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 21,172 | $1,459 | 1.15 | +0.4% |
| Manufacturing | 20,512 | $2,344 | 2.09 | -2.2% |
| Retail trade | 12,211 | $771 | 1.03 | +0.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 11,117 | $475 | 1.01 | +0.3% |
| Construction | 6,053 | $1,526 | 0.95 | +3.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 5,963 | $1,667 | 0.71 | +0.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 5,498 | $902 | 0.79 | +1.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 5,073 | $1,618 | 1.09 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 4,465 | $1,008 | 1.22 | +1.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 3,431 | $2,308 | 0.69 | +2.5% |
| Educational services | 2,945 | $992 | 1.12 | -2.9% |
| Real estate and rental | 1,799 | $1,180 | 0.96 | +2.8% |
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 #
$4.6 bn in deposits at 45 offices of 13 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,487, moderately concentrated. $1.7 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.5 bn, grants $115.0 m), $13,632 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $1.2 bn · 26.6% share · 11 offices | |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $854.3 m · 18.6% share · 6 offices | |
| First National Bank of Michigan | $597.3 m · 13.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Kalamazoo, MI | $1.7 bn FY2026 · $13,632/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.4 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $1,223,201,000 | 26.6% | 11 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $854,324,000 | 18.6% | 6 |
| First National Bank of Michigan | $597,273,000 | 13.0% | 3 |
| Mercantile Bank | $487,968,000 | 10.6% | 3 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $340,306,000 | 7.4% | 2 |
| Old National Bank | $290,022,000 | 6.3% | 3 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $272,967,000 | 5.9% | 4 |
| Southern Michigan Bank & Trust | $145,117,000 | 3.2% | 2 |
| Flagstar Bank, National Association | $91,142,000 | 2.0% | 2 |
| Kalamazoo County State Bank | $84,604,000 | 1.8% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,487 across 13 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 13 banks with deposits in the county = 26.6² + 18.6² + 13.0² + … (10 more) = 1,487
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 | $1,329,311,804 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $128,887,771 |
| Department of Transportation | $79,354,968 |
| Department of Education | $42,916,971 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $20,760,416 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $19,796,157 |
| Department of Defense | $14,258,006 |
| Department of Justice | $6,908,308 |
| Department of Energy | $4,967,938 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $4,008,157 |
| Department of Agriculture | $4,001,254 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,827,230 |
That is $13,632 per covered job, against 122,049 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.7 bn / 122,049 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,632
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 #
Kalamazoo County, MI: 10 findings, 2 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchKalamazoo County, MI's typical home value of +4.2% scores 67 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 28 across Michigan counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |67 across US counties - 28 across Michigan counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchKalamazoo County, MI's momentum index of 0.28 scores 57 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 27 across Michigan counties, a gap of 30 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 30 = |57 across US counties - 27 across Michigan counties|
- 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
noteKalamazoo County, MI's average weekly wage was 1.2% 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
- +1.2 % = 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
noteKalamazoo County, MI's covered employment was 0.3% 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
- +0.3 % = 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
noteKalamazoo County, MI's covered employment of 122,049 ranks 262nd of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 92 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 10 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.