Perry County, MS
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 31.17, -88.99.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 21st pct · 2,397th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 62nd pct · 31st of 80 Mississippi counties · median $149,228
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 99th pct · 14th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 98th pct · 2nd of 80 Mississippi counties · median +1.5%
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- Mississippi counties: not published this period
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 17th pct · 2,648th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 18th pct · 67th of 82 Mississippi counties · median 6,322
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 33rd pct · 2,128th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 74th pct · 22nd of 82 Mississippi counties · median $903
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 26th pct · 2,245th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 53rd pct · 38th of 80 Mississippi counties · median 3.1
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg 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 $161,668 (Sep 2026), +15.4% over one year, +7.5% over five
- 21st pct · 2,397th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 62nd pct · 31st of 80 Mississippi counties · median $149,228
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Perry County, MS | $161,668 · +15.4% 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
- Mississippi counties: not published this period
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $895 a month on $161,668 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,190 a month: 21.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $161,668 × 80% = $129,334, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $895/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $967 × 52 / 12 = $4,190) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $161,668 / ($967 × 52) = 3.2
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 #
2,184 jobs at 183 employers (2026 Q1); -1.4% jobs and -4.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 17th pct · 2,648th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 18th pct · 67th of 82 Mississippi counties · median 6,322
- counties in the Hattiesburg metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Hattiesburg metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Perry County, MS | 2,184 jobs · $967/wk · -1.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 531 | $1,860 | 3.02 | +19.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 360 | $627 | 1.10 | -6.5% |
| Retail trade | 280 | $449 | 1.32 | -1.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 94 | $1,050 | 1.02 | -33.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 82 | $324 | 0.42 | +7.9% |
| Other services | 53 | $653 | 0.81 | +8.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 44 | $1,175 | 2.79 | -44.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 44 | $655 | 0.29 | +12.8% |
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld |
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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
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 #
33 gauges · 0 flooding · 5 with quality panels averaging 96 % · 10 stale
Sites found: 33, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| LEAF RIVER NR NEW AUGUSTA, MS | flow 637.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 8 km |
| CYPRESS CREEK NR JANICE, MS | flow 8.41 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 16 km |
| LEAF RIVER NR MCLAIN, MS | flow 655.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 19 km |
| TALLAHALA CREEK NR RUNNELSTOWN, MS | flow 114.0 ft³/s · STALE | 22 km |
| USGS-310805089141600 | turb. 0.70 FNU · quality 90 % (5) · STALE | 24 km |
| BLACK CREEK NR BROOKLYN, MS | flow 75.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 24 km |
| BOGUE HOMO NR RICHTON, MS | flow 24,400 ft³/s · STALE | 26 km |
| Black Creek at Churchwell Road (Camp Dansler) | no readings | 30 km |
| Little Black Creek (south MS) at Rockhill Road | observation not current | 32 km |
| Tallahala Creek at Morriston Road | observation not current | 32 km |
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 #
6 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 6, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-311137089110501 | depth 132.1 ft · 1968-05-31 | 19 km |
| USGS-312115089193601 | depth 35.4 ft · 1993-08-16 | 38 km |
| USGS-310935089252001 | depth 268.8 ft · 1993-09-29 | 41 km |
| USGS-313928089103001 | depth 153.4 ft · 1994-09-29 | 57 km |
| USGS-314210089084401 | depth 193.0 ft · 1993-09-29 | 61 km |
| USGS-314115088392301 | depth 19.9 ft · 2026-10-18 | 65 km |
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 #
moderate (0.33)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.04 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$160.1 m in deposits at 5 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,958, highly concentrated. $83.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $75.5 m, grants $8.2 m), $38,354 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Trustmark Bank | $85.4 m · 53.3% share · 2 offices | |
| Richton Bank & Trust Company | $43.1 m · 26.9% share · 2 offices | |
| First Southern Bank | $31.6 m · 19.8% share · 1 office | |
| Perry, MS | $83.8 m FY2026 · $38,354/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $74.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustmark Bank | $85,375,000 | 53.3% | 2 |
| Richton Bank & Trust Company | $43,078,000 | 26.9% | 2 |
| First Southern Bank | $31,649,000 | 19.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,958 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 = 53.3² + 26.9² + 19.8² = 3,958
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 | $65,098,137 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $8,860,847 |
| Department of Transportation | $8,189,876 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,069,244 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $440,034 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $75,000 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $31,050 |
That is $38,354 per covered job, against 2,184 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $83.8 m / 2,184 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $38,354
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 #
Perry County, MS: 12 findings, 5 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchPerry County, MS' average weekly wage is -4.6% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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.avgWeeklyWage = -4.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchPerry County, MS' covered employment is -1.4% 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 = -1.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchPerry County, MS' typical home value is +15.4% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value at least 15 percent above a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.yoyPct = 15.385340802117792 >= 15
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchPerry County, MS' typical home value of $161,668 scores 22 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 62 across Mississippi counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |22 across US counties - 62 across Mississippi counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchPerry County, MS' average weekly wage of $967 scores 34 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 74 across Mississippi counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |34 across US counties - 74 across Mississippi 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.