Buchanan County, MO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.66, -94.81.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 34th pct · 2,015th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 27th pct · 82nd of 113 Missouri counties · median $221,167
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 64th pct · 1,075th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 43rd pct · 64th of 113 Missouri counties · median +4.5%
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 7th pct · 1,255th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 17th pct · 29th of 35 Missouri counties · median $1,229
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 83rd pct · 545th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 90th pct · 12th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 78th pct · 687th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 92nd pct · 10th of 115 Missouri counties · median $902
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 21st pct · 2,412th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 8th pct · 103rd of 113 Missouri counties · median 4.7
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph 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 $190,751 (Sep 2026), +4.1% over one year, +26.3% over five
- 34th pct · 2,015th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 27th pct · 82nd of 113 Missouri counties · median $221,167
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | $190,751 · +4.1% 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 $1,002/mo (Sep 2026), +3.1% over one year; price-to-rent 15.9
- 7th pct · 1,255th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 17th pct · 29th of 35 Missouri counties · median $1,229
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | $1,002/mo · +3.1% 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 $1,057 a month on $190,751 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,308 a month: 19.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $190,751 × 80% = $152,601, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,057/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,225 × 52 / 12 = $5,308) = 20% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $190,751 / ($1,225 × 52) = 3.0
- price-to-rent = $190,751 / ($1,002 × 12) = 15.9
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 #
46,365 jobs at 2,881 employers (2026 Q1); +0.1% jobs and +2.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 83rd pct · 545th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 90th pct · 12th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the St. Joseph metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the St. Joseph metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | 46,365 jobs · $1,225/wk · +0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 12,317 | $1,565 | 3.30 | +1.8% |
| Health care and social assistance | 8,420 | $1,240 | 1.21 | +0.0% |
| Retail trade | 5,183 | $694 | 1.15 | -0.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,555 | $453 | 0.85 | -1.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,687 | $1,124 | 0.86 | -8.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,577 | $1,796 | 0.89 | -0.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,386 | $832 | 0.53 | -7.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 984 | $2,020 | 0.52 | +0.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 922 | $1,489 | 0.29 | -1.1% |
| Other services | 831 | $939 | 0.60 | -5.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 402 | $469 | 0.53 | -10.1% |
| Real estate and rental | 333 | $965 | 0.47 | -3.8% |
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 #
$2.4 bn in deposits at 25 offices of 14 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,713, moderately concentrated. $511.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $491.4 m, grants $15.7 m), $11,028 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Nodaway Valley Bank | $688.9 m · 28.3% share · 4 offices | |
| Commerce Bank | $571.7 m · 23.5% share · 2 offices | |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $307.6 m · 12.6% share · 3 offices | |
| Buchanan, MO | $511.3 m FY2026 · $11,028/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Nodaway Valley Bank | $688,854,000 | 28.3% | 4 |
| Commerce Bank | $571,742,000 | 23.5% | 2 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $307,632,000 | 12.6% | 3 |
| North American Savings Bank, F.S.B. | $234,737,000 | 9.6% | 1 |
| UMB Bank, National Association | $196,294,000 | 8.1% | 2 |
| Southern Bank | $92,188,000 | 3.8% | 2 |
| NBH Bank | $81,867,000 | 3.4% | 1 |
| Equity Bank | $57,622,000 | 2.4% | 3 |
| Academy Bank, National Association | $49,687,000 | 2.0% | 2 |
| BMO Bank National Association | $37,098,000 | 1.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,713 across 14 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 14 banks with deposits in the county = 28.3² + 23.5² + 12.6² + … (11 more) = 1,713
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 $11,028 per covered job, against 46,365 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $511.3 m / 46,365 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $11,028
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 #
Buchanan County, MO: 11 findings, 11 noted
noteBuchanan County, MO's average weekly wage was 2.9% 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
- +2.9 % = 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
noteBuchanan County, MO's typical asking rent rose 1.3% from $989 in August 2026 to $1,002 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +1.3% = (1002.1353276353275 - 989.4271323129242) / 989.4271323129242 × 100
- 1002.1353276353275 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 989.4271323129242 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteBuchanan County, MO's typical home value fell 0.3% from $191,321 in August 2026 to $190,751 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (190750.95771913358 - 191321.21249366997) / 191321.21249366997 × 100
- 190750.95771913358 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 191321.21249366997 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteBuchanan County, MO's covered employment was 0.1% 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
- +0.1 % = 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
noteBuchanan County, MO's typical asking rent of $1,002 ranks 1,255th of 1,358 US counties, against a median of $1,506.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 8 on the 0-to-100 scale across 1358 US counties that published rent.latest
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 11 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.