Cumberland County, NC
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 35.05, -78.83.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 48th pct · 1,570th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 31st pct · 69th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 24th pct · 2,309th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 38th pct · 62nd of 100 North Carolina counties · median +1.1%
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 38th pct · 836th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 24th pct · 47th of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 91st pct · 267th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 8th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 68th pct · 1,012th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 81st pct · 19th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $984
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 42nd pct · 1,769th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 25th pct · 75th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 5.0
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville 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 $227,993 (Sep 2026), +0.4% over one year, +34.9% over five
- 48th pct · 1,570th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 31st pct · 69th of 100 North Carolina counties · median $270,749
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, NC | $227,993 · +0.4% 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 #
Typical rent $1,382/mo (Sep 2026), +2.1% over one year; price-to-rent 13.8
- 38th pct · 836th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 24th pct · 47th of 62 North Carolina counties · median $1,550
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, NC | $1,382/mo · +2.1% 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 $1,263 a month on $227,993 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,927 a month: 25.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $227,993 × 80% = $182,395, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,263/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,137 × 52 / 12 = $4,927) = 26% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $227,993 / ($1,137 × 52) = 3.9
- price-to-rent = $227,993 / ($1,382 × 12) = 13.8
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 #
120,188 jobs at 7,201 employers (2026 Q1); -1.8% jobs and +3.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 91st pct · 267th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 8th of 100 North Carolina counties · median 16,739
- counties in the Fayetteville metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fayetteville metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cumberland County, NC | 120,188 jobs · $1,137/wk · -1.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 16,042 | $696 | 1.37 | +0.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 14,456 | $402 | 1.34 | -0.3% |
| Health care and social assistance | 12,829 | $930 | 0.71 | -1.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 6,271 | $1,525 | 0.76 | +6.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 6,265 | $1,004 | 0.92 | -4.2% |
| Construction | 5,388 | $1,440 | 0.86 | -8.4% |
| Manufacturing | 5,345 | $1,607 | 0.55 | -6.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 5,222 | $979 | 1.03 | -0.1% |
| Other services | 3,287 | $1,010 | 0.92 | -7.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,800 | $1,932 | 0.37 | -6.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 1,758 | $1,189 | 0.95 | +2.6% |
| Educational services | 1,378 | $998 | 0.53 | -0.7% |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
$4.8 bn in deposits at 45 offices of 14 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,652, moderately concentrated. $4.1 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $2.9 bn, contracts $1.0 bn), $33,956 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $1.3 bn · 26.7% share · 9 offices | |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $1.0 bn · 21.6% share · 7 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $724.1 m · 15.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Cumberland, NC | $4.1 bn FY2026 · $33,956/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $2.8 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Bank | $1,289,643,000 | 26.7% | 9 |
| First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company | $1,041,862,000 | 21.6% | 7 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $724,058,000 | 15.0% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $580,881,000 | 12.0% | 4 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $313,402,000 | 6.5% | 4 |
| First Bank | $262,057,000 | 5.4% | 1 |
| United Bank | $159,216,000 | 3.3% | 3 |
| TowneBank | $134,897,000 | 2.8% | 1 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $90,840,000 | 1.9% | 1 |
| First Horizon Bank | $90,273,000 | 1.9% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,652 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 = 26.7² + 21.6² + 15.0² + … (11 more) = 1,652
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 |
|---|---|
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $1,528,643,377 |
| Social Security Administration | $1,380,449,725 |
| Department of Defense | $547,346,088 |
| General Services Administration | $385,850,677 |
| Department of Education | $90,963,637 |
| Department of Transportation | $48,331,840 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $35,937,682 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $29,127,521 |
| Department of Agriculture | $12,638,122 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $9,227,383 |
| Department of the Interior | $3,498,506 |
| Department of Commerce | $3,032,588 |
That is $33,956 per covered job, against 120,188 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $4.1 bn / 120,188 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $33,956
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 #
Cumberland County, NC: 8 findings, 1 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchCumberland County, NC's covered employment is -1.8% 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 = -1.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteCumberland County, NC's average weekly wage was 3.2% 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
- +3.2 % = 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
noteCumberland County, NC's covered employment was 1.8% lower 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
noteCumberland County, NC's covered employment of 120,188 ranks 8th of 100 North Carolina counties, against a median of 16,739.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across 100 North Carolina counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteCumberland County, NC's covered employment of 120,188 ranks 267th 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 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.