Barnes County, ND
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 46.94, -98.07.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 36th pct · 1,939th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 50th pct · 22nd of 43 North Dakota counties · median $196,408
- 80th pct · 606th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 47th pct · 23rd of 43 North Dakota counties · median +5.9%
- US counties: not published this period
- North Dakota counties: not published this period
- 33rd pct · 2,144th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 73rd pct · 15th of 53 North Dakota counties · median 1,520
- 40th pct · 1,898th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 26th pct · 39th of 53 North Dakota counties · median $1,064
- 40th pct · 1,825th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 61st pct · 17th of 43 North Dakota counties · median 3.3
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 $196,408 (Sep 2026), +5.8% over one year, +13.5% over five
- 36th pct · 1,939th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 50th pct · 22nd of 43 North Dakota counties · median $196,408
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Barnes County, ND | $196,408 · +5.8% 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
- North Dakota 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 $1,088 a month on $196,408 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,329 a month: 25.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $196,408 × 80% = $157,127, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,088/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $999 × 52 / 12 = $4,329) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $196,408 / ($999 × 52) = 3.8
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 #
4,319 jobs at 452 employers (2026 Q1); -3.2% jobs and +1.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 33rd pct · 2,144th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 73rd pct · 15th of 53 North Dakota counties · median 1,520
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Barnes County, ND | 4,319 jobs · $999/wk · -3.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 874 | $876 | 1.34 | +1.0% |
| Retail trade | 434 | $677 | 1.03 | -0.9% |
| Manufacturing | 405 | $1,453 | 1.17 | -12.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 394 | $350 | 1.02 | +5.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 296 | $1,481 | 1.79 | -0.7% |
| Construction | 210 | $1,271 | 0.93 | -8.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 111 | $2,010 | 0.63 | +1.8% |
| Other services | 110 | $694 | 0.85 | +3.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 99 | $1,522 | 0.33 | -38.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 74 | $977 | 0.30 | -1.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 38 | $315 | 0.53 | -13.6% |
| Real estate and rental | 36 | $711 | 0.54 | +5.9% |
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 #
27 gauges · 0 flooding · 5 with quality panels averaging 85 % · 8 stale
Sites found: 27, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SHEYENNE RIVER BELOW BALDHILL DAM, ND | flow 182.0 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) | 10 km |
| SHEYENNE RIVER AT VALLEY CITY, ND | flow 199.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 5 km |
| BALDHILL CREEK NEAR DAZEY, ND | flow 45.0 ft³/s | 32 km |
| USGS-465511097363300 | flow 150.0 ft³/s · STALE | 35 km |
| USGS-470909097380400 | flow 65.7 ft³/s · STALE | 40 km |
| SHEYENNE RIVER AT FORT RANSOM STATE PARK, ND | flow 210.0 ft³/s | 45 km |
| JAMES RIVER AT JAMESTOWN, ND | flow 196.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 47 km |
| MAPLE RIVER NEAR HOPE, ND | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 48 km |
| James River at Jamestown Dam | no readings | 48 km |
| JAMES RIVER ON 5TH ST IN JAMESTOWN, ND | stage 92.3 ft · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 49 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 #
13 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 13, 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-465757098274401 | depth 30.3 ft · 2021-06-30 | 30 km |
| USGS-465243098284801 | depth 33.6 ft · 2021-06-30 | 32 km |
| USGS-470818097294104 | depth 51.5 ft · 1995-09-29 | 49 km |
| USGS-471326097332902 | depth 22.6 ft · 2021-06-30 | 50 km |
| USGS-472555098013501 | depth 7.73 ft · 1982-11-29 | 55 km |
| USGS-472412098261201 | depth -0.32 ft · 2021-06-30 | 58 km |
| USGS-472419098261201 | depth 6.31 ft · 1974-12-05 | 58 km |
| USGS-472024097315201 | depth 72.4 ft · 1981-12-29 | 60 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 (0.37)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.15 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$416.9 m in deposits at 4 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,853, highly concentrated. $99.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $88.3 m, grants $9.3 m), $22,979 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dacotah Bank | $238.2 m · 57.1% share · 1 office | |
| Bank Forward | $165.7 m · 39.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Hometown Community Bank | $13.0 m · 3.1% share · 1 office | |
| Barnes, ND | $99.2 m FY2026 · $22,979/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $67.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dacotah Bank | $238,197,000 | 57.1% | 1 |
| Bank Forward | $165,694,000 | 39.7% | 2 |
| Hometown Community Bank | $13,034,000 | 3.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,853 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 = 57.1² + 39.7² + 3.1² = 4,853
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 | $59,294,211 |
| Department of Agriculture | $18,713,151 |
| Department of Transportation | $9,038,020 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $7,297,159 |
| Department of Education | $1,908,090 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,527,984 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,080,686 |
| Department of Defense | $278,811 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $35,974 |
| Small Business Administration | $35,906 |
| Department of the Interior | $35,000 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $0 |
That is $22,979 per covered job, against 4,319 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $99.2 m / 4,319 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $22,979
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 #
Barnes County, ND: 8 findings, 1 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 4 noted
alertBarnes County, ND's covered employment is -3.2% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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.emp = -3.2 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchBarnes County, ND's covered employment is -3.2% 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 = -3.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchBarnes County, ND's covered employment of 4,319 scores 33 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 73 across North Dakota counties, a gap of 40 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 40 = |33 across US counties - 73 across North Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchBarnes County, ND's typical home value of +5.8% scores 80 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 48 across North Dakota counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |80 across US counties - 48 across North Dakota counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteBarnes County, ND's covered employment was 3.2% 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
- -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
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.