Benton County, OR
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 44.49, -123.42.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 95th pct · 143rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 88th pct · 5th of 36 Oregon counties · median $428,005
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 23rd pct · 2,343rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 40th pct · 22nd of 36 Oregon counties · median +0.4%
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 73rd pct · 364th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 64th pct · 10th of 26 Oregon counties · median $1,770
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 80th pct · 625th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 74th pct · 10th of 36 Oregon counties · median 15,683
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 88th pct · 361st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 88th pct · 5th of 36 Oregon counties · median $1,074
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 92nd pct · 240th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 68th pct · 12th of 36 Oregon counties · median 6.8
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis 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 $553,203 (Sep 2026), +0.3% over one year, +17.5% over five
- 95th pct · 143rd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 88th pct · 5th of 36 Oregon counties · median $428,005
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Benton County, OR | $553,203 · +0.3% 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 $1,811/mo (Sep 2026), +1.2% over one year; price-to-rent 25.5
- 73rd pct · 364th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 64th pct · 10th of 26 Oregon counties · median $1,770
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Benton County, OR | $1,811/mo · +1.2% 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 $3,064 a month on $553,203 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,984 a month: 51.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $553,203 × 80% = $442,563, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $3,064/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,381 × 52 / 12 = $5,984) = 51% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $553,203 / ($1,381 × 52) = 7.7
- price-to-rent = $553,203 / ($1,811 × 12) = 25.5
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 #
38,088 jobs at 2,925 employers (2026 Q1); -2.2% jobs and +4.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 80th pct · 625th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 74th pct · 10th of 36 Oregon counties · median 15,683
- counties in the Corvallis metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Corvallis metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Benton County, OR | 38,088 jobs · $1,381/wk · -2.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 7,105 | $1,526 | 1.24 | +2.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,767 | $484 | 1.10 | -0.2% |
| Retail trade | 3,647 | $708 | 0.98 | -1.8% |
| Manufacturing | 2,409 | $1,951 | 0.79 | -6.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,111 | $2,172 | 0.80 | -3.3% |
| Other services | 1,564 | $915 | 1.37 | +2.5% |
| Construction | 1,271 | $1,302 | 0.64 | +2.1% |
| Management of companies | 942 | $1,870 | 1.48 | -10.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 780 | $895 | 0.36 | -26.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 766 | $2,102 | 0.49 | +2.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 460 | $414 | 0.73 | -4.4% |
| Information | 453 | $1,987 | 0.65 | -14.4% |
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 #
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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.6 bn in deposits at 15 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,614, moderately concentrated. $790.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $625.8 m, grants $142.6 m), $20,747 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank | $351.1 m · 22.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $308.5 m · 19.6% share · 2 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $259.5 m · 16.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Benton, OR | $790.2 m FY2026 · $20,747/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $569.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank | $351,073,000 | 22.3% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $308,518,000 | 19.6% | 2 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $259,500,000 | 16.5% | 2 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $243,068,000 | 15.4% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $173,432,000 | 11.0% | 1 |
| Columbia Bank | $138,880,000 | 8.8% | 2 |
| WaFd Bank | $71,972,000 | 4.6% | 1 |
| KeyBank National Association | $27,950,000 | 1.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,614 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 22.3² + 19.6² + 16.5² + … (5 more) = 1,614
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 | $459,860,286 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $88,412,424 |
| Department of Education | $60,057,485 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $41,779,016 |
| National Science Foundation | $33,773,042 |
| Department of Agriculture | $30,863,628 |
| Department of Commerce | $18,787,880 |
| Department of Transportation | $16,437,254 |
| Department of Energy | $14,961,044 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $8,270,673 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $5,549,749 |
| Department of Defense | $4,290,682 |
That is $20,747 per covered job, against 38,088 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $790.2 m / 38,088 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $20,747
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 #
Benton County, OR: 11 findings, 4 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchBenton County, OR's price-to-rent ratio of 25.5 ranks 80th of 1,358 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; 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: priceToRent percentile = 94.1783345615328 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchBenton County, OR's covered employment is -2.2% 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 = -2.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchBenton County, OR's years of wages of 7.7 ranks 240th of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; 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: yearsOfWages percentile = 92.19464402351404 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchBenton County, OR's price-to-rent ratio is 25.5, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; 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: priceToRent = 25.45895667990864 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteBenton County, OR's average weekly wage was 4.1% 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
- +4.1 % = 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
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.