Armstrong County, PA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.81, -79.46.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 21st pct · 2,391st of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 19th pct · 54th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
- 14th pct · 7th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median $211,133
- 17th pct · 2,537th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 10th pct · 60th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median +3.3%
- 28th pct · 6th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median +0.1%
- 2nd pct · 1,321st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 2nd pct · 48th of 49 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,322
- 0th pct · 8th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median $1,072
- 65th pct · 1,120th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 31st pct · 46th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- 0th pct · 8th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median 68,448
- 48th pct · 1,669th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 25th pct · 50th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,102
- 0th pct · 8th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median $1,211
- 21st pct · 2,393rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 28th pct · 48th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 3.7
- 57th pct · 4th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median 3.0
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 $161,968 (Sep 2026), -0.5% over one year, +9.1% over five
- 21st pct · 2,391st of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 19th pct · 54th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
- 14th pct · 7th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median $211,133
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Armstrong County, PA | $161,968 · -0.5% 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 $881/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 15.3
- 2nd pct · 1,321st of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 2nd pct · 48th of 49 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,322
- 0th pct · 8th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median $1,072
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Armstrong County, PA | $881/mo · n/a 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 $897 a month on $161,968 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,468 a month: 20.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $161,968 × 80% = $129,574, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $897/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,031 × 52 / 12 = $4,468) = 20% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $161,968 / ($1,031 × 52) = 3.0
- price-to-rent = $161,968 / ($881 × 12) = 15.3
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 #
15,379 jobs at 1,457 employers (2026 Q1); 0.0% jobs and +2.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 65th pct · 1,120th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 31st pct · 46th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- 0th pct · 8th of 8 counties in the Pittsburgh metro · median 68,448
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Armstrong County, PA | 15,379 jobs · $1,031/wk · 0.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 3,154 | $1,037 | 1.36 | +0.7% |
| Retail trade | 1,746 | $616 | 1.16 | -4.3% |
| Manufacturing | 1,430 | $1,169 | 1.16 | -6.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,270 | $291 | 0.92 | -1.6% |
| Construction | 1,156 | $1,230 | 1.43 | +14.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 774 | $684 | 1.19 | -8.8% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 725 | $2,158 | 13.24 | -1.6% |
| Other services | 696 | $785 | 1.51 | -1.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 401 | $1,281 | 0.64 | +4.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 397 | $715 | 0.45 | +40.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 396 | $1,286 | 0.67 | -0.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 298 | $1,113 | 0.28 | +2.1% |
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 #
9 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 9, 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.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Loyalhanna Creek Lake, PA | 3,652 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 40 km |
| Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park, PA | 1,190 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 58 km |
| Curwensville Lake near Curwensville, PA | 1,162 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 80 km |
| Pymatuning Reservoir at Pymatuning Dam, PA | 1,008 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 113 km |
| Raystown Lake near Huntingdon, PA | 786.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 130 km |
| First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek Reservoir | 922.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 138 km |
| Kettle Cr Lake at Kettle Cr Dam near Westport, PA | 842.8 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 143 km |
| DEEP CREEK LAKE NEAR THAYERVILLE, MD | 2,458 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 145 km |
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 #
82 gauges · 0 flooding · 23 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 14 stale
Sites found: 82, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Allegheny River (lower pool) at Kittanning, PA | stage 10.8 ft | 6 km |
| Allegheny River at Kittanning, PA | flow 6,270 ft³/s | 6 km |
| Allegheny R at L&D 8 (lower pool) nr Templeton, PA | stage 10.7 ft | 9 km |
| Allegheny River at Lock & Dam 8 nr Templeton, PA | stage 9.50 ft | 9 km |
| Crooked Creek at Crooked Creek Dam near Ford City | flow 412.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 11 km |
| Allegheny River at Lock & Dam 6 at Clinton, PA | stage 10.5 ft · quality 100 % (2) | 15 km |
| Allegheny River below Lock & Dam 6 at Clinton, PA | stage 9.87 ft · quality 100 % (2) | 15 km |
| Allegheny River (lower pool) near Rimer, PA | stage 9.52 ft | 17 km |
| Allegheny River near Rimer, PA | stage 9.38 ft | 18 km |
| Mahoning Creek at Mahoning Creek Dam, PA | flow 997.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) | 19 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 #
36 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 36, 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-404626079344001 | depth 32.6 ft · 1995-05-09 | 10 km |
| USGS-405344079380201 | depth 19.6 ft · 2026-10-18 | 17 km |
| USGS-404056079395201 | depth 38.7 ft · 1973-09-26 | 22 km |
| USGS-404723079105201 | depth 41.0 ft · 1988-09-05 | 24 km |
| USGS-404509079104001 | depth 24.6 ft · 1988-09-14 | 25 km |
| USGS-404509079104003 | depth 23.9 ft · 1988-09-14 | 25 km |
| USGS-404509079104004 | depth 20.3 ft · 1988-09-14 | 25 km |
| USGS-403556079215201 | depth 88.1 ft · 1988-10-05 | 25 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 #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.9 bn in deposits at 24 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,396, highly concentrated. $505.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $444.5 m, contracts $33.1 m), $32,871 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| NEXTIER BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | $794.6 m · 41.3% share · 10 offices | |
| Elderton State Bank | $359.6 m · 18.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $274.0 m · 14.3% share · 1 office | |
| Armstrong, PA | $505.5 m FY2026 · $32,871/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $438.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEXTIER BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | $794,638,000 | 41.3% | 10 |
| Elderton State Bank | $359,644,000 | 18.7% | 3 |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $274,005,000 | 14.3% | 1 |
| S&T Bank | $157,079,000 | 8.2% | 2 |
| Apollo Trust Company | $95,030,000 | 4.9% | 4 |
| Armstrong County Building and Loan Association | $82,706,000 | 4.3% | 1 |
| Northwest Bank | $69,363,000 | 3.6% | 1 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $47,913,000 | 2.5% | 1 |
| Marion Center Bank | $41,831,000 | 2.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,396 across 9 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 9 banks with deposits in the county = 41.3² + 18.7² + 14.3² + … (6 more) = 2,396
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 | $402,578,578 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $33,073,965 |
| Department of Defense | $32,878,613 |
| Department of Transportation | $25,285,839 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $5,377,518 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,123,350 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,900,622 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $727,182 |
| Department of Education | $342,994 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $231,200 |
| Department of the Interior | $3,990 |
That is $32,871 per covered job, against 15,379 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $505.5 m / 15,379 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $32,871
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 #
Armstrong County, PA: 14 findings, 3 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchArmstrong County, PA's typical asking rent is -2.2% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; 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: rent.momPct = -2.2244860182856976 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchArmstrong County, PA's typical home value is -0.5% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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 = -0.5313505116331797 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchArmstrong County, PA's covered employment of 15,379 scores 65 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 32 across Pennsylvania counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |65 across US counties - 32 across Pennsylvania counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteArmstrong County, PA's average weekly wage was 2.8% 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
- +2.8 % = 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
noteArmstrong County, PA's typical asking rent fell 2.2% from $901 in August 2026 to $881 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -2.2% = (881.1111111111112 - 901.1572276427962) / 901.1572276427962 × 100
- 881.1111111111112 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 901.1572276427962 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
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.