Potter County, PA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 41.75, -77.89.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 21st pct · 2,417th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 18th pct · 55th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
- 70th pct · 916th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 77th pct · 16th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median +3.3%
- US counties: not published this period
- Pennsylvania counties: not published this period
- 34th pct · 2,095th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 4th pct · 64th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- 57th pct · 1,377th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 39th pct · 41st of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,102
- 18th pct · 2,507th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 24th pct · 51st of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 3.7
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 $160,272 (Sep 2026), +4.6% over one year, +5.0% over five
- 21st pct · 2,417th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 18th pct · 55th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Potter County, PA | $160,272 · +4.6% 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
- Pennsylvania 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 $888 a month on $160,272 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,650 a month: 19.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $160,272 × 80% = $128,218, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $888/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,073 × 52 / 12 = $4,650) = 19% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $160,272 / ($1,073 × 52) = 2.9
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 #
4,619 jobs at 480 employers (2026 Q1); -1.6% jobs and +5.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 34th pct · 2,095th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 4th pct · 64th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Potter County, PA | 4,619 jobs · $1,073/wk · -1.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 539 | $1,060 | 1.45 | -15.6% |
| Retail trade | 509 | $528 | 1.13 | +2.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 321 | $279 | 0.77 | +0.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 314 | $1,401 | 1.61 | +15.9% |
| Information | 253 | $1,580 | 2.97 | -9.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 182 | $1,664 | 0.57 | +33.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 139 | $852 | 4.17 | +0.0% |
| Construction | 127 | $1,102 | 0.52 | -0.8% |
| Other services | 107 | $416 | 0.78 | -6.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 66 | $1,819 | 0.35 | +0.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 22 | $2,035 | 1.34 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 12 | $198 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
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 #
8 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 8, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek Reservoir | 922.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 39 km |
| Kettle Cr Lake at Kettle Cr Dam near Westport, PA | 842.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 43 km |
| Hammond Lake at Hammond Dam at Tioga, PA | 1,086 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 64 km |
| Tioga Lake at Tioga Dam at Tioga, PA | 1,081 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 65 km |
| Cowanesque Lake at Lawrenceville, PA | 1,080 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 67 km |
| Foster Joseph Sayers Lake near Blanchard, PA | 630.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 81 km |
| Curwensville Lake near Curwensville, PA | 1,162 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 103 km |
| Raystown Lake near Huntingdon, PA | 786.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 146 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 #
56 gauges · 0 flooding · 13 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 5 stale
Sites found: 56, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| East Fork Sinnemahoning at Wharton Township, PA | flow 16.9 ft³/s | 24 km |
| First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek at Wharton, PA | flow 54.3 ft³/s | 28 km |
| Kettle Creek at Cross Fork, PA | flow 43.1 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) | 31 km |
| Allegheny River at Port Allegany, PA | flow 94.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) | 34 km |
| Oswayo Creek at Shinglehouse, PA | flow 13.0 ft³/s | 35 km |
| Cowanesque River at Westfield, PA | flow 11.5 ft³/s | 36 km |
| Waldy Run near Emporium, PA | flow 0.98 ft³/s | 38 km |
| First Fork Sinnemahoning Cr near Sinnemahoning, PA | flow 63.2 ft³/s | 40 km |
| Straight Run, Site 1, at Marsh Creek, PA | flow 0.71 ft³/s · quality 100 % (5) · out of service · STALE | 41 km |
| ROOT CREEK AT DAVIS STREET AT BOLIVAR NY | stage 0.09 ft | 42 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 #
22 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 22, 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-414640077493801 | depth 23.8 ft · 2026-10-18 | 6 km |
| USGS-414513077333701 | depth 32.1 ft · 2026-10-18 | 28 km |
| USGS-414510077333301 | depth 19.0 ft · 1985-10-30 | 28 km |
| USGS-412732078034201 | depth 22.2 ft · 2026-10-18 | 35 km |
| USGS-414631077242501 | depth 16.9 ft · 1985-10-01 | 41 km |
| USGS-414634077235801 | depth 13.9 ft · 2017-08-23 | 41 km |
| USGS-415150078220401 | depth 104.4 ft · 2026-10-18 | 41 km |
| USGS-414642077235101 | depth 20.9 ft · 2017-08-23 | 41 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 #
$340.7 m in deposits at 5 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,820, highly concentrated. $127.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $124.1 m, grants $3.0 m), $27,523 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest Bank | $118.3 m · 34.7% share · 1 office | |
| First Citizens Community Bank | $102.1 m · 30.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Citizens & Northern Bank | $83.4 m · 24.5% share · 1 office | |
| Potter, PA | $127.1 m FY2026 · $27,523/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $121.1 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Bank | $118,276,000 | 34.7% | 1 |
| First Citizens Community Bank | $102,113,000 | 30.0% | 2 |
| Citizens & Northern Bank | $83,401,000 | 24.5% | 1 |
| The Juniata Valley Bank | $36,905,000 | 10.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,820 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 34.7² + 30.0² + 24.5² + … (1 more) = 2,820
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 | $106,432,475 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $14,437,360 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,155,746 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,623,949 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,052,023 |
| Department of Defense | $271,109 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $270,278 |
| Department of Education | $81,322 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $62,604 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $9,557 |
| Small Business Administration | -$40,405 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$229,219 |
That is $27,523 per covered job, against 4,619 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $127.1 m / 4,619 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,523
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 #
Potter County, PA: 8 findings, 2 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchPotter County, PA's covered employment is -1.6% 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 = -1.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchPotter County, PA's covered employment of 4,619 scores 35 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 5 across Pennsylvania counties, a gap of 30 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 30 = |35 across US counties - 5 across Pennsylvania counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
notePotter County, PA's average weekly wage was 5.1% 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
- +5.1 % = 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
notePotter County, PA's covered employment was 1.6% 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
- -1.6 % = 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
notePotter County, PA's typical home value fell 0.3% from $160,743 in August 2026 to $160,272 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (160271.91594917816 - 160743.37941993252) / 160743.37941993252 × 100
- 160271.91594917816 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 160743.37941993252 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
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.