Union County, PA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.96, -77.06.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 69th pct · 939th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 74th pct · 18th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
- 73rd pct · 823rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 81st pct · 13th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median +3.3%
- 23rd pct · 1,032nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 43rd pct · 28th of 49 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,322
- 67th pct · 1,052nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 36th pct · 43rd of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- 75th pct · 780th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 66th pct · 23rd of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,102
- 60th pct · 1,211th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 72nd pct · 19th 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 $295,020 (Sep 2026), +4.9% over one year, +31.0% over five
- 69th pct · 939th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 74th pct · 18th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, PA | $295,020 · +4.9% 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 $1,233/mo (Sep 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 19.9
- 23rd pct · 1,032nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 43rd pct · 28th of 49 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,322
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, PA | $1,233/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 $1,634 a month on $295,020 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,191 a month: 31.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $295,020 × 80% = $236,016, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,634/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,198 × 52 / 12 = $5,191) = 31% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $295,020 / ($1,198 × 52) = 4.7
- price-to-rent = $295,020 / ($1,233 × 12) = 19.9
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 #
16,805 jobs at 1,032 employers (2026 Q1); -2.6% jobs and +4.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 67th pct · 1,052nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 36th pct · 43rd of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Union County, PA | 16,805 jobs · $1,198/wk · -2.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 2,022 | $657 | 1.23 | -0.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,638 | $425 | 1.08 | -2.9% |
| Manufacturing | 1,612 | $1,242 | 1.19 | -8.6% |
| Construction | 658 | $1,264 | 0.75 | -1.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 525 | $1,380 | 0.74 | -8.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 403 | $818 | 0.42 | -10.6% |
| Other services | 387 | $645 | 0.77 | -6.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 364 | $1,732 | 0.53 | -4.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 279 | $1,329 | 0.24 | -3.1% |
| Management of companies | 226 | $1,145 | 0.80 | +1.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 182 | $886 | 0.71 | -5.2% |
| Information | 95 | $653 | 0.31 | +9.2% |
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 #
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 #
$1.1 bn in deposits at 16 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,242, highly concentrated. $254.3 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $238.4 m, contracts $10.4 m), $15,133 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Central Penn Bank & Trust | $397.4 m · 35.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Citizens & Northern Bank | $296.6 m · 26.1% share · 3 offices | |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $119.6 m · 10.5% share · 3 offices | |
| Union, PA | $254.3 m FY2026 · $15,133/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $228.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Penn Bank & Trust | $397,363,000 | 35.0% | 3 |
| Citizens & Northern Bank | $296,596,000 | 26.1% | 3 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $119,590,000 | 10.5% | 3 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $112,881,000 | 9.9% | 2 |
| Fulton Bank, National Association | $95,919,000 | 8.4% | 1 |
| First Commonwealth Bank | $78,213,000 | 6.9% | 1 |
| Northwest Bank | $31,120,000 | 2.7% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $4,183,000 | 0.4% | 1 |
| First Citizens Community Bank | $0 | 0.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,242 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 35.0² + 26.1² + 10.5² + … (5 more) = 2,242
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 | $203,461,840 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $14,528,180 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $10,474,498 |
| Department of Justice | $10,316,437 |
| Department of Education | $4,500,900 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,098,494 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $3,847,754 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,229,159 |
| National Science Foundation | $648,063 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $448,711 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $341,923 |
| Department of Defense | $305,364 |
That is $15,133 per covered job, against 16,805 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $254.3 m / 16,805 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $15,133
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 #
Union County, PA: 9 findings, 2 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchUnion County, PA's covered employment is -2.6% 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 = -2.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchUnion County, PA's covered employment of 16,805 scores 67 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 36 across Pennsylvania counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |67 across US counties - 36 across Pennsylvania counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteUnion County, PA's average weekly wage was 4.9% 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
- +4.9 % = 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
noteUnion County, PA's covered employment was 2.6% 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
- -2.6 % = 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
noteUnion County, PA's covered employment of -2.6% ranks 63rd of 67 Pennsylvania counties, against a median of -0.3%.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 6 on the 0-to-100 scale across 67 Pennsylvania counties that published jobs.yoy.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 9 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.