Skagit County, WA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 48.49, -121.82.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 95th pct · 124th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 81st pct · 8th of 39 Washington counties · median $428,499
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 26th pct · 2,244th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 73rd pct · 11th of 39 Washington counties · median +0.2%
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 89th pct · 137th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 88th pct · 4th of 27 Washington counties · median $1,705
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 84th pct · 487th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 73rd pct · 11th of 39 Washington counties · median 18,771
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 85th pct · 462nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 63rd pct · 15th of 39 Washington counties · median $1,237
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 94th pct · 170th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 81st pct · 8th of 39 Washington counties · median 6.7
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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 $576,374 (Sep 2026), +0.7% over one year, +13.4% over five
- 95th pct · 124th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 81st pct · 8th of 39 Washington counties · median $428,499
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Skagit County, WA | $576,374 · +0.7% 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 $2,185/mo (Sep 2026), +4.2% over one year; price-to-rent 22.0
- 89th pct · 137th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 88th pct · 4th of 27 Washington counties · median $1,705
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Skagit County, WA | $2,185/mo · +4.2% 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 $3,193 a month on $576,374 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,685 a month: 56.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $576,374 × 80% = $461,099, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $3,193/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,312 × 52 / 12 = $5,685) = 56% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $576,374 / ($1,312 × 52) = 8.4
- price-to-rent = $576,374 / ($2,185 × 12) = 22.0
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 #
53,293 jobs at 3,811 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and +0.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 84th pct · 487th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 73rd pct · 11th of 39 Washington counties · median 18,771
- counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Skagit County, WA | 53,293 jobs · $1,312/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 6,925 | $1,619 | 1.62 | +9.1% |
| Retail trade | 6,328 | $837 | 1.22 | -3.0% |
| Health care and social assistance | 5,450 | $1,109 | 0.68 | +0.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 4,466 | $585 | 0.93 | +2.6% |
| Construction | 3,977 | $1,708 | 1.42 | -9.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 2,026 | $842 | 5.26 | +0.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,858 | $1,965 | 0.51 | -2.2% |
| Other services | 1,710 | $970 | 1.07 | -1.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,518 | $1,833 | 0.74 | +15.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,425 | $960 | 0.47 | -2.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,383 | $1,132 | 0.62 | -4.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,012 | $2,175 | 0.47 | -31.2% |
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 #
D1 moderate 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 #
4 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 4, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LAKE CHELAN AT PURPLE POINT AT STEHEKIN, WA | 1,095 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 88 km |
| HOWARD A HANSON RESERVOIR NEAR PALMER, WA | 15,170 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 135 km |
| LAKE TAPPS NEAR SUMNER, WA | 38,930 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 142 km |
| LAKE CHELAN AT CHELAN, WA | 1,095 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 149 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 #
105 gauges · 0 flooding · 39 with quality panels averaging 96 % · 49 stale
Sites found: 105, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SUMAS RIVER NEAR SUMAS, WA | flow 8.74 ft³/s · quality 0 % (1) | 62 km |
| SKAGIT RIVER NEAR CONCRETE, WA | flow 6,410 ft³/s | 5 km |
| BAKER RIVER AT CONCRETE, WA | flow 176.0 ft³/s · STALE | 7 km |
| BAKER RIVER AT HENRY THOMPSON BR AT CONCRETE, WA | flow 1,560 ft³/s | 7 km |
| SKAGIT RIVER ABOVE MILLER CREEK NEAR ROCKPORT, WA | stage 0.48 ft · STALE | 12 km |
| THUNDER CREEK NEAR CONCRETE, WA | flow 23.0 ft³/s · STALE | 15 km |
| SKAGIT RIVER AT ROCKPORT, WA | stage 17.4 ft | 16 km |
| SKAGIT RIVER NEAR ROCKPORT, WA | stage 6.14 ft · STALE | 20 km |
| SAUK RIVER NEAR SAUK, WA | flow 712.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) | 20 km |
| NF STILLAGUAMISH R AT C-POST BRIDGE NEAR OSO, WA | turb. 0.20 FNU · quality 100 % (1) · STALE | 23 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 #
3 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 3, 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-481904122183301 | depth 171.3 ft · 2008-09-03 | 41 km |
| USGS-482532122231401 | depth 5.58 ft · 2008-05-27 | 43 km |
| USGS-482410122261301 | depth 3.02 ft · 2008-05-27 | 47 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 (0.18)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.04 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$3.2 bn in deposits at 30 offices of 12 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,322, moderately concentrated. $1.1 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $956.3 m, grants $83.3 m), $20,858 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Banner Bank | $813.1 m · 25.4% share · 5 offices | |
| WaFd Bank | $414.7 m · 13.0% share · 4 offices | |
| Peoples Bank | $344.6 m · 10.8% share · 4 offices | |
| Skagit, WA | $1.1 bn FY2026 · $20,858/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $920.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner Bank | $813,147,000 | 25.4% | 5 |
| WaFd Bank | $414,745,000 | 13.0% | 4 |
| Peoples Bank | $344,593,000 | 10.8% | 4 |
| Heritage Bank | $335,543,000 | 10.5% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $305,578,000 | 9.6% | 2 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $275,666,000 | 8.6% | 2 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $254,218,000 | 7.9% | 2 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $182,706,000 | 5.7% | 1 |
| KeyBank National Association | $108,221,000 | 3.4% | 3 |
| Mountain Pacific Bank | $60,554,000 | 1.9% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,322 across 12 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 12 banks with deposits in the county = 25.4² + 13.0² + 10.8² + … (9 more) = 1,322
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 | $820,567,781 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $96,489,207 |
| Department of Transportation | $69,062,271 |
| Department of Defense | $28,460,773 |
| Department of the Interior | $18,209,299 |
| Department of Agriculture | $16,221,855 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $15,716,415 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $14,600,872 |
| Department of Labor | $13,605,645 |
| Department of Education | $9,541,782 |
| Department of Commerce | $5,212,302 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,388,816 |
That is $20,858 per covered job, against 53,293 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.1 bn / 53,293 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $20,858
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 #
Skagit County, WA: 11 findings, 4 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchSkagit County, WA's years of wages of 8.4 ranks 170th 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 = 94.48073154800784 >= 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
watchSkagit County, WA's covered employment is -0.1% 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 = -0.1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchSkagit County, WA's typical home value of +0.7% scores 27 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 74 across Washington counties, a gap of 47 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 47 = |27 across US counties - 74 across Washington counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchSkagit County, WA's price-to-rent ratio of 22.0 scores 84 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 46 across Washington counties, a gap of 38 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 38 = |84 across US counties - 46 across Washington counties|
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteSkagit County, WA's typical asking rent fell 0.7% from $2,200 in August 2026 to $2,185 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.7% = (2184.7130952380953 - 2199.8410477660427) / 2199.8410477660427 × 100
- 2184.7130952380953 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 2199.8410477660427 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
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.