Boone County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.02, -81.71.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 2nd pct · 2,992nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 7th pct · 51st of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 54th pct · 1,405th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 55th pct · 25th of 55 West Virginia counties · median +2.6%
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- US counties: not published this period
- West Virginia counties: not published this period
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 35th pct · 2,079th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 46th pct · 30th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 69th pct · 972nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 75th pct · 14th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 1st pct · 3,016th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 5th pct · 52nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median 2.7
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston 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 $95,509 (Sep 2026), +3.2% over one year, +10.7% over five
- 2nd pct · 2,992nd of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 7th pct · 51st of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Boone County, WV | $95,509 · +3.2% 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
- West Virginia counties: not published this period
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $529 a month on $95,509 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,970 a month: 10.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $95,509 × 80% = $76,407, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $529/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,147 × 52 / 12 = $4,970) = 11% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $95,509 / ($1,147 × 52) = 1.6
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 #
4,666 jobs at 435 employers (2026 Q1); -1.0% jobs and -2.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 35th pct · 2,079th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 46th pct · 30th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- counties in the Charleston metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Charleston metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Boone County, WV | 4,666 jobs · $1,147/wk · -1.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 579 | $655 | 1.27 | -1.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 208 | $344 | 0.50 | -7.6% |
| Other services | 175 | $599 | 1.26 | +8.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 155 | $741 | 0.58 | +3.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 134 | $1,116 | 0.68 | -14.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 102 | $1,025 | 0.54 | -2.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 83 | $893 | 0.26 | -38.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 46 | $1,861 | 0.26 | -2.1% |
| Utilities | 34 | $2,357 | 1.84 | +13.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 14 | $383 | 0.18 | -26.3% |
| Management of companies | 13 | $2,139 | 0.17 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 8 | $869 | 0.11 | +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 #
1 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 1, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR RADFORD, VA | 231.0 Acre-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 #
68 gauges · 0 flooding · 12 with quality panels averaging 98 % · 13 stale
Sites found: 68, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LITTLE COAL RIVER AT DANVILLE, WV | flow 228.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 12 km |
| Spruce Fork at Sharples, WV | flow 14.0 ft³/s · STALE | 15 km |
| BIG COAL RIVER AT ASHFORD, WV | flow 429.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| CLEAR FORK AT WHITESVILLE, WV | flow 55.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 18 km |
| Unnamed Tributary to Ballard Fork near Mud, WV | flow 0.19 ft³/s · STALE | 19 km |
| Spring Branch near Mud, WV | flow 0.11 ft³/s · STALE | 20 km |
| Ballard Fork near Mud, WV | flow 0.90 ft³/s · STALE | 21 km |
| Mud River at Mud, WV | flow 2.80 ft³/s · STALE | 25 km |
| Kanawha River below Marmet Locks | no flooding | 29 km |
| GUYANDOTTE RIVER AT LOGAN, WV | flow 743.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 31 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 #
19 wells in 1 named aquifer: Pennsylvanian aquifers
Sites found: 19, 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-381447081393101 | depth 17.0 ft · 2017-10-20 | 25 km |
| USGS-381619081392901 | depth 30.5 ft · 2026-10-18 | 28 km |
| USGS-374052081283201 | depth 23.3 ft · 1979-11-11 | 43 km |
| USGS-374057081281401 | depth 153.1 ft · 1979-12-09 | 43 km |
| USGS-374112081270601 | depth 18.6 ft · 1983-01-10 | 44 km |
| USGS-374052081270801 | depth 8.91 ft · 1979-11-23 | 44 km |
| USGS-373949081280501 | depth 25.8 ft · 1979-11-29 | 45 km |
| USGS-373554081493401 | depth 35.7 ft · 2006-09-06 | 48 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 (0.01)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.02 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$327.5 m in deposits at 5 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,163, highly concentrated. $173.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $159.7 m, grants $14.0 m), $37,236 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Peoples Bank | $152.3 m · 46.5% share · 1 office | |
| Truist Bank | $74.4 m · 22.7% share · 1 office | |
| Whitesville State Bank | $57.6 m · 17.6% share · 2 offices | |
| Boone, WV | $173.7 m FY2026 · $37,236/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $156.4 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peoples Bank | $152,340,000 | 46.5% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $74,420,000 | 22.7% | 1 |
| Whitesville State Bank | $57,622,000 | 17.6% | 2 |
| United Bank | $43,159,000 | 13.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,163 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 = 46.5² + 22.7² + 17.6² + … (1 more) = 3,163
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 | $138,698,697 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $15,320,585 |
| Department of Transportation | $13,550,967 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $2,924,690 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,319,380 |
| Department of Agriculture | $616,028 |
| Department of Education | $142,585 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $134,418 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $38,556 |
| Department of Homeland Security | -$3,294 |
That is $37,236 per covered job, against 4,666 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $173.7 m / 4,666 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $37,236
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 #
Boone County, WV: 11 findings, 2 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchBoone County, WV's average weekly wage is -2.8% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.avgWeeklyWage = -2.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchBoone County, WV's covered employment is -1.0% 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 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteBoone County, WV's average weekly wage was 2.8% 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
- -2.8 % = 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
noteBoone County, WV's typical home value rose 1.1% from $94,444 in August 2026 to $95,509 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +1.1% = (95508.81370309844 - 94444.46131998888) / 94444.46131998888 × 100
- 95508.81370309844 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 94444.46131998888 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteBoone County, WV's covered employment was 1.0% 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 % = 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.