Taylor County, WV
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 39.33, -80.05.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 32nd pct · 2,081st of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 75th pct · 14th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
- 36th pct · 1,939th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 38th pct · 34th of 55 West Virginia counties · median +2.6%
- US counties: not published this period
- West Virginia counties: not published this period
- 27th pct · 2,341st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 31st pct · 38th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
- 65th pct · 1,105th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 61st pct · 22nd of 55 West Virginia counties · median $1,076
- 25th pct · 2,271st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 70th pct · 17th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 2.7
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 $185,274 (Sep 2026), +1.7% over one year, +26.1% over five
- 32nd pct · 2,081st of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 75th pct · 14th of 55 West Virginia counties · median $151,294
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor County, WV | $185,274 · +1.7% 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 #
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
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 $1,026 a month on $185,274 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,845 a month: 21.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $185,274 × 80% = $148,219, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,026/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,118 × 52 / 12 = $4,845) = 21% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $185,274 / ($1,118 × 52) = 3.2
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 #
3,366 jobs at 354 employers (2026 Q1); -3.6% jobs and +0.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 27th pct · 2,341st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 31st pct · 38th of 55 West Virginia counties · median 5,555
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor County, WV | 3,366 jobs · $1,118/wk · -3.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 399 | $749 | 1.22 | -2.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 298 | $365 | 0.99 | -2.0% |
| Construction | 153 | $894 | 0.87 | +5.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 102 | $1,684 | 0.79 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 53 | $706 | 0.53 | -29.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 37 | $668 | 0.19 | -31.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 23 | $919 | 0.17 | +4.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 12 | $291 | 0.22 | -20.0% |
| Information | 8 | $2,283 | 0.13 | -11.1% |
| Real estate and rental | 7 | $688 | 0.14 | -30.0% |
| Unclassified | 1 | $1,713 | 0.14 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld |
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 #
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 |
|---|---|---|
| DEEP CREEK LAKE NEAR THAYERVILLE, MD | 2,458 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 67 km |
| JENNINGS RANDOLPH LAKE NEAR ELK GARDEN, WV | 1,459 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 80 km |
| SAVAGE RIVER RESERVOIR NEAR BLOOMINGTON, MD | 1,447 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 81 km |
| Loyalhanna Creek Lake, PA | 3,652 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 135 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 #
91 gauges · 0 flooding · 18 with quality panels averaging 98 % · 17 stale
Sites found: 91, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RED CREEK AT LANEVILLE, WV | stage 2.13 ft · quality 67 % (3) | 69 km |
| TYGART VALLEY R AT TYGART DAM NR GRAFTON, WV | flow 5,890 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) · no flooding | 2 km |
| Tygart Valley River at Tygart Lake | no readings | 2 km |
| THREE FORK CREEK NR GRAFTON, WV | flow 108.0 ft³/s | 5 km |
| TYGART VALLEY RIVER AT COLFAX, WV | flow 6,050 ft³/s · quality 100 % (3) | 14 km |
| Tygart Valley River at Colfax | no readings | 14 km |
| TYGART VALLEY RIVER AT PHILIPPI, WV | flow 2,630 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 20 km |
| Buffalo Creek (WV) at Barrackville | no readings | 22 km |
| BUFFALO CREEK AT BARRACKVILLE, WV | flow 90.8 ft³/s | 22 km |
| WEST FORK RIVER AT ENTERPRISE, WV | flow 988.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (4) · no flooding | 22 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 #
35 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 35, 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-392923079571801 | depth 70.6 ft · 1985-11-04 | 19 km |
| USGS-393057080161901 | depth 47.2 ft · 1985-11-10 | 28 km |
| USGS-391020080244101 | depth 41.8 ft · 2026-10-19 | 36 km |
| USGS-393959079555901 | depth 93.0 ft · 2026-10-19 | 38 km |
| USGS-393814079484601 | depth 45.7 ft · 2014-10-07 | 39 km |
| USGS-385849079563901 | depth 40.2 ft · 2024-03-13 | 40 km |
| USGS-394655080014301 | depth 27.5 ft · 2026-10-18 | 50 km |
| USGS-394343080195201 | depth 8.29 ft · 1986-07-04 | 50 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 #
$122.6 m in deposits at 2 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,037, highly concentrated. $119.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $105.5 m, contracts $18.9 m), $35,595 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Community Bank | $66.6 m · 54.3% share · 1 office | |
| Truist Bank | $56.0 m · 45.7% share · 1 office | |
| Taylor, WV | $119.8 m FY2026 · $35,595/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $104.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Community Bank | $66,600,000 | 54.3% | 1 |
| Truist Bank | $55,986,000 | 45.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 5,037 across 2 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 2 banks with deposits in the county = 54.3² + 45.7² = 5,037
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 | $87,217,640 |
| Department of Commerce | $14,759,710 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $12,467,437 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $5,629,067 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,266,690 |
| Department of Justice | $1,908,449 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,884,258 |
| Department of Defense | $1,604,005 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,551,422 |
| Department of Agriculture | $287,473 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $36,857 |
| Department of the Interior | $0 |
That is $35,595 per covered job, against 3,366 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $119.8 m / 3,366 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $35,595
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 #
Taylor County, WV: 11 findings, 1 at an alert level, 4 at a watch level and 6 noted
alertTaylor County, WV's covered employment is -3.6% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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.emp = -3.6 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchTaylor County, WV's covered employment is -3.6% 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 = -3.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchTaylor County, WV's momentum index is -0.29, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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: momentum = -0.28770597261820857 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchTaylor County, WV's years of wages of 3.2 scores 26 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 70 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 45 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 45 = |26 across US counties - 70 across West Virginia counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchTaylor County, WV's typical home value of $185,274 scores 32 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 76 across West Virginia counties, a gap of 44 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 44 = |32 across US counties - 76 across West Virginia counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.