Milwaukee County, WI
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.91, -87.86.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 67th pct · 1,005th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 43rd pct · 41st of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $298,510
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 61st pct · 1,185th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 14th pct · 62nd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median +6.0%
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 50th pct · 678th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 81st pct · 8th of 38 Wisconsin counties · median $1,275
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 98th pct · 57th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 15,405
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 93rd pct · 224th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 98th pct · 2nd of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $1,037
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 36th pct · 1,934th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 1st pct · 71st of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 5.4
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 $286,344 (Sep 2026), +3.7% over one year, +33.0% over five
- 67th pct · 1,005th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 43rd pct · 41st of 72 Wisconsin counties · median $298,510
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee County, WI | $286,344 · +3.7% 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 $1,507/mo (Sep 2026), +5.0% over one year; price-to-rent 15.8
- 50th pct · 678th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 81st pct · 8th of 38 Wisconsin counties · median $1,275
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee County, WI | $1,507/mo · +5.0% 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 $1,586 a month on $286,344 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,543 a month: 24.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $286,344 × 80% = $229,075, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,586/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,510 × 52 / 12 = $6,543) = 24% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $286,344 / ($1,510 × 52) = 3.6
- price-to-rent = $286,344 / ($1,507 × 12) = 15.8
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 #
463,347 jobs at 29,743 employers (2026 Q1); -0.1% jobs and +1.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 98th pct · 57th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 100th pct · 1st of 72 Wisconsin counties · median 15,405
- counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee County, WI | 463,347 jobs · $1,510/wk · -0.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 96,779 | $1,165 | 1.39 | +1.5% |
| Manufacturing | 44,324 | $1,771 | 1.19 | -3.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 37,314 | $496 | 0.90 | -0.5% |
| Retail trade | 36,380 | $745 | 0.81 | -1.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 30,576 | $821 | 1.16 | +7.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 22,902 | $2,133 | 0.72 | -1.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 20,914 | $5,191 | 1.11 | +0.8% |
| Educational services | 20,175 | $1,588 | 2.02 | -1.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 18,029 | $1,013 | 0.92 | -2.4% |
| Management of companies | 15,992 | $2,893 | 2.06 | -0.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 14,759 | $1,992 | 0.83 | -3.4% |
| Construction | 13,533 | $1,774 | 0.56 | +4.6% |
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 #
$53.9 bn in deposits at 199 offices of 27 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,636, highly concentrated. $5.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $4.5 bn, grants $522.1 m), $11,780 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank National Association | $25.2 bn · 46.7% share · 18 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $6.8 bn · 12.6% share · 16 offices | |
| BMO Bank National Association | $6.6 bn · 12.3% share · 27 offices | |
| Milwaukee, WI | $5.5 bn FY2026 · $11,780/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $4.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank National Association | $25,160,574,000 | 46.7% | 18 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $6,779,486,000 | 12.6% | 16 |
| BMO Bank National Association | $6,612,185,000 | 12.3% | 27 |
| Associated Bank, National Association | $5,834,581,000 | 10.8% | 18 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1,277,528,000 | 2.4% | 15 |
| Tri City National Bank | $1,088,461,000 | 2.0% | 17 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,077,888,000 | 2.0% | 6 |
| Johnson Bank | $1,039,087,000 | 1.9% | 4 |
| WaterStone Bank, SSB | $949,526,000 | 1.8% | 11 |
| North Shore Bank | $741,432,000 | 1.4% | 16 |
Deposit concentration is 2,636 across 27 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 27 banks with deposits in the county = 46.7² + 12.6² + 12.3² + … (24 more) = 2,636
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 | $3,861,079,537 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $504,607,583 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $368,301,128 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $223,744,402 |
| Department of Defense | $158,071,588 |
| Department of Transportation | $134,481,267 |
| Department of Education | $126,826,762 |
| Department of Justice | $13,093,234 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $12,643,921 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $10,687,111 |
| Department of Labor | $9,834,757 |
| General Services Administration | $9,429,575 |
That is $11,780 per covered job, against 463,347 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $5.5 bn / 463,347 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $11,780
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 #
Milwaukee County, WI: 16 findings, 5 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchMilwaukee County, WI'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
watchMilwaukee County, WI's typical home value of +3.7% scores 61 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 14 across Wisconsin counties, a gap of 47 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 47 = |61 across US counties - 14 across Wisconsin counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMilwaukee County, WI's price-to-rent ratio of 15.8 scores 38 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 0 across Wisconsin counties, a gap of 38 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 38 = |38 across US counties - 0 across Wisconsin 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
watchMilwaukee County, WI's years of wages of 3.6 scores 37 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 1 across Wisconsin counties, a gap of 35 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 35 = |37 across US counties - 1 across Wisconsin 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
watchMilwaukee County, WI's typical asking rent of $1,507 scores 50 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 81 across Wisconsin counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |50 across US counties - 81 across Wisconsin counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 12 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.