Alpine County, CA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.62, -119.80.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 93rd pct · 191st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 29th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- 10th pct · 2,743rd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 7th pct · 54th of 58 California counties · median +0.3%
- US counties: not published this period
- California counties: not published this period
- 6th pct · 2,998th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 1st pct · 57th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- 26th pct · 2,370th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 0th pct · 58th of 58 California counties · median $1,206
- 97th pct · 71st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 80th pct · 12th of 58 California counties · median 7.4
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 $506,603 (Aug 2026), -2.0% over one year, +4.2% over five
- 93rd pct · 191st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 29th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine County, CA | $506,603 · -2.0% 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
- California 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 $2,773 a month on $506,603 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,056 a month: 68.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $506,603 × 80% = $405,282, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,773/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $936 × 52 / 12 = $4,056) = 68% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $506,603 / ($936 × 52) = 10.4
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 #
1,030 jobs at 95 employers (2026 Q1); -29.9% jobs and +12.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 6th pct · 2,998th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 1st pct · 57th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine County, CA | 1,030 jobs · $936/wk · -29.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 28 | $609 | 0.28 | +3.7% |
| Utilities | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Information | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | withheld | |||
| Professional and technical services | withheld | |||
| Administrative and waste services | withheld | |||
| Health care and social assistance | withheld | |||
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | withheld | |||
| Accommodation and food services | 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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
20 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 20, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| TOPAZ LAKE NR TOPAZ, CA | 84.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 25 km |
| DONNELL LK NR DARDANELLE CA | 21,430 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 35 km |
| BEARDSLEY LAKE NEAR STRAWBERRY CA | 60,010 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 52 km |
| BRIDGEPORT RE NR BRIDGEPORT, CA | 45.8 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 61 km |
| MARLETTE LAKE NR CARSON CITY, NV | 18.4 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 62 km |
| UPPER TWIN LAKE NR BRIDGEPORT, CA | 7,207 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 65 km |
| LOWER TWIN LAKE NR BRIDGEPORT, CA | 7,193 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 65 km |
| LK ELEANOR NR HETCH HETCHY CA | 16,570 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 72 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 #
123 gauges · 0 flooding · 17 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 65 stale
Sites found: 123, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| E FK CARSON RV BLW MARKLEEVILLE CK NR MARKLEEVILLE | flow 42.3 ft³/s | 11 km |
| INDIAN CK AT WOODFORDS, CA | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 14 km |
| UNNAMED TRIB 2 TO LEVIATHAN C AT LEVIATHAN MINE CA | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 15 km |
| UNNAMED TRIB 1 TO LEVIATHAN C AT LEVIATHAN MINE CA | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 15 km |
| LEVIATHAN C AB MINE NR MARKLEEVILLE CA | flow 0.04 ft³/s | 15 km |
| LEVIATHAN MINE ADIT DRAIN NR MARKLEEVILLE CA | flow 0.02 ft³/s | 15 km |
| LEVIATHAN MINE PIT FLOW NR MARKLEEVILLE CA | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 15 km |
| LEVIATHAN C CHANNEL UNDERDRAIN NR MARKLEEVILLE CA | flow 0.03 ft³/s · STALE | 15 km |
| 4L C NR MARKLEEVILLE CA | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 15 km |
| LEVIATHAN MINE PIT JUNCTION BOX NR MARKLEEVILLE CA | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 15 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 #
26 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 26, 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-381302119183401 | depth 35.4 ft · 2016-09-25 | 62 km |
| USGS-385252119085002 | depth 8.49 ft · 2012-08-17 | 63 km |
| USGS-385252119085003 | depth 9.17 ft · 2012-09-02 | 63 km |
| USGS-385256119085003 | depth 6.79 ft · 2013-08-04 | 63 km |
| USGS-385256119085002 | depth 6.87 ft · 2013-08-20 | 63 km |
| USGS-381239119165601 | depth 10.3 ft · 2016-10-04 | 64 km |
| USGS-390744120091910 | depth -0.87 ft · 2016-06-26 | 64 km |
| USGS-390746120091730 | depth -3.12 ft · 2016-06-26 | 64 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 (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
FDIC publishes no Summary of Deposits rows for this county. $44.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (grants $37.2 m, direct payments $6.7 m), $43,176 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| county 06003, CA | $44.5 m FY2026 · $43,176/job | |
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CALIFORNIA | $36.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | $36,679,500 |
| Social Security Administration | $6,178,627 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $631,424 |
| Department of Education | $481,494 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $450,297 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $50,000 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $120 |
| Department of Agriculture | -$22 |
That is $43,176 per covered job, against 1,030 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $44.5 m / 1,030 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $43,176
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 | 12.28 | 2026-10-04 | -0.1% |
| 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 · % | 72.60 | 2026-10-05 | +0.1% |
| 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 | 6.00 | 2026-09-22 | -14.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 6,830.00 | 2026-08-01 | +7.4% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 96.16 | 2026-09-29 | -3.2% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.28 | 2026-10-01 | +3.6% |
| 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 | -88,576.00 | 2026-07-01 | -24.4% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 646,347.00 | 2026-08-01 | +1.1% |
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 #
Alpine County, CA: 18 findings, 1 at an alert level, 5 at a watch level and 12 noted
alertAlpine County, CA's covered employment is -29.9% 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 = -29.9 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchAlpine County, CA's covered employment is -29.9% 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 = -29.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchAlpine County, CA's years of wages of 10.4 ranks 71st 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 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: yearsOfWages percentile = 97.7139124755062 >= 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
watchAlpine County, CA's typical home value is -2.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.yoyPct = -1.9621135344923175 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchAlpine County, CA's years of wages is 10.4, a watch level here: typical home value worth 10 or more years of one average covered wage (typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52), one average covered job rather than a household; 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 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: yearsOfWages = 10.408501155060918 >= 10
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52), one average covered job rather than a household; convention chosen for this dashboard, 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.