Amador County, CA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.44, -120.65.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 88th pct · 367th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 36th pct · 37th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- 17th pct · 2,534th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 33rd pct · 39th of 58 California counties · median +0.3%
- 79th pct · 288th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 27th pct · 36th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- 59th pct · 1,292nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 22nd pct · 45th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- 73rd pct · 840th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 47th pct · 31st of 58 California counties · median $1,206
- 87th pct · 399th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 42nd pct · 34th 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 $419,096 (Aug 2026), -0.5% over one year, -0.8% over five
- 88th pct · 367th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 36th pct · 37th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Amador County, CA | $419,096 · -0.5% 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 $1,915/mo (Aug 2026), +3.2% over one year; price-to-rent 18.2
- 79th pct · 288th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 27th pct · 36th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Amador County, CA | $1,915/mo · +3.2% 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 $2,294 a month on $419,096 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,113 a month: 44.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $419,096 × 80% = $335,276, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,294/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,180 × 52 / 12 = $5,113) = 45% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $419,096 / ($1,180 × 52) = 6.8
- price-to-rent = $419,096 / ($1,915 × 12) = 18.2
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 #
12,375 jobs at 1,419 employers (2026 Q1); +2.1% jobs and -0.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 59th pct · 1,292nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 22nd pct · 45th of 58 California counties · median 74,865
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Amador County, CA | 12,375 jobs · $1,180/wk · +2.1% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 1,761 | $1,302 | 0.95 | +5.1% |
| Retail trade | 1,354 | $729 | 1.12 | -5.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,071 | $513 | 0.96 | +0.7% |
| Manufacturing | 728 | $1,014 | 0.73 | -3.6% |
| Construction | 363 | $1,327 | 0.56 | -14.4% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 293 | $807 | 3.28 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 290 | $878 | 0.78 | -7.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 251 | $1,262 | 0.29 | -6.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 183 | $1,512 | 0.36 | -8.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 178 | $1,939 | 4.04 | +0.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 146 | $1,320 | 0.28 | +40.4% |
| Utilities | 111 | $4,515 | 2.27 | +5.7% |
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 #
17 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 17, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| BEARDSLEY LAKE NEAR STRAWBERRY CA | 60,080 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 57 km |
| DONNELL LK NR DARDANELLE CA | 21,120 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 62 km |
| TULLOCH RES NR KNIGHTS FERRY CA | 58,400 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 63 km |
| CHERRY LK NR HETCH HETCHY CA | 238,800 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 83 km |
| DON PEDRO RES NR LA GRANGE CA | 1,523,000 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 85 km |
| LK ELEANOR NR HETCH HETCHY CA | 16,490 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 85 km |
| HETCH HETCHY RES A HETCH HETCHY CA | 281,900 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 94 km |
| TOPAZ LAKE NR TOPAZ, CA | 84.2 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 102 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 #
43 gauges · 0 flooding · 13 with quality panels averaging 95 % · 10 stale
Sites found: 43, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SACRAMENTO R A FREEPORT CA | flow 12,000 ft³/s · quality 80 % (5) | 74 km |
| NF CALAVERAS R NR MOKELUMNE HILL CA | stage 8.68 ft · STALE | 18 km |
| Middle Fork Cosumnes River near Somerset | no readings | 20 km |
| North Fork Cosumnes River at El Dorado | no readings | 23 km |
| MURRAY C NR SAN ANDREAS CA | stage 6.91 ft · STALE | 26 km |
| COSUMNES R A MICHIGAN BAR CA | flow 46.1 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) · no flooding | 35 km |
| DEER C NR CAMERON PARK CA | flow 7.83 ft³/s · STALE | 36 km |
| North Fork Stanislaus River near Avery | no readings | 39 km |
| South Fork American River at Placerville - Chili Bar | no readings | 39 km |
| Deer Creek above Scott Road | no flooding | 41 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 #
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 (0.02)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.05 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$911.4 m in deposits at 10 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,947, highly concentrated. $343.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $318.7 m, contracts $15.6 m), $27,770 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| El Dorado Savings Bank, F.S.B. | $243.8 m · 26.8% share · 4 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $219.6 m · 24.1% share · 1 office | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $142.6 m · 15.6% share · 1 office | |
| Amador, CA | $343.7 m FY2026 · $27,770/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $315.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Dorado Savings Bank, F.S.B. | $243,847,000 | 26.8% | 4 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $219,550,000 | 24.1% | 1 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $142,618,000 | 15.6% | 1 |
| Bank of Marin | $129,454,000 | 14.2% | 2 |
| Bank of Stockton | $115,276,000 | 12.6% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $60,681,000 | 6.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,947 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 26.8² + 24.1² + 15.6² + … (3 more) = 1,947
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 | $280,146,363 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $34,651,006 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $15,832,516 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $3,575,985 |
| Department of Transportation | $3,156,299 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,056,569 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,232,230 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $896,334 |
| Department of the Interior | $631,690 |
| Department of Justice | $525,000 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Commerce | $0 |
That is $27,770 per covered job, against 12,375 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $343.7 m / 12,375 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $27,770
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 | 12.69 | 2026-10-05 | +3.3% |
| 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 · % | 73.00 | 2026-10-06 | +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 | 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 #
Amador County, CA: 11 findings, 6 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchAmador County, CA's typical home value is -0.5% 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 = -0.5410606338561107 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchAmador County, CA's average weekly wage is -0.3% 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 = -0.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchAmador County, CA's typical asking rent of $1,915 scores 79 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 27 across California counties, a gap of 52 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 52 = |79 across US counties - 27 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchAmador County, CA's typical home value of $419,096 scores 88 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 37 across California counties, a gap of 51 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 51 = |88 across US counties - 37 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchAmador County, CA's years of wages of 6.8 scores 87 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 42 across California counties, a gap of 45 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 45 = |87 across US counties - 42 across California 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
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.