Inyo County, CA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 36.56, -117.40.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 94th pct · 162nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 56th pct · 26th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- 78th pct · 669th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 98th pct · 2nd of 58 California counties · median +0.3%
- 77th pct · 320th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 22nd pct · 38th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- 48th pct · 1,664th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 10th pct · 52nd of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- 77th pct · 723rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 50th pct · 29th of 58 California counties · median $1,206
- 93rd pct · 186th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 64th pct · 21st 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 $528,998 (Aug 2026), +5.8% over one year, +23.1% over five
- 94th pct · 162nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 56th pct · 26th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | $528,998 · +5.8% 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 $1,861/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 23.7
- 77th pct · 320th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 22nd pct · 38th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | $1,861/mo · n/a 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 $2,896 a month on $528,998 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,248 a month: 55.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $528,998 × 80% = $423,199, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,896/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,211 × 52 / 12 = $5,248) = 55% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $528,998 / ($1,211 × 52) = 8.4
- price-to-rent = $528,998 / ($1,861 × 12) = 23.7
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 #
7,692 jobs at 878 employers (2026 Q1); +2.0% jobs and +3.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 48th pct · 1,664th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 10th pct · 52nd of 58 California counties · median 74,865
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Inyo County, CA | 7,692 jobs · $1,211/wk · +2.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 1,409 | $737 | 2.04 | +0.6% |
| Retail trade | 890 | $725 | 1.19 | +1.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 538 | $1,153 | 0.46 | +2.3% |
| Manufacturing | 364 | $1,168 | 0.59 | +12.7% |
| Construction | 236 | $1,503 | 0.59 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 174 | $1,185 | 0.33 | +10.1% |
| Other services | 156 | $966 | 0.68 | -9.8% |
| Utilities | 149 | $2,757 | 4.90 | -3.9% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 113 | $507 | 0.89 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 60 | $711 | 0.51 | -10.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 51 | $1,214 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| Information | 36 | $1,015 | 0.25 | +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 #
D1 moderate drought
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 #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$507.9 m in deposits at 5 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,911, highly concentrated. $281.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $113.0 m, grants $90.2 m), $36,558 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $204.9 m · 40.3% share · 1 office | |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $141.9 m · 27.9% share · 1 office | |
| El Dorado Savings Bank, F.S.B. | $81.4 m · 16.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Inyo, CA | $281.2 m FY2026 · $36,558/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $204,901,000 | 40.3% | 1 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $141,897,000 | 27.9% | 1 |
| El Dorado Savings Bank, F.S.B. | $81,439,000 | 16.0% | 2 |
| Oak Valley Community Bank | $79,676,000 | 15.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,911 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 = 40.3² + 27.9² + 16.0² + … (1 more) = 2,911
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.
That is $36,558 per covered job, against 7,692 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $281.2 m / 7,692 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $36,558
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 #
Inyo County, CA: 14 findings, 4 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchInyo County, CA's years of wages of 8.4 ranks 186th 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 = 93.95819725669497 >= 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
watchInyo County, CA's typical asking rent of $1,861 scores 77 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 23 across California counties, a gap of 54 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 54 = |77 across US counties - 23 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchInyo County, CA's typical home value of $528,998 scores 95 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 56 across California counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |95 across US counties - 56 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchInyo County, CA's covered employment of 7,692 scores 48 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 11 across California counties, a gap of 38 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 38 = |48 across US counties - 11 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteInyo County, CA's average weekly wage was 3.7% higher 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
- +3.7 % = 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 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.