Madera County, CA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.21, -119.75.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 88th pct · 350th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 40th pct · 35th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 37th pct · 1,902nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 77th pct · 14th of 58 California counties · median +0.3%
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 87th pct · 174th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 39th pct · 30th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 85th pct · 457th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 33rd of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 67th pct · 1,034th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 33rd pct · 39th of 58 California counties · median $1,206
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 89th pct · 318th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 45th pct · 32nd of 58 California counties · median 7.4
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno 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 $425,190 (Aug 2026), +1.9% over one year, +20.1% over five
- 88th pct · 350th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 40th pct · 35th of 58 California counties · median $500,264
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | $425,190 · +1.9% 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 $2,104/mo (Aug 2026), +1.7% over one year; price-to-rent 16.8
- 87th pct · 174th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 39th pct · 30th of 49 California counties · median $2,340
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | $2,104/mo · +1.7% 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 $2,327 a month on $425,190 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,910 a month: 47.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $425,190 × 80% = $340,152, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,327/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,133 × 52 / 12 = $4,910) = 47% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $425,190 / ($1,133 × 52) = 7.2
- price-to-rent = $425,190 / ($2,104 × 12) = 16.8
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 #
58,026 jobs at 6,268 employers (2026 Q1); +6.0% jobs and +4.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 85th pct · 457th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 43rd pct · 33rd of 58 California counties · median 74,865
- counties in the Fresno metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Fresno metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Madera County, CA | 58,026 jobs · $1,133/wk · +6.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 10,732 | $1,315 | 1.23 | +10.5% |
| Retail trade | 4,344 | $804 | 0.77 | +1.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,622 | $578 | 0.69 | +5.4% |
| Manufacturing | 3,604 | $1,464 | 0.77 | +8.9% |
| Construction | 2,208 | $1,276 | 0.73 | +4.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,987 | $1,408 | 0.60 | -4.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,173 | $1,532 | 0.53 | -5.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,031 | $1,200 | 0.26 | +1.0% |
| Other services | 927 | $814 | 0.53 | -0.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 842 | $974 | 0.34 | -5.2% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 624 | $550 | 0.65 | +3.7% |
| Educational services | 524 | $381 | 0.42 | +509.3% |
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 #
10 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 10, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| DON PEDRO RES NR LA GRANGE CA | 1,523,000 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 81 km |
| HETCH HETCHY RES A HETCH HETCHY CA | 282,100 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 82 km |
| LK ELEANOR NR HETCH HETCHY CA | 16,550 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 86 km |
| CHERRY LK NR HETCH HETCHY CA | 238,700 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 86 km |
| TULLOCH RES NR KNIGHTS FERRY CA | 58,270 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 106 km |
| UPPER TWIN LAKE NR BRIDGEPORT, CA | 7,207 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 111 km |
| LOWER TWIN LAKE NR BRIDGEPORT, CA | 7,193 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 113 km |
| BEARDSLEY LAKE NEAR STRAWBERRY CA | 60,040 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 114 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 #
28 gauges · 0 flooding · 6 with quality panels averaging 92 % · 7 stale
Sites found: 28, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SAN JOAQUIN R BL FRIANT CA | flow 414.0 ft³/s · quality 100 % (2) | 25 km |
| NF WILLOW C NR SUGAR PINE CA | flow 416.0 ft³/s · STALE | 26 km |
| San Joaquin River below Redinger Lake | observation not current | 27 km |
| San Joaquin River near Auberry | no readings | 27 km |
| Little Dry Creek below Friant | observation not current | 31 km |
| BIG C DIV NR FISH CAMP CA | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 31 km |
| San Joaquin River near HWY 41 | no readings | 37 km |
| South Fork Merced River at Wawona | no readings | 37 km |
| Deadman Creek at Le Grand | no readings | 40 km |
| San Joaquin River below HWY 145 | observation not current | 52 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 #
3 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 3, 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-364200119420003 | depth 89.3 ft · 2019-04-08 | 56 km |
| USGS-364422120210601 | depth 41.4 ft · 2014-03-11 | 75 km |
| USGS-364518120222001 | depth 157.8 ft · 2026-06-02 | 75 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 (0.03)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.08 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.6 bn in deposits at 14 offices of 9 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,484, moderately concentrated. $808.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $724.1 m, grants $59.5 m), $13,928 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $379.6 m · 23.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $332.7 m · 20.6% share · 3 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $193.3 m · 11.9% share · 1 office | |
| Madera, CA | $808.2 m FY2026 · $13,928/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $667.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $379,628,000 | 23.5% | 2 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $332,725,000 | 20.6% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $193,289,000 | 11.9% | 1 |
| Community West Bank | $184,670,000 | 11.4% | 3 |
| Tri Counties Bank | $175,101,000 | 10.8% | 1 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $102,024,000 | 6.3% | 1 |
| Citizens Business Bank, National Association | $94,201,000 | 5.8% | 1 |
| UMB Bank, National Association | $88,421,000 | 5.5% | 1 |
| Westamerica Bank | $68,153,000 | 4.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,484 across 9 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 9 banks with deposits in the county = 23.5² + 20.6² + 11.9² + … (6 more) = 1,484
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 | $577,735,652 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $87,892,240 |
| Department of Agriculture | $80,550,497 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $14,249,956 |
| Department of Transportation | $13,264,395 |
| Department of Education | $11,487,197 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $11,359,848 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $4,500,000 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $3,364,648 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,919,024 |
| Department of the Interior | $1,223,946 |
| Department of Defense | $421,761 |
That is $13,928 per covered job, against 58,026 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $808.2 m / 58,026 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,928
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 #
Madera County, CA: 15 findings, 7 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchMadera County, CA's typical home value of $425,190 scores 89 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 40 across California counties, a gap of 48 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 48 = |89 across US counties - 40 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMadera County, CA's typical asking rent of $2,104 scores 88 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 40 across California counties, a gap of 48 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 48 = |88 across US counties - 40 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMadera County, CA's years of wages of 7.2 scores 90 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 46 across California counties, a gap of 44 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 44 = |90 across US counties - 46 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
watchMadera County, CA's covered employment of 58,026 scores 86 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 44 across California counties, a gap of 42 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 42 = |86 across US counties - 44 across California counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchMadera County, CA's typical home value of +1.9% scores 38 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 77 across California counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |38 across US counties - 77 across California 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.