Montezuma County, CO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.34, -108.60.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 87th pct · 392nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 35th of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
- 46th pct · 1,624th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 70th pct · 19th of 62 Colorado counties · median +0.2%
- 67th pct · 449th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 23rd pct · 27th of 35 Colorado counties · median $1,975
- 52nd pct · 1,541st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 24th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- 26th pct · 2,359th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 22nd pct · 50th of 64 Colorado counties · median $1,075
- 94th pct · 182nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 70th pct · 19th of 62 Colorado counties · median 6.5
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 $412,010 (Aug 2026), +2.7% over one year, +19.8% over five
- 87th pct · 392nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 35th of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montezuma County, CO | $412,010 · +2.7% 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 $1,727/mo (Aug 2026), +4.1% over one year; price-to-rent 19.9
- 67th pct · 449th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 23rd pct · 27th of 35 Colorado counties · median $1,975
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montezuma County, CO | $1,727/mo · +4.1% 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 $2,255 a month on $412,010 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,065 a month: 55.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $412,010 × 80% = $329,608, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,255/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $938 × 52 / 12 = $4,065) = 55% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $412,010 / ($938 × 52) = 8.4
- price-to-rent = $412,010 / ($1,727 × 12) = 19.9
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 #
8,852 jobs at 1,058 employers (2026 Q1); -3.4% jobs and +5.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 52nd pct · 1,541st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 24th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montezuma County, CO | 8,852 jobs · $938/wk · -3.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 1,575 | $897 | 1.18 | +0.1% |
| Retail trade | 1,344 | $752 | 1.56 | -6.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 849 | $475 | 1.07 | -8.8% |
| Construction | 402 | $1,000 | 0.87 | -2.4% |
| Other services | 375 | $637 | 1.42 | +6.8% |
| Manufacturing | 278 | $822 | 0.39 | -5.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 277 | $2,071 | 0.45 | -2.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 228 | $1,137 | 0.67 | -4.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 192 | $1,715 | 0.51 | -7.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 154 | $1,517 | 0.43 | -5.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 126 | $705 | 0.25 | -2.3% |
| Utilities | 93 | $1,878 | 2.66 | +4.5% |
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 #
D2 severe 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 #
4 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 4, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| LEMON RESERVOIR NEAR DURANGO CO | 22,420 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 83 km |
| VALLECITO RESERVOIR NEAR BAYFIELD, CO. | 40,320 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 90 km |
| RIDGWAY RESERVOIR NEAR RIDGWAY, CO | 64,820 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 124 km |
| SILVER JACK RESERVOIR NEAR CIMARRON, CO | 1,148 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 136 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 #
36 gauges · 0 flooding · 7 with quality panels averaging 55 % · 13 stale
Sites found: 36, 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 JUAN R NR FRUITLAND, NM | flow 671.0 ft³/s · quality 0 % (1) · STALE | 69 km |
| MCELMO CREEK ABOVE TRAIL CANYON NEAR CORTEZ, CO | flow 5.44 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) | 9 km |
| MUD CREEK AT STATE HIGHWAY 32, NEAR CORTEZ, CO. | flow 0.18 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) | 6 km |
| ANIMAS RIVER NEAR CEDAR HILL, NM | flow 986.0 ft³/s · quality 0 % (1) · no flooding | 72 km |
| MCELMO CREEK NEAR CORTEZ, CO. | flow 94.0 ft³/s · STALE | 7 km |
| LOST CANYON CREEK NEAR DOLORES, CO. | flow 0.00 ft³/s · no flooding | 16 km |
| DOLORES RIVER AT DOLORES, CO. | flow 152.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 17 km |
| NAVAJO WASH NEAR TOWAOC, CO | flow 2.40 ft³/s · STALE | 18 km |
| MANCOS RIVER AT ANITAS FLAT BELOW MANCOS, CO | flow 30.7 ft³/s · STALE | 23 km |
| Dolores River below McPhee Resv. | no flooding | 27 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 #
1 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 1, 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-375050109034801 | depth 38.4 ft · 2024-07-07 | 70 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 #
moderate (0.48)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.45 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$788.9 m in deposits at 8 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,958, highly concentrated. $265.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $207.6 m, contracts $49.8 m), $30,003 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Dolores State Bank | $357.3 m · 45.3% share · 4 offices | |
| Zions Bancorporation, N.A. | $167.1 m · 21.2% share · 1 office | |
| First National Bank, Cortez | $137.2 m · 17.4% share · 1 office | |
| Montezuma, CO | $265.6 m FY2026 · $30,003/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $188.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dolores State Bank | $357,326,000 | 45.3% | 4 |
| Zions Bancorporation, N.A. | $167,099,000 | 21.2% | 1 |
| First National Bank, Cortez | $137,246,000 | 17.4% | 1 |
| Four Corners Community Bank | $91,698,000 | 11.6% | 1 |
| First Southwest Bank | $35,537,000 | 4.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,958 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 45.3² + 21.2² + 17.4² + … (2 more) = 2,958
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 | $164,287,017 |
| Department of the Interior | $45,054,297 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $22,763,219 |
| Department of Transportation | $15,751,812 |
| Department of Agriculture | $5,549,925 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $5,141,689 |
| Department of Education | $3,685,238 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,390,858 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $627,614 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $320,725 |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $10,000 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $30,003 per covered job, against 8,852 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $265.6 m / 8,852 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $30,003
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 #
Montezuma County, CO: 10 findings, 1 at an alert level, 5 at a watch level and 4 noted
alertMontezuma County, CO's covered employment is -3.4% 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 = -3.4 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchMontezuma County, CO's years of wages of 8.4 ranks 182nd 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 = 94.08883082952319 >= 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
watchMontezuma County, CO's covered employment is -3.4% 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 = -3.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchMontezuma County, CO's price-to-rent ratio of 19.9 scores 72 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 24 across Colorado counties, a gap of 49 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 49 = |72 across US counties - 24 across Colorado 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
watchMontezuma County, CO's typical asking rent of $1,727 scores 68 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 24 across Colorado counties, a gap of 44 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 44 = |68 across US counties - 24 across Colorado counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 10 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.