Otero County, CO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.88, -103.72.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 19th pct · 2,451st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 3rd pct · 60th of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
- 2nd pct · 2,972nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 1st pct · 61st of 62 Colorado counties · median +0.2%
- US counties: not published this period
- Colorado counties: not published this period
- 41st pct · 1,888th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 52nd pct · 31st of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- 25th pct · 2,385th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 20th pct · 51st of 64 Colorado counties · median $1,075
- 27th pct · 2,212th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 6th pct · 58th 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 $161,545 (Aug 2026), -6.8% over one year, +6.5% over five
- 19th pct · 2,451st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 3rd pct · 60th of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Otero County, CO | $161,545 · -6.8% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Colorado 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 $884 a month on $161,545 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,043 a month: 21.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $161,545 × 80% = $129,236, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $884/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $933 × 52 / 12 = $4,043) = 22% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $161,545 / ($933 × 52) = 3.3
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 #
5,847 jobs at 529 employers (2026 Q1); -5.3% jobs and +3.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 41st pct · 1,888th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 52nd pct · 31st of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Otero County, CO | 5,847 jobs · $933/wk · -5.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 669 | $667 | 1.17 | -10.2% |
| Manufacturing | 500 | $1,208 | 1.06 | -7.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 254 | $1,023 | 1.13 | -1.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 217 | $798 | 5.14 | -5.7% |
| Construction | 169 | $918 | 0.55 | -8.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 139 | $1,368 | 0.58 | -4.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 117 | $1,074 | 0.29 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 110 | $760 | 0.63 | +0.0% |
| Information | 74 | $1,359 | 0.69 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 73 | $678 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 72 | $1,010 | 0.29 | -12.2% |
| Utilities | 49 | $1,895 | 2.12 | -12.5% |
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 #
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 #
3 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 3, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR AT CADDOA, CO | 31,150 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 72 km |
| TRINIDAD LAKE NEAR TRINIDAD, CO. | 20,180 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 110 km |
| LAKE MALOYA NR RATON NM | 3,485 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 116 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 65 % · 13 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ARKANSAS RIVER BELOW JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR, CO. | flow 3.96 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) | 72 km |
| ARKANSAS RIVER AT LAS ANIMAS, CO. | flow 87.8 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) | 49 km |
| PURGATOIRE RIVER AT ROCK CROSSING NR TIMPAS, CO. | flow 44.6 ft³/s · quality 50 % (3) | 32 km |
| TIMPAS CREEK AT MOUTH NEAR SWINK, CO. | flow 116.0 ft³/s | 14 km |
| CROOKED ARROYO NEAR SWINK, CO. | flow 14.0 ft³/s · STALE | 15 km |
| ARKANSAS RIVER NEAR ROCKY FORD, CO. | temp 19.8 °C · quality 75 % (2) · no flooding | 20 km |
| ARKANSAS RIVER AT LA JUNTA, CO | flow 3,560 ft³/s · no flooding · STALE | 20 km |
| FORT LYON CANAL NEAR CASA, CO | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 28 km |
| ARKANSAS RIVER AT CATLIN DAM, NEAR FOWLER, CO. | temp 20.6 °C · quality 75 % (2) · out of service | 32 km |
| APISHAPA RIVER NEAR FOWLER, CO | flow 2.37 ft³/s | 33 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 #
moderate (0.29)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.2×0.35 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$599.5 m in deposits at 12 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,033, highly concentrated. $128.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $118.5 m, grants $9.9 m), $21,990 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First National Bank Colorado | $196.2 m · 32.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Fowler State Bank | $123.8 m · 20.6% share · 1 office | |
| The Colorado Bank and Trust Company of La Junta | $96.5 m · 16.1% share · 1 office | |
| Otero, CO | $128.6 m FY2026 · $21,990/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $112.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First National Bank Colorado | $196,166,000 | 32.7% | 3 |
| Fowler State Bank | $123,776,000 | 20.6% | 1 |
| The Colorado Bank and Trust Company of La Junta | $96,462,000 | 16.1% | 1 |
| PB&T Bank | $77,099,000 | 12.9% | 4 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $47,709,000 | 8.0% | 1 |
| TBK BANK, SSB | $31,939,000 | 5.3% | 1 |
| NBH Bank | $26,299,000 | 4.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,033 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 32.7² + 20.6² + 16.1² + … (4 more) = 2,033
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 | $88,848,513 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $15,717,094 |
| Department of Transportation | $7,787,191 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $7,371,405 |
| Department of Agriculture | $2,849,664 |
| Department of Education | $2,145,183 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,874,382 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,775,414 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $91,856 |
| Department of the Interior | $86,454 |
| Department of Defense | $27,497 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $21,990 per covered job, against 5,847 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $128.6 m / 5,847 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,990
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 #
Otero County, CO: 15 findings, 2 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 10 noted
alertOtero County, CO's covered employment is -5.3% 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 = -5.3 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
alertOtero County, CO's typical home value is -6.8% against a year earlier, an alert level here: typical home value at least 5 percent below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -6.756816018912132 <= -5
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchOtero County, CO's typical home value is -6.8% 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 = -6.756816018912132 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchOtero County, CO's covered employment is -5.3% 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 = -5.3 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchOtero County, CO's momentum index is -0.43, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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: momentum = -0.43455429086356545 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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.