Ouray County, CO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.15, -107.79.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 98th pct · 42nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 91st pct · 6th of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
- 71st pct · 865th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 95th pct · 4th of 62 Colorado counties · median +0.2%
- 62nd pct · 523rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 17th pct · 29th of 35 Colorado counties · median $1,975
- 15th pct · 2,724th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 28th pct · 46th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- 43rd pct · 1,832nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 36th pct · 41st of 64 Colorado counties · median $1,075
- 99th pct · 16th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 91st pct · 6th 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 $797,560 (Aug 2026), +4.9% over one year, +28.3% over five
- 98th pct · 42nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 91st pct · 6th of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ouray County, CO | $797,560 · +4.9% 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 $1,650/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 40.3
- 62nd pct · 523rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 17th pct · 29th of 35 Colorado counties · median $1,975
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ouray County, CO | $1,650/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 $4,366 a month on $797,560 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,372 a month: 99.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $797,560 × 80% = $638,048, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $4,366/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,009 × 52 / 12 = $4,372) = 100% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $797,560 / ($1,009 × 52) = 15.2
- price-to-rent = $797,560 / ($1,650 × 12) = 40.3
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 #
1,926 jobs at 396 employers (2026 Q1); -5.3% jobs and +4.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 15th pct · 2,724th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 28th pct · 46th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ouray County, CO | 1,926 jobs · $1,009/wk · -5.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 442 | $658 | 2.55 | -5.4% |
| Retail trade | 206 | $570 | 1.10 | -0.5% |
| Construction | 155 | $1,163 | 1.54 | +15.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 102 | $1,639 | 0.77 | -7.3% |
| Manufacturing | 74 | $756 | 0.48 | +4.2% |
| Administrative and waste services | 74 | $1,614 | 0.68 | +2.8% |
| Other services | 71 | $1,168 | 1.23 | +9.2% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 60 | $652 | 1.89 | -21.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 38 | $765 | 0.13 | -11.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 37 | $1,969 | 0.47 | -15.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 30 | $2,664 | 0.41 | +0.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 25 | $1,651 | 0.85 | -3.8% |
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 #
9 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 9, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RIDGWAY RESERVOIR NEAR RIDGWAY, CO | 64,820 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 10 km |
| SILVER JACK RESERVOIR NEAR CIMARRON, CO | 1,148 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 23 km |
| CRAWFORD RESERVOIR NEAR CRAWFORD, CO | 1,165 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 62 km |
| FRUIT GROWERS RESERVOIR NEAR ORCHARD CITY, CO | 79.8 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 76 km |
| LEMON RESERVOIR NEAR DURANGO CO | 22,420 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 87 km |
| VALLECITO RESERVOIR NEAR BAYFIELD, CO. | 40,320 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 88 km |
| PAONIA RESERVOIR NEAR BARDINE, CO | 364.4 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 96 km |
| VEGA RESERVOIR NEAR COLLBRAN, CO | 2,836 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 119 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 #
51 gauges · 0 flooding · 24 with quality panels averaging 81 % · 19 stale
Sites found: 51, 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-382427107491401 | cond. 2,860 uS/cm · quality 0 % (1) · STALE | 28 km |
| USGS-383632107560201 | cond. 3,280 uS/cm · quality 0 % (1) · STALE | 52 km |
| USGS-383633107560701 | cond. 6,080 uS/cm · quality 0 % (1) · STALE | 52 km |
| MINERAL CREEK AT SILVERTON, CO | flow 115.0 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) | 40 km |
| USGS-383926107593001 | flow 51.2 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) | 59 km |
| CEMENT CREEK AT SILVERTON, CO | flow 20.3 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) | 39 km |
| DALLAS CREEK NEAR RIDGWAY, CO | flow 34.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 4 km |
| UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER NEAR RIDGWAY, CO. | flow 87.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 5 km |
| UNCOMPAHGRE RIVER BELOW RIDGWAY RESERVOIR, CO | flow 67.1 ft³/s · no flooding | 10 km |
| Cow Creek near Ridgway Reservoir | no readings | 11 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 #
10 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 10, 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-382427107491401 | depth 4.77 ft · 2024-06-26 | 28 km |
| USGS-382656107500701 | depth 7.61 ft · 2017-01-31 | 33 km |
| USGS-382917107483101 | depth 6.36 ft · 2017-01-31 | 37 km |
| USGS-382947107465801 | depth 6.82 ft · 2017-01-31 | 38 km |
| USGS-383051107525501 | depth 13.2 ft · 2017-01-31 | 41 km |
| USGS-383315107525201 | depth 2.03 ft · 2017-01-31 | 45 km |
| USGS-383626107581501 | depth 8.41 ft · 2017-01-31 | 53 km |
| USGS-383844107572801 | level 5,288 ft · 2024-05-25 | 57 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 (0.39)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.19 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$208.1 m in deposits at 4 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,207, highly concentrated. $51.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $42.5 m, contracts $6.9 m), $26,825 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine Bank | $125.2 m · 60.2% share · 2 offices | |
| The Citizens State Bank of Ouray | $82.9 m · 39.8% share · 2 offices | |
| Ouray, CO | $51.7 m FY2026 · $26,825/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $42.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Bank | $125,237,000 | 60.2% | 2 |
| The Citizens State Bank of Ouray | $82,902,000 | 39.8% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 5,207 across 2 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 2 banks with deposits in the county = 60.2² + 39.8² = 5,207
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 | $39,941,658 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,422,448 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $2,298,919 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,866,819 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $96,891 |
| Department of Education | $63,039 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $52,121 |
| Department of Justice | $8,940 |
| Department of the Interior | -$85,244 |
That is $26,825 per covered job, against 1,926 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $51.7 m / 1,926 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $26,825
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 #
Ouray County, CO: 16 findings, 1 at an alert level, 6 at a watch level and 9 noted
alertOuray 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
watchOuray County, CO's price-to-rent ratio is 40.3, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; 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: priceToRent = 40.28083018997329 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchOuray County, CO's price-to-rent ratio of 40.3 ranks 2nd of 1,399 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; 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: priceToRent percentile = 99.92846924177397 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchOuray County, CO's years of wages of 15.2 ranks 16th 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 = 99.51012410189418 >= 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
watchOuray 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
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.