San Miguel County, CO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.01, -108.43.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 99th pct · 4th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 98th pct · 2nd of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
- 90th pct · 287th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 98th pct · 2nd of 62 Colorado counties · median +0.2%
- US counties: not published this period
- Colorado counties: not published this period
- 44th pct · 1,798th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 53rd pct · 30th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- 74th pct · 812th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 66th pct · 22nd of 64 Colorado counties · median $1,075
- 99th pct · 3rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 98th pct · 2nd 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 $1.6 m (Aug 2026), +7.9% over one year, +34.0% over five
- 99th pct · 4th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 98th pct · 2nd of 62 Colorado counties · median $450,011
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| San Miguel County, CO | $1.6 m · +7.9% 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 #
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 $8,747 a month on $1,597,939 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,144 a month: 170.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $1.6 m × 80% = $1.3 m, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $8,747/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,187 × 52 / 12 = $5,144) = 170% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $1.6 m / ($1,187 × 52) = 25.9
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 #
6,453 jobs at 816 employers (2026 Q1); -4.7% jobs and +3.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 44th pct · 1,798th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 53rd pct · 30th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| San Miguel County, CO | 6,453 jobs · $1,187/wk · -4.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 1,690 | $1,106 | 2.92 | -8.8% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 1,121 | $853 | 10.55 | -5.2% |
| Retail trade | 555 | $918 | 0.88 | -8.4% |
| Construction | 482 | $1,383 | 1.42 | +3.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 287 | $821 | 0.78 | -3.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 273 | $1,460 | 2.76 | -3.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 252 | $1,290 | 0.26 | +16.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 217 | $2,190 | 0.49 | -11.8% |
| Other services | 119 | $1,204 | 0.62 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 107 | $4,198 | 0.41 | +27.4% |
| Educational services | 107 | $849 | 0.77 | -10.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 84 | $970 | 0.31 | +2.4% |
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 #
8 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 8, 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 | 64,860 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 64 km |
| SILVER JACK RESERVOIR NEAR CIMARRON, CO | 1,154 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 81 km |
| LEMON RESERVOIR NEAR DURANGO CO | 22,510 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 97 km |
| FRUIT GROWERS RESERVOIR NEAR ORCHARD CITY, CO | 79.5 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 100 km |
| VALLECITO RESERVOIR NEAR BAYFIELD, CO. | 40,320 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 102 km |
| CRAWFORD RESERVOIR NEAR CRAWFORD, CO | 1,158 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 104 km |
| PAONIA RESERVOIR NEAR BARDINE, CO | 364.4 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 140 km |
| VEGA RESERVOIR NEAR COLLBRAN, CO | 2,834 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 145 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 #
30 gauges · 0 flooding · 8 with quality panels averaging 73 % · 2 stale
Sites found: 30, 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 | 69 km |
| MINERAL CREEK AT SILVERTON, CO | flow 98.4 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) | 70 km |
| DOLORES RIVER NEAR BEDROCK, CO. | flow 11.6 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) · no flooding | 52 km |
| CEMENT CREEK AT SILVERTON, CO | flow 20.3 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) | 70 km |
| SAN MIGUEL RIVER AT BROOKS BRIDGE NEAR NUCLA CO | flow 83.7 ft³/s | 27 km |
| Groundhog Reservoir | observation not current | 27 km |
| SAN MIGUEL RIVER NEAR PLACERVILLE, CO | flow 148.0 ft³/s | 28 km |
| Dolores River near Slick Rock | no readings | 42 km |
| SAN MIGUEL RIVER AT URAVAN, CO. | flow 142.0 ft³/s | 46 km |
| SOUTH FORK SAN MIGUEL RIVER NEAR OPHIR, CO | flow 56.9 ft³/s | 49 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 #
4 wells in 1 named aquifer: Colorado Plateaus aquifers
Sites found: 4, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Plateaus aquifers | depth 38.4 ft · 2024-07-07 | 59 km |
| USGS-382427107491401 | depth 4.77 ft · 2024-06-26 | 69 km |
| USGS-382656107500701 | depth 7.61 ft · 2017-01-31 | 71 km |
| USGS-383051107525501 | depth 13.2 ft · 2017-01-31 | 74 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 (0.42)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.27 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$604.5 m in deposits at 8 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,001, highly concentrated. $33.0 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $29.7 m, grants $3.3 m), $5,120 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine Bank | $356.7 m · 59.0% share · 1 office | |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $119.1 m · 19.7% share · 2 offices | |
| NBH Bank | $51.5 m · 8.5% share · 1 office | |
| San Miguel, CO | $33.0 m FY2026 · $5,120/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $29.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Bank | $356,655,000 | 59.0% | 1 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $119,052,000 | 19.7% | 2 |
| NBH Bank | $51,549,000 | 8.5% | 1 |
| ANB Bank | $34,969,000 | 5.8% | 1 |
| The Citizens State Bank of Ouray | $25,881,000 | 4.3% | 2 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $16,375,000 | 2.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,001 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 59.0² + 19.7² + 8.5² + … (3 more) = 4,001
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 | $27,669,059 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $1,639,659 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,610,877 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,580,611 |
| Department of Agriculture | $204,708 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $143,255 |
| United States Trade and Development Agency | $125,000 |
| Department of Education | $66,653 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | -$15 |
That is $5,120 per covered job, against 6,453 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $33.0 m / 6,453 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $5,120
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 | 12.69 | 2026-10-05 | +3.3% |
| 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 | 2026-10-06 | +0.0% |
| 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 | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| 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 #
San Miguel County, CO: 13 findings, 1 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 9 noted
alertSan Miguel County, CO's covered employment is -4.7% 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 = -4.7 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchSan Miguel County, CO's years of wages is 25.9, a watch level here: typical home value worth 10 or more years of one average covered wage (typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52), one average covered job rather than a household; 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: yearsOfWages = 25.888450604802568 >= 10
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52), one average covered job rather than a household; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchSan Miguel County, CO's years of wages of 25.9 ranks 3rd 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 = 99.9346832135859 >= 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
watchSan Miguel County, CO's covered employment is -4.7% 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 = -4.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteSan Miguel County, CO's covered employment was 4.7% lower 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
- -4.7 % = 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.