Tensas Parish, LA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 32.00, -91.34.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 15th pct · 2,574th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 33rd pct · 43rd of 64 Louisiana counties · median $176,099
- 0th pct · 3,049th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 1st pct · 63rd of 64 Louisiana counties · median +2.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Louisiana counties: not published this period
- 4th pct · 3,072nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 0th pct · 64th of 64 Louisiana counties · median 10,187
- 26th pct · 2,361st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 31st pct · 44th of 64 Louisiana counties · median $1,033
- 21st pct · 2,394th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 46th pct · 35th of 64 Louisiana counties · median 3.1
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 $150,221 (Aug 2026), -16.7% over one year, n/a over five
- 15th pct · 2,574th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 33rd pct · 43rd of 64 Louisiana counties · median $176,099
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tensas Parish, LA | $150,221 · -16.7% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Louisiana 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 $822 a month on $150,221 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,060 a month: 20.3% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $150,221 × 80% = $120,177, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $822/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $937 × 52 / 12 = $4,060) = 20% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $150,221 / ($937 × 52) = 3.1
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 #
747 jobs at 131 employers (2026 Q1); -3.2% jobs and +18.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 4th pct · 3,072nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 0th pct · 64th of 64 Louisiana counties · median 10,187
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tensas Parish, LA | 747 jobs · $937/wk · -3.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 59 | $450 | 0.81 | +0.0% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | withheld | |||
| Mining, oil and gas | withheld | |||
| Construction | withheld | |||
| Manufacturing | withheld | |||
| Wholesale trade | withheld | |||
| Transportation and warehousing | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld | |||
| Real estate and rental | withheld | |||
| Professional and technical services | withheld | |||
| Administrative and waste services | withheld | |||
| Educational services | withheld |
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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
22 gauges · 0 flooding · 2 with quality panels averaging 90 % · 7 stale
Sites found: 22, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| (COE) Tensas River south of Newlight, LA | stage 34.4 ft | 17 km |
| Bayou Macon northeast of Gilbert, LA | stage 6.41 ft · STALE | 26 km |
| USGS-314416091213400 | turb. 52.0 FNU · quality 80 % (5) · STALE | 29 km |
| TENSAS R @ CLAYTON, LA | stage 34.6 ft · STALE | 36 km |
| Tensas River SE of Tendal, LA. | stage 3.79 ft | 43 km |
| BAYOU PIERRE NR WILLOWS, MS | flow 261.0 ft³/s | 44 km |
| LITTLE CREEK NR FAYETTE, MS | flow 1,640 ft³/s · STALE | 45 km |
| Tensas River at Tendal, LA | flow 1.76 ft³/s | 48 km |
| Ouachita River at Hwy 8 at Harrisonburg, LA | stage 15.4 ft | 52 km |
| Bayou Macon near Delhi, LA | stage 5.54 ft | 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 #
7 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 7, 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-315718090591501 | depth 100.1 ft · 1963-09-15 | 34 km |
| USGS-314247091034201 | depth 122.6 ft · 1963-09-15 | 42 km |
| USGS-313605091202201 | depth 83.5 ft · 1993-08-15 | 45 km |
| USGS-313330091223702 | depth 225.0 ft · 1993-08-11 | 49 km |
| USGS-313256091214201 | depth 56.4 ft · 1993-07-17 | 52 km |
| USGS-322310090530202 | depth 26.9 ft · 1994-05-16 | 61 km |
| USGS-322853091475901 | depth 10.3 ft · 2025-03-17 | 69 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 (0.35)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.10 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$179.9 m in deposits at 3 offices of 2 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 5,045, highly concentrated. $42.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $38.9 m, grants $3.7 m), $56,988 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Tensas State Bank | $98.5 m · 54.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Planters Bank & Trust Company | $81.4 m · 45.3% share · 1 office | |
| Tensas, LA | $42.6 m FY2026 · $56,988/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $24.5 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tensas State Bank | $98,484,000 | 54.7% | 2 |
| Planters Bank & Trust Company | $81,404,000 | 45.3% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 5,045 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 = 54.7² + 45.3² = 5,045
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 | $22,387,336 |
| Department of Agriculture | $12,871,030 |
| Department of Transportation | $2,672,335 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $2,016,077 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,062,822 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,040,207 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $425,529 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $94,847 |
That is $56,988 per covered job, against 747 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $42.6 m / 747 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $56,988
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 | -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 #
Tensas Parish, LA: 15 findings, 2 at an alert level, 3 at a watch level and 10 noted
alertTensas Parish, LA's typical home value is -16.7% 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 = -16.748833974467445 <= -5
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
alertTensas Parish, LA's covered employment is -3.2% 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 = -3.2 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchTensas Parish, LA's typical home value is -16.7% 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 = -16.748833974467445 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchTensas Parish, LA's covered employment is -3.2% 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 = -3.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchTensas Parish, LA's momentum index is -0.41, 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 = -0.4117647058823529 <= -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.