Lincoln County, NM
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 33.74, -105.45.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 76th pct · 716th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 79th pct · 7th of 30 New Mexico counties · median $223,584
- 7th pct · 2,846th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 17th pct · 25th of 30 New Mexico counties · median +1.3%
- 74th pct · 356th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 66th pct · 6th of 16 New Mexico counties · median $1,505
- 43rd pct · 1,805th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 40th pct · 20th of 33 New Mexico counties · median 8,227
- 15th pct · 2,710th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 26th pct · 24th of 33 New Mexico counties · median $968
- 90th pct · 299th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 93rd pct · 3rd of 30 New Mexico counties · median 4.2
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 $335,138 (Aug 2026), -3.1% over one year, +2.5% over five
- 76th pct · 716th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 79th pct · 7th of 30 New Mexico counties · median $223,584
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, NM | $335,138 · -3.1% 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 $1,825/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 15.3
- 74th pct · 356th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 66th pct · 6th of 16 New Mexico counties · median $1,505
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, NM | $1,825/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 $1,834 a month on $335,138 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,813 a month: 48.1% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $335,138 × 80% = $268,110, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,834/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $880 × 52 / 12 = $3,813) = 48% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $335,138 / ($880 × 52) = 7.3
- price-to-rent = $335,138 / ($1,825 × 12) = 15.3
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 #
6,407 jobs at 849 employers (2026 Q1); -3.2% jobs and +2.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 43rd pct · 1,805th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 40th pct · 20th of 33 New Mexico counties · median 8,227
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, NM | 6,407 jobs · $880/wk · -3.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 1,179 | $500 | 2.05 | -5.5% |
| Retail trade | 1,115 | $674 | 1.79 | -6.6% |
| Construction | 374 | $904 | 1.11 | +2.2% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 368 | $690 | 3.49 | -0.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 275 | $893 | 0.76 | +6.6% |
| Other services | 196 | $674 | 1.02 | -8.4% |
| Real estate and rental | 143 | $774 | 1.46 | -2.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 127 | $1,313 | 0.49 | +0.0% |
| Manufacturing | 112 | $534 | 0.22 | -11.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 79 | $583 | 0.29 | -33.1% |
| Utilities | 71 | $1,676 | 2.81 | -6.6% |
| Information | 57 | $1,076 | 0.48 | -8.1% |
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 #
11 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 75 % · 2 stale
Sites found: 11, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RIO BONITO NEAR LINCOLN, NM | flow 26.3 ft³/s | 24 km |
| EAGLE CREEK AT ALTO, NM | stage 4.40 ft | 44 km |
| RIO HONDO ABOVE CHAVEZ CANYON NEAR HONDO, NM | flow 42.9 ft³/s · STALE | 45 km |
| NORTH FORK EAGLE CREEK NEAR ALTO, NM | flow 2.23 ft³/s | 46 km |
| RIO HONDO ABOVE ALAMO CANYON NR HONDO, NM | stage 6.01 ft | 46 km |
| EAGLE CREEK BELOW SOUTH FORK NEAR ALTO, NM | flow 0.01 ft³/s | 46 km |
| SOUTH FORK EAGLE CREEK NEAR ALTO, NM | flow 0.02 ft³/s · STALE | 46 km |
| GAVILAN CANYON AT SKUNK CANYON NR HOLLYWOOD, NM | stage 2.09 ft · quality 75 % (2) | 48 km |
| RIO RUIDOSO AT HOLLYWOOD, NM | flow 295.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 49 km |
| RIO RUIDOSO AT RUIDOSO, NM | flow 53.1 ft³/s | 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 #
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-332937105314501 | depth 18.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 28 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 (0.41)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.25 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$678.7 m in deposits at 7 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,814, highly concentrated. $353.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (grants $200.5 m, direct payments $157.8 m), $55,188 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| City Bank | $211.9 m · 31.2% share · 1 office | |
| First Savings Bank | $105.9 m · 15.6% share · 1 office | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $96.8 m · 14.3% share · 1 office | |
| Lincoln, NM | $353.6 m FY2026 · $55,188/job | |
| COUNTY OF LINCOLN | $191.6 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Bank | $211,887,000 | 31.2% | 1 |
| First Savings Bank | $105,879,000 | 15.6% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $96,756,000 | 14.3% | 1 |
| First National Bank | $76,440,000 | 11.3% | 1 |
| Pioneer Bank | $75,680,000 | 11.2% | 1 |
| WaFd Bank | $67,023,000 | 9.9% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $45,010,000 | 6.6% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,814 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 = 31.2² + 15.6² + 14.3² + … (4 more) = 1,814
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 |
|---|---|
| Department of Agriculture | $194,171,811 |
| Social Security Administration | $137,747,370 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $16,665,499 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,864,518 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,829,958 |
| Department of Defense | $1,394,203 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,269,044 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,234,156 |
| Department of the Interior | $873,765 |
| Department of Education | $470,021 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $454,136 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $93,993 |
That is $55,188 per covered job, against 6,407 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $353.6 m / 6,407 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $55,188
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 | 2026-10-06 | +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 #
Lincoln County, NM: 16 findings, 1 at an alert level, 5 at a watch level and 10 noted
alertLincoln County, NM'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
watchLincoln County, NM'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
watchLincoln County, NM's typical home value is -3.1% 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 = -3.1308775330927454 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchLincoln County, NM's typical home value is -1.3% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical home value at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZHVI month columns; 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.momPct = -1.3109926121356776 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZHVI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchLincoln County, NM's years of wages of 7.3 ranks 299th 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 = 90.26779882429784 >= 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
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.