Bee County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 28.42, -97.74.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 22nd pct · 2,384th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 28th pct · 173rd of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 8th pct · 2,802nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 23rd pct · 187th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- 9th pct · 1,271st of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 3rd pct · 102nd of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 51st pct · 1,565th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 102nd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 25th pct · 2,391st of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 14th pct · 216th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 30th pct · 2,136th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 45th pct · 134th of 243 Texas counties · median 3.6
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 $166,566 (Aug 2026), -2.5% over one year, -16.0% over five
- 22nd pct · 2,384th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 28th pct · 173rd of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bee County, TX | $166,566 · -2.5% 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 $1,015/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 13.7
- 9th pct · 1,271st of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 3rd pct · 102nd of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bee County, TX | $1,015/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 $912 a month on $166,566 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,039 a month: 22.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $166,566 × 80% = $133,252, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $912/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $932 × 52 / 12 = $4,039) = 23% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $166,566 / ($932 × 52) = 3.4
- price-to-rent = $166,566 / ($1,015 × 12) = 13.7
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 #
8,597 jobs at 540 employers (2026 Q1); +1.0% jobs and +5.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 51st pct · 1,565th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 60th pct · 102nd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bee County, TX | 8,597 jobs · $932/wk · +1.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 1,011 | $735 | 1.21 | -3.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 913 | $363 | 1.18 | +0.0% |
| Construction | 590 | $1,354 | 1.31 | +45.7% |
| Other services | 230 | $779 | 0.90 | -9.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 203 | $1,012 | 0.34 | +9.1% |
| Manufacturing | 174 | $1,562 | 0.25 | -28.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 174 | $1,122 | 0.50 | +7.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 166 | $929 | 0.50 | +23.0% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 147 | $1,436 | 4.80 | -9.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 73 | $553 | 1.18 | -1.4% |
| Real estate and rental | 63 | $1,290 | 0.48 | -18.2% |
| Information | 51 | $637 | 0.32 | +8.5% |
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 #
D3 extreme 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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 4, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Corpus Christi | 84 % full · 256k ac-ft | 44 km |
| Choke Canyon Reservoir | 22 % full · 663k ac-ft | 50 km |
| Coleto Creek Reservoir | 75 % full · 31k ac-ft | 66 km |
| Lake Texana | 89 % full · 159k ac-ft | 125 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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 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 #
high (0.65)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.75 + 0.3×0.53 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$385.7 m in deposits at 7 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,305, highly concentrated. $168.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $140.5 m, grants $27.2 m), $19,611 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Prosperity Bank | $173.7 m · 45.0% share · 1 office | |
| Simmons Bank | $131.1 m · 34.0% share · 1 office | |
| International Bank of Commerce | $27.7 m · 7.2% share · 1 office | |
| Bee, TX | $168.6 m FY2026 · $19,611/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $127.7 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosperity Bank | $173,727,000 | 45.0% | 1 |
| Simmons Bank | $131,108,000 | 34.0% | 1 |
| International Bank of Commerce | $27,705,000 | 7.2% | 1 |
| Texas Champion Bank | $26,266,000 | 6.8% | 1 |
| The Karnes County National Bank of Karnes City | $16,346,000 | 4.2% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $7,044,000 | 1.8% | 1 |
| First National Bank Texas | $3,483,000 | 0.9% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,305 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 = 45.0² + 34.0² + 7.2² + … (4 more) = 3,305
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 | $105,377,746 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $21,830,288 |
| Department of Transportation | $17,889,767 |
| Department of Education | $7,663,533 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $5,925,145 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,911,456 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $2,905,528 |
| Department of Commerce | $1,500,000 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $551,783 |
| Department of Defense | $482,829 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $293,080 |
| Department of Justice | $259,236 |
That is $19,611 per covered job, against 8,597 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $168.6 m / 8,597 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $19,611
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 #
Bee County, TX: 10 findings, 2 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchBee County, TX's typical home value is -2.5% 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 = -2.522797410870389 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchBee County, TX's typical asking rent rose 6.8% from $951 in July 2026 to $1,015 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +6.8% = (1015.2333333333332 - 950.9386370719367) / 950.9386370719367 × 100
- 1015.2333333333332 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 950.9386370719367 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteBee County, TX's average weekly wage was 5.3% higher 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
- +5.3 % = 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
noteBee County, TX's covered employment was 1.0% higher 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
- +1 % = 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
noteBee County, TX's typical home value fell 0.8% from $167,916 in July 2026 to $166,566 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.8% = (166565.59222484345 - 167916.4894439141) / 167916.4894439141 × 100
- 166565.59222484345 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 167916.4894439141 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 10 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.