Brazoria County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 29.17, -95.43.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 75th pct · 751st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 85th pct · 37th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 44th pct · 6th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $335,489
- 13th pct · 2,645th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 37th pct · 153rd of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- 77th pct · 3rd of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median -1.7%
- 73rd pct · 368th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 90th pct · 11th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $1,780
- 92nd pct · 254th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 19th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median 76,883
- 89th pct · 328th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 81st pct · 48th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $1,347
- 54th pct · 1,399th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 70th pct · 73rd of 243 Texas counties · median 3.6
- 44th pct · 6th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median 4.6
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 $328,194 (Aug 2026), -1.3% over one year, +14.3% over five
- 75th pct · 751st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 85th pct · 37th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 44th pct · 6th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $335,489
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Brazoria County, TX | $328,194 · -1.3% 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 $1,802/mo (Aug 2026), +0.9% over one year; price-to-rent 15.2
- 73rd pct · 368th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 90th pct · 11th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $1,780
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Brazoria County, TX | $1,802/mo · +0.9% 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 $1,796 a month on $328,194 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,093 a month: 29.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $328,194 × 80% = $262,555, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,796/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,406 × 52 / 12 = $6,093) = 29% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $328,194 / ($1,406 × 52) = 4.5
- price-to-rent = $328,194 / ($1,802 × 12) = 15.2
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 #
124,189 jobs at 6,898 employers (2026 Q1); +0.4% jobs and +3.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 92nd pct · 254th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 19th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median 76,883
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Brazoria County, TX | 124,189 jobs · $1,406/wk · +0.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 15,981 | $748 | 1.32 | +1.2% |
| Construction | 15,232 | $1,829 | 2.34 | +2.9% |
| Health care and social assistance | 15,170 | $1,234 | 0.81 | +3.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 14,501 | $431 | 1.30 | +2.0% |
| Manufacturing | 11,834 | $2,787 | 1.18 | -4.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,575 | $1,279 | 0.65 | -1.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 4,533 | $2,099 | 0.53 | +1.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 3,556 | $1,513 | 0.68 | +7.6% |
| Other services | 3,539 | $1,009 | 0.95 | -0.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 3,417 | $2,348 | 0.72 | -2.2% |
| Real estate and rental | 2,003 | $1,509 | 1.05 | -2.1% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,988 | $1,870 | 0.39 | +5.3% |
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 #
D1 moderate 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: 3, 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 Houston | 100 % full · 132k ac-ft | 88 km |
| Lake Texana | 89 % full · 159k ac-ft | 115 km |
| Lake Conroe | 95 % full · 418k ac-ft | 133 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 #
low (0.16)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.3×0.05 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$6.7 bn in deposits at 63 offices of 27 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 895, unconcentrated. $2.1 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $2.0 bn, contracts $80.6 m), $17,142 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1.3 bn · 20.0% share · 6 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $989.5 m · 14.7% share · 3 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $551.3 m · 8.2% share · 3 offices | |
| Brazoria, TX | $2.1 bn FY2026 · $17,142/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $2.0 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,345,972,000 | 20.0% | 6 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $989,479,000 | 14.7% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $551,263,000 | 8.2% | 3 |
| First State Bank | $429,106,000 | 6.4% | 3 |
| Texas Gulf Bank, National Association | $347,840,000 | 5.2% | 5 |
| First Liberty Bank | $336,856,000 | 5.0% | 3 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $328,572,000 | 4.9% | 5 |
| Capital One, National Association | $266,768,000 | 4.0% | 1 |
| Frost Bank | $266,419,000 | 4.0% | 2 |
| Prosperity Bank | $251,872,000 | 3.7% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 895 across 27 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 27 banks with deposits in the county = 20.0² + 14.7² + 8.2² + … (24 more) = 895
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 | $1,557,999,344 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $404,863,425 |
| Department of Energy | $55,515,597 |
| Department of Transportation | $24,667,425 |
| Department of Defense | $22,420,407 |
| Department of Education | $14,244,839 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $12,939,762 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $10,079,374 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $9,787,598 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $8,353,796 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,526,540 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $269,993 |
That is $17,142 per covered job, against 124,189 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $2.1 bn / 124,189 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $17,142
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 #
Brazoria County, TX: 8 findings, 1 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchBrazoria County, TX's typical home value is -1.3% 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 = -1.2505457601775296 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteBrazoria County, TX's average weekly wage was 3.4% 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
- +3.4 % = 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
noteBrazoria County, TX's covered employment was 0.4% 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
- +0.4 % = 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
noteBrazoria County, TX's covered employment of 124,189 ranks 19th of 254 Texas counties, against a median of 6,022.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 93 on the 0-to-100 scale across 254 Texas counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteBrazoria County, TX's covered employment of 124,189 ranks 254th of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 92 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 8 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.