Cameron County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 26.10, -97.48.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 40th pct · 1,828th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 45th pct · 132nd of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 31st pct · 2,096th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 63rd pct · 89th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 46th pct · 747th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 46th pct · 57th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 93rd pct · 207th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 94th pct · 14th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 22nd pct · 2,498th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 13th pct · 221st of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 52nd pct · 1,458th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 68th pct · 78th of 243 Texas counties · median 3.6
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $209,484 (Aug 2026), +1.3% over one year, +25.5% over five
- 40th pct · 1,828th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 45th pct · 132nd of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron County, TX | $209,484 · +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 $1,463/mo (Aug 2026), +3.7% over one year; price-to-rent 11.9
- 46th pct · 747th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 46th pct · 57th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron County, TX | $1,463/mo · +3.7% 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 $1,147 a month on $209,484 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $3,974 a month: 28.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $209,484 × 80% = $167,588, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,147/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $917 × 52 / 12 = $3,974) = 29% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $209,484 / ($917 × 52) = 4.4
- price-to-rent = $209,484 / ($1,463 × 12) = 11.9
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 #
155,017 jobs at 7,127 employers (2026 Q1); -0.9% jobs and +3.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 93rd pct · 207th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 94th pct · 14th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron County, TX | 155,017 jobs · $917/wk · -0.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 44,042 | $671 | 1.89 | -5.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 18,069 | $411 | 1.30 | +2.7% |
| Retail trade | 17,676 | $653 | 1.17 | +2.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 8,605 | $767 | 0.98 | -4.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 7,453 | $2,500 | 0.70 | +19.2% |
| Manufacturing | 5,799 | $1,277 | 0.47 | -12.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 3,862 | $1,123 | 0.59 | -11.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 3,211 | $1,217 | 0.51 | -5.5% |
| Construction | 3,192 | $998 | 0.39 | -12.8% |
| Other services | 3,173 | $1,009 | 0.68 | +13.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 3,023 | $1,160 | 0.51 | -5.2% |
| Educational services | 2,058 | $922 | 0.62 | +1.1% |
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 #
D4 exceptional 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: 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 #
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 #
severe (1.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×1.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$6.6 bn in deposits at 73 offices of 19 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,166, moderately concentrated. $3.0 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.7 bn, contracts $1.0 bn), $19,675 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| International Bank of Commerce | $1.4 bn · 21.8% share · 12 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1.1 bn · 16.0% share · 8 offices | |
| Texas Regional Bank | $761.0 m · 11.5% share · 5 offices | |
| Cameron, TX | $3.0 bn FY2026 · $19,675/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.7 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Bank of Commerce | $1,437,885,000 | 21.8% | 12 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,057,669,000 | 16.0% | 8 |
| Texas Regional Bank | $760,959,000 | 11.5% | 5 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $572,994,000 | 8.7% | 3 |
| First Community Bank | $546,246,000 | 8.3% | 7 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $535,891,000 | 8.1% | 9 |
| Frost Bank | $327,463,000 | 5.0% | 2 |
| PlainsCapital Bank | $325,561,000 | 4.9% | 5 |
| Lone Star National Bank | $298,241,000 | 4.5% | 6 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $232,361,000 | 3.5% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,166 across 19 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 19 banks with deposits in the county = 21.8² + 16.0² + 11.5² + … (16 more) = 1,166
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 | $1,333,136,822 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $947,255,077 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $345,525,839 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $206,407,182 |
| Department of Transportation | $57,094,023 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $54,902,659 |
| Department of Defense | $43,305,326 |
| Department of Education | $16,196,102 |
| Department of Agriculture | $14,871,956 |
| General Services Administration | $8,246,236 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $6,833,835 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $5,187,557 |
That is $19,675 per covered job, against 155,017 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $3.0 bn / 155,017 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $19,675
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 #
Cameron County, TX: 9 findings, 2 at a watch level and 7 noted
watchCameron County, TX's covered employment is -0.9% 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 = -0.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchCameron County, TX's typical home value of +1.3% scores 32 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 64 across Texas counties, a gap of 32 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 32 = |32 across US counties - 64 across Texas counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteCameron County, TX's average weekly wage was 3.5% 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
- +3.5 % = 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
noteCameron County, TX's covered employment was 0.9% 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
- -0.9 % = 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
noteCameron County, TX's covered employment of 155,017 ranks 14th of 254 Texas counties, against a median of 6,022.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 95 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
Read all 9 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.