Childress County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 34.52, -100.21.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 11th pct · 2,696th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 17th pct · 200th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 99th pct · 2nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 100th pct · 1st of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Texas counties: not published this period
- 24th pct · 2,420th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 33rd pct · 170th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 61st pct · 1,252nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 45th pct · 139th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 9th pct · 2,762nd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 23rd pct · 187th 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 $140,157 (Aug 2026), +25.6% over one year, +16.9% over five
- 11th pct · 2,696th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 17th pct · 200th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Childress County, TX | $140,157 · +25.6% 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
- Texas 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 $767 a month on $140,157 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,741 a month: 16.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $140,157 × 80% = $112,126, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $767/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,094 × 52 / 12 = $4,741) = 16% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $140,157 / ($1,094 × 52) = 2.5
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 #
3,055 jobs at 231 employers (2026 Q1); +4.8% jobs and +10.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 24th pct · 2,420th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 33rd pct · 170th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Childress County, TX | 3,055 jobs · $1,094/wk · +4.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 394 | $620 | 1.32 | +1.3% |
| Construction | 268 | $2,451 | 1.67 | +95.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 253 | $653 | 1.96 | +0.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 88 | $977 | 0.71 | +12.8% |
| Utilities | 84 | $2,139 | 6.96 | -4.5% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 67 | $1,108 | 3.04 | +0.0% |
| Professional and technical services | 65 | $2,979 | 0.31 | -30.1% |
| Other services | 61 | $1,205 | 0.67 | -10.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 41 | $897 | 0.88 | +64.0% |
| Manufacturing | 37 | $1,225 | 0.15 | +0.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 22 | $1,125 | 0.13 | +57.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 17 | $1,140 | 0.15 | +0.0% |
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 #
46 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 6 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 10, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-07299840 | 3,129 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 82 km |
| Greenbelt Lake | 5 % full · 60k ac-ft | 82 km |
| USGS-07302500 | 31,520 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 93 km |
| Mackenzie Reservoir | 11 % full · 46k ac-ft | 113 km |
| USGS-07311415 | 7,748 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 121 km |
| Lake Kemp | 63 % full · 245k ac-ft | 129 km |
| White River Reservoir | 21 % full · 32k ac-ft | 143 km |
| Millers Creek Reservoir | 57 % full · 27k ac-ft | 145 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 #
8 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 50 % · 2 stale
Sites found: 8, 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-07303400 | stage 4.90 ft · quality 50 % (2) | 61 km |
| USGS-07299540 | flow 4.32 ft³/s | 5 km |
| USGS-07307800 | flow 9.10 ft³/s · STALE | 35 km |
| USGS-07299670 | flow 1.71 ft³/s | 47 km |
| USGS-07299890 | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 64 km |
| USGS-07311600 | flow 7.00 ft³/s · STALE | 65 km |
| USGS-07298500 | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 68 km |
| USGS-07300500 | flow 0.99 ft³/s | 74 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 #
15 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 15, 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-343855099581801 | depth 108.5 ft · 1989-01-18 | 26 km |
| USGS-344143099560601 | depth 30.9 ft · 1997-09-30 | 31 km |
| USGS-344459099533201 | depth 48.1 ft · 1988-04-19 | 38 km |
| USGS-343041099451001 | depth 27.3 ft · 1989-01-18 | 42 km |
| USGS-344750099522601 | depth 37.2 ft · 1989-01-18 | 43 km |
| USGS-345146099583501 | depth 2.01 ft · 2017-03-14 | 43 km |
| USGS-342544099433201 | depth 39.5 ft · 1988-04-19 | 45 km |
| USGS-343724099434902 | depth 40.2 ft · 1988-03-18 | 46 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 #
high (0.62)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.75 + 0.3×0.54 + 0.2×0.50 / 0.85
Banks & federal dollars #
$190.7 m in deposits at 3 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,649, highly concentrated. $56.9 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $46.5 m, contracts $11.1 m), $18,616 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First United Bank | $120.0 m · 62.9% share · 1 office | |
| Wellington State Bank | $36.9 m · 19.3% share · 1 office | |
| InterBank | $33.8 m · 17.7% share · 1 office | |
| Childress, TX | $56.9 m FY2026 · $18,616/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $29.2 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First United Bank | $120,037,000 | 62.9% | 1 |
| Wellington State Bank | $36,898,000 | 19.3% | 1 |
| InterBank | $33,802,000 | 17.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,649 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 62.9² + 19.3² + 17.7² = 4,649
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 | $25,063,704 |
| Department of Agriculture | $17,134,650 |
| Department of the Interior | $11,131,171 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $2,837,759 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,283,736 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $415,109 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $209,470 |
| Department of Transportation | -$1,204,584 |
That is $18,616 per covered job, against 3,055 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $56.9 m / 3,055 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $18,616
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 | 3.00 | 2026-10-06 | -50.0% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| 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 #
Childress County, TX: 12 findings, 1 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchChildress County, TX's typical home value is +25.6% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value at least 15 percent above 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 = 25.604263460415794 >= 15
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteChildress County, TX's average weekly wage was 10.2% 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
- +10.2 % = 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
noteChildress County, TX's covered employment was 4.8% 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
- +4.8 % = 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
noteChildress County, TX's typical home value rose 2.4% from $136,809 in July 2026 to $140,157 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +2.4% = (140157.33348191914 - 136809.3769070276) / 136809.3769070276 × 100
- 140157.33348191914 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 136809.3769070276 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteChildress County, TX's typical home value of +25.6% ranks 1st of 243 Texas counties, against a median of +0.0%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 243 Texas counties that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; 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.