Fayette County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 29.88, -96.92.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 90th pct · 301st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 97th pct · 7th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 7th pct · 2,819th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 20th pct · 193rd of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- 41st pct · 817th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 40th pct · 64th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 54th pct · 1,475th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 93rd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 55th pct · 1,416th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 40th pct · 151st of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 93rd pct · 213th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 97th pct · 6th 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 $447,268 (Aug 2026), -2.7% over one year, +8.3% over five
- 90th pct · 301st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 97th pct · 7th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, TX | $447,268 · -2.7% 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 $1,400/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 26.6
- 41st pct · 817th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 40th pct · 64th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, TX | $1,400/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 $2,448 a month on $447,268 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,624 a month: 52.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $447,268 × 80% = $357,814, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,448/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,067 × 52 / 12 = $4,624) = 53% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $447,268 / ($1,067 × 52) = 8.1
- price-to-rent = $447,268 / ($1,400 × 12) = 26.6
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 #
9,623 jobs at 842 employers (2026 Q1); +3.0% jobs and +3.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 54th pct · 1,475th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 93rd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, TX | 9,623 jobs · $1,067/wk · +3.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 1,530 | $774 | 1.63 | +3.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,057 | $433 | 1.22 | +5.2% |
| Manufacturing | 878 | $1,017 | 1.13 | -6.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 751 | $1,414 | 2.04 | +2.5% |
| Construction | 717 | $1,860 | 1.42 | -12.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 375 | $1,609 | 0.96 | +0.3% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 305 | $915 | 4.39 | +0.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 198 | $886 | 0.30 | -4.8% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 189 | $1,869 | 5.52 | +5.6% |
| Other services | 186 | $693 | 0.65 | +16.2% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 126 | $579 | 0.80 | -6.0% |
| Information | 111 | $1,353 | 0.63 | -1.8% |
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 #
95 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 13 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 19, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Somerville Lake | 91 % full · 150k ac-ft | 62 km |
| LCRA Lk Austin at Austin, TX | 492.3 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 95 km |
| Lake Austin | 97 % full · 24k ac-ft | 96 km |
| Granger Lake | 100 % full · 52k ac-ft | 99 km |
| LCRA Lk Travis nr Austin, TX | 677.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 111 km |
| Lake Travis | 95 % full · 1,098k ac-ft | 111 km |
| Lake Texana | 89 % full · 159k ac-ft | 115 km |
| Gibbons Creek Reservoir | 88 % full · 26k ac-ft | 116 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 #
42 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 2 stale
Sites found: 42, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Rv abv La Grange, TX | flow 1,130 ft³/s | 4 km |
| Colorado River (TX) above La Grange | no flooding | 4 km |
| W Navidad Rv at I-10 nr Schulenburg, TX | stage 257.8 ft · STALE | 21 km |
| E Navidad Rv at US90 nr Weimar, TX | stage 245.6 ft | 22 km |
| Colorado Rv at Smithville, TX | flow 865.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 28 km |
| Cummins Creek at Frelsburg | no flooding | 33 km |
| Peach Ck at I-10 nr Waelder, TX | stage 297.6 ft · STALE | 36 km |
| Peach Ck at Hwy 90 nr Waelder, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 37 km |
| Redgate Ck nr Columbus, TX | flow 0.46 ft³/s · no flooding | 39 km |
| Lavaca River at Komensky | observation not current | 39 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 #
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 #
moderate (0.29)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.3×0.05 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.8 bn in deposits at 17 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,689, moderately concentrated. $232.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $201.9 m, grants $30.7 m), $24,172 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fayette Savings Bank, SSB | $440.2 m · 24.2% share · 4 offices | |
| Round Top State Bank | $366.1 m · 20.2% share · 2 offices | |
| The Huntington National Bank | $357.9 m · 19.7% share · 4 offices | |
| Fayette, TX | $232.6 m FY2026 · $24,172/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $199.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette Savings Bank, SSB | $440,201,000 | 24.2% | 4 |
| Round Top State Bank | $366,057,000 | 20.2% | 2 |
| The Huntington National Bank | $357,892,000 | 19.7% | 4 |
| National Bank & Trust | $196,831,000 | 10.8% | 1 |
| Prosperity Bank | $175,219,000 | 9.7% | 3 |
| Carmine State Bank | $139,210,000 | 7.7% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $104,027,000 | 5.7% | 1 |
| Sunflower Bank, National Association | $36,286,000 | 2.0% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,689 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 24.2² + 20.2² + 19.7² + … (5 more) = 1,689
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 | $179,814,623 |
| Department of Transportation | $28,471,001 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $18,197,052 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,871,494 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,462,480 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,446,194 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $987,643 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $289,249 |
| Department of Education | $63,832 |
| Department of the Interior | $0 |
| Department of Energy | $0 |
That is $24,172 per covered job, against 9,623 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $232.6 m / 9,623 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $24,172
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 | -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 #
Fayette County, TX: 13 findings, 4 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchFayette County, TX's price-to-rent ratio of 26.6 ranks 50th of 1,399 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; 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: priceToRent percentile = 96.49499284692418 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchFayette County, TX's years of wages of 8.1 ranks 213th 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 = 93.0764206401045 >= 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
watchFayette County, TX's typical home value is -2.7% 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 = -2.6764966676740833 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchFayette County, TX's price-to-rent ratio is 26.6, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; 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: priceToRent = 26.623078189806495 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteFayette County, TX's average weekly wage was 3.3% 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
- +3.3 % = 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
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.