Hays County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 30.06, -98.03.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 81st pct · 560th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 90th pct · 25th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 50th pct · 3rd of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median $367,644
- 5th pct · 2,880th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 14th pct · 207th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- 100th pct · 1st of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median -4.6%
- 55th pct · 630th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 64th pct · 38th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median $1,633
- 90th pct · 301st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 90th pct · 25th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 50th pct · 3rd of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median 99,377
- 60th pct · 1,279th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 44th pct · 142nd of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 25th pct · 4th of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median $1,120
- 83rd pct · 498th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 91st pct · 21st of 243 Texas counties · median 3.6
- 100th pct · 1st of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median 4.9
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 $367,644 (Aug 2026), -3.9% over one year, -10.6% over five
- 81st pct · 560th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 90th pct · 25th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 50th pct · 3rd of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median $367,644
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hays County, TX | $367,644 · -3.9% 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 $1,552/mo (Aug 2026), -1.5% over one year; price-to-rent 19.7
- 55th pct · 630th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 64th pct · 38th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median $1,633
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hays County, TX | $1,552/mo · -1.5% 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 $2,012 a month on $367,644 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,719 a month: 42.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $367,644 × 80% = $294,115, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $2,012/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,089 × 52 / 12 = $4,719) = 43% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $367,644 / ($1,089 × 52) = 6.5
- price-to-rent = $367,644 / ($1,552 × 12) = 19.7
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 #
99,377 jobs at 6,455 employers (2026 Q1); +2.4% jobs and +3.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 90th pct · 301st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 90th pct · 25th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 50th pct · 3rd of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro · median 99,377
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Hays County, TX | 99,377 jobs · $1,089/wk · +2.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 14,078 | $717 | 1.45 | -0.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 13,797 | $463 | 1.55 | +7.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 8,062 | $1,102 | 0.54 | -1.1% |
| Construction | 7,898 | $1,441 | 1.52 | +5.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 7,881 | $969 | 1.88 | +9.8% |
| Manufacturing | 5,590 | $1,486 | 0.70 | +6.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,636 | $1,107 | 0.82 | +2.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 3,870 | $1,897 | 0.56 | -10.0% |
| Educational services | 3,798 | $836 | 1.78 | +19.4% |
| Other services | 3,083 | $924 | 1.04 | -8.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 2,813 | $2,398 | 0.74 | -5.9% |
| Real estate and rental | 2,041 | $1,151 | 1.34 | +4.7% |
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 13, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Canyon Lake | 98 % full · 379k ac-ft | 27 km |
| Lake Austin | 97 % full · 24k ac-ft | 37 km |
| Lake Travis | 95 % full · 1,098k ac-ft | 39 km |
| Lake Marble Falls | 99 % full · 8k ac-ft | 59 km |
| Lake L. B. Johnson | 99 % full · 113k ac-ft | 63 km |
| Lake Georgetown | 80 % full · 38k ac-ft | 73 km |
| Inks Lake | 94 % full · 14k ac-ft | 82 km |
| Lake Buchanan | 96 % full · 867k ac-ft | 85 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 #
moderate (0.31)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.3×0.09 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$3.4 bn in deposits at 46 offices of 22 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,294, moderately concentrated. $1.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.4 bn, contracts $76.2 m), $14,631 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $774.2 m · 22.6% share · 5 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $599.2 m · 17.5% share · 5 offices | |
| Frost Bank | $562.3 m · 16.4% share · 5 offices | |
| Hays, TX | $1.5 bn FY2026 · $14,631/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.3 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $774,212,000 | 22.6% | 5 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $599,176,000 | 17.5% | 5 |
| Frost Bank | $562,277,000 | 16.4% | 5 |
| Broadway National Bank | $310,683,000 | 9.1% | 4 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $186,570,000 | 5.5% | 2 |
| Texas Regional Bank | $173,270,000 | 5.1% | 3 |
| Ozona Bank | $164,664,000 | 4.8% | 4 |
| Sunflower Bank, National Association | $145,804,000 | 4.3% | 2 |
| Sage Capital Bank, | $107,999,000 | 3.2% | 1 |
| First Lockhart Bank | $76,718,000 | 2.2% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,294 across 22 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 22 banks with deposits in the county = 22.6² + 17.5² + 16.4² + … (19 more) = 1,294
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 | $991,405,848 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $284,882,222 |
| Department of Education | $114,383,151 |
| Department of Labor | $45,943,578 |
| Department of Transportation | $19,427,200 |
| Department of Justice | $10,724,261 |
| Department of Defense | $7,625,391 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $6,404,843 |
| Department of Commerce | $5,489,981 |
| Department of Energy | $4,488,934 |
| National Science Foundation | $4,360,136 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $3,432,396 |
That is $14,631 per covered job, against 99,377 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.5 bn / 99,377 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,631
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 #
Hays County, TX: 13 findings, 1 at a watch level and 12 noted
watchHays County, TX's typical home value is -3.9% 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 = -3.855184661706161 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteHays County, TX's average weekly wage was 3.1% 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
- +3.1 % = 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
noteHays County, TX's covered employment was 2.4% 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
- +2.4 % = 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
noteHays County, TX's typical home value of -3.9% ranks 1st of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro, against a median of -4.6%.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro that published home.yoyPct
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteHays County, TX's typical asking rent of $1,552 ranks 5th of 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro, against a median of $1,633.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 0 on the 0-to-100 scale across 5 counties in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro that published rent.latest
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.