Houston County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 31.32, -95.42.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 41st pct · 1,791st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 48th pct · 125th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 31st pct · 2,098th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 63rd pct · 90th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Texas counties: not published this period
- 47th pct · 1,687th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 56th pct · 112th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 89th pct · 339th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 81st pct · 49th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 18th pct · 2,510th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 34th pct · 160th 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 $212,650 (Aug 2026), +1.3% over one year, -11.8% over five
- 41st pct · 1,791st of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 48th pct · 125th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Houston County, TX | $212,650 · +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 #
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 $1,164 a month on $212,650 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,062 a month: 19.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $212,650 × 80% = $170,120, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,164/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,399 × 52 / 12 = $6,062) = 19% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $212,650 / ($1,399 × 52) = 2.9
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 #
7,474 jobs at 941 employers (2026 Q1); -0.2% jobs and +7.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 47th pct · 1,687th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 56th pct · 112th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Houston County, TX | 7,474 jobs · $1,399/wk · -0.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 950 | $2,185 | 1.58 | +2.6% |
| Retail trade | 767 | $738 | 1.05 | -2.9% |
| Health care and social assistance | 565 | $1,113 | 0.50 | -17.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 495 | $402 | 0.74 | -15.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 457 | $2,407 | 0.89 | -19.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 378 | $1,606 | 1.32 | +14.5% |
| Construction | 341 | $1,034 | 0.87 | +10.7% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 279 | $1,755 | 10.48 | +7.3% |
| Other services | 275 | $751 | 1.23 | -3.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 224 | $2,901 | 0.74 | -3.9% |
| Information | 107 | $1,667 | 0.78 | +15.1% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 94 | $858 | 1.74 | -12.1% |
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 #
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 #
79 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 20 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 25, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Houston County Lake | 95 % full · 17k ac-ft | 19 km |
| Lake Nacogdoches | 85 % full · 40k ac-ft | 64 km |
| Lk Nacogdoches nr Nacogdoches, TX | 33,740 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 64 km |
| Lake Jacksonville | 97 % full · 26k ac-ft | 66 km |
| Lake Striker | 81 % full · 17k ac-ft | 80 km |
| Lake Palestine | 89 % full · 367k ac-ft | 81 km |
| Lake Limestone | 85 % full · 204k ac-ft | 85 km |
| Livingston Reservoir | 91 % full · 1,604k ac-ft | 86 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 #
30 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 70 % · 1 stale
Sites found: 30, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Trinity Rv nr Crockett, TX | flow 9,650 ft³/s · quality 70 % (5) | 22 km |
| Hurricane Bayou at US-287 nr Crockett, TX | stage 256.1 ft | 5 km |
| Gail Ck at FM 1280 nr Lovelady, TX | stage 184.3 ft | 21 km |
| Tantabogue Ck at FM 230 nr Lovelady, TX | stage 206.0 ft | 25 km |
| Upper Keechi Ck at FM 542 nr Oakwood, TX | stage 182.6 ft | 34 km |
| Neches Rv at SH 294 nr Alto, TX | flow 260.0 ft³/s | 36 km |
| Neches Rv nr Alto, TX | flow 1,000 ft³/s | 37 km |
| Trinity Rv nr Midway, TX | flow 9,780 ft³/s | 38 km |
| Manson Ck at SH 294 nr Elkhart, TX | stage 242.5 ft | 40 km |
| White Rock Ck at SH 94 nr Trinity, TX | stage 129.6 ft | 40 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 #
2 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 2, 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-304013095220101 | depth 31.1 ft · 2020-09-27 | 73 km |
| USGS-304013095220102 | depth 31.4 ft · 2021-04-06 | 73 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 #
low (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.3×0.21 + 0.2×0.30 / 0.85
Banks & federal dollars #
$466.0 m in deposits at 9 offices of 7 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,899, highly concentrated. $162.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $147.2 m, grants $14.6 m), $21,696 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Prosperity Bank | $146.9 m · 31.5% share · 2 offices | |
| Citizens National Bank | $95.2 m · 20.4% share · 1 office | |
| First National Bank of Huntsville | $57.7 m · 12.4% share · 1 office | |
| Houston, TX | $162.2 m FY2026 · $21,696/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $144.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prosperity Bank | $146,929,000 | 31.5% | 2 |
| Citizens National Bank | $95,227,000 | 20.4% | 1 |
| First National Bank of Huntsville | $57,692,000 | 12.4% | 1 |
| Sunflower Bank, National Association | $55,165,000 | 11.8% | 1 |
| Lovelady State Bank | $44,874,000 | 9.6% | 1 |
| Dominion Bank | $34,076,000 | 7.3% | 2 |
| Commercial Bank of Texas, National Association | $32,013,000 | 6.9% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,899 across 7 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 7 banks with deposits in the county = 31.5² + 20.4² + 12.4² + … (4 more) = 1,899
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 | $125,272,101 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $18,271,443 |
| Department of Transportation | $12,422,240 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $2,517,701 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,417,155 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,290,722 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $650,000 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $522,071 |
| Department of Education | $79,422 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Energy | $0 |
| Department of the Interior | -$283,500 |
That is $21,696 per covered job, against 7,474 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $162.2 m / 7,474 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $21,696
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 #
Houston County, TX: 6 findings, 2 at a watch level and 4 noted
watchHouston County, TX's covered employment is -0.2% 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 = -0.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchHouston County, TX's typical home value of +1.3% scores 32 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 63 across Texas counties, a gap of 32 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 32 = |32 across US counties - 63 across Texas counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteHouston County, TX's average weekly wage was 7.6% 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
- +7.6 % = 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
noteHouston County, TX's typical home value fell 0.7% from $214,050 in July 2026 to $212,650 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -0.7% = (212649.65086448204 - 214050.27735022982) / 214050.27735022982 × 100
- 212649.65086448204 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 214050.27735022982 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteHouston County, TX's covered employment was 0.2% 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
- -0.2 % = 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
Read all 6 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.