Lamar County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 33.67, -95.57.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 39th pct · 1,858th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 136th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 38th pct · 1,879th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 69th pct · 75th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- 32nd pct · 949th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 26th pct · 78th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 72nd pct · 876th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 79th pct · 52nd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 45th pct · 1,734th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 31st pct · 175th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 41st pct · 1,785th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 56th pct · 106th 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 $206,816 (Aug 2026), +1.9% over one year, +13.5% over five
- 39th pct · 1,858th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 44th pct · 136th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lamar County, TX | $206,816 · +1.9% 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 $1,316/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 13.1
- 32nd pct · 949th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 26th pct · 78th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lamar County, TX | $1,316/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 $1,132 a month on $206,816 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,429 a month: 25.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $206,816 × 80% = $165,453, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,132/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,022 × 52 / 12 = $4,429) = 26% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $206,816 / ($1,022 × 52) = 3.9
- price-to-rent = $206,816 / ($1,316 × 12) = 13.1
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 #
21,698 jobs at 1,341 employers (2026 Q1); -4.7% jobs and -1.2% average weekly wage over the year
- 72nd pct · 876th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 79th pct · 52nd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lamar County, TX | 21,698 jobs · $1,022/wk · -4.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 4,416 | $1,368 | 2.53 | -20.1% |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,867 | $901 | 1.18 | +2.6% |
| Retail trade | 2,520 | $758 | 1.19 | -2.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,173 | $389 | 1.11 | -3.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,351 | $875 | 1.10 | +9.0% |
| Construction | 1,260 | $1,291 | 1.11 | -7.3% |
| Wholesale trade | 621 | $1,265 | 0.75 | +9.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 544 | $1,032 | 0.59 | +2.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 512 | $1,353 | 0.58 | -5.2% |
| Other services | 370 | $780 | 0.57 | -11.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 296 | $1,210 | 0.20 | -0.7% |
| Utilities | 161 | $3,915 | 1.88 | +36.4% |
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: 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Crook | 85 % full · 9k ac-ft | 7 km |
| Pat Mayse Lake | 91 % full · 114k ac-ft | 21 km |
| Bois d'Arc Lake | 90 % full · 368k ac-ft | 37 km |
| Cooper (Chapman) Lake | 69 % full · 259k ac-ft | 37 km |
| Lake Bonham | 78 % full · 11k ac-ft | 55 km |
| Lake Sulphur Springs | 86 % full · 18k ac-ft | 56 km |
| Lake Cypress Springs | 90 % full · 67k ac-ft | 77 km |
| Monticello Reservoir | 73 % full · 35k ac-ft | 82 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 #
high (0.59)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×1.00 + 0.3×0.11 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.7 bn in deposits at 14 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,857, highly concentrated. $341.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $322.1 m, grants $16.8 m), $15,747 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Federal Community Bank, SSB | $448.3 m · 25.8% share · 2 offices | |
| The Liberty National Bank in Paris | $364.7 m · 20.9% share · 2 offices | |
| Farmers Bank & Trust Company | $337.2 m · 19.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Lamar, TX | $341.7 m FY2026 · $15,747/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $303.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Federal Community Bank, SSB | $448,302,000 | 25.8% | 2 |
| The Liberty National Bank in Paris | $364,661,000 | 20.9% | 2 |
| Farmers Bank & Trust Company | $337,223,000 | 19.4% | 2 |
| Glacier Bank | $248,747,000 | 14.3% | 2 |
| Peoples Bank | $168,367,000 | 9.7% | 2 |
| Lamar National Bank | $156,895,000 | 9.0% | 2 |
| Commercial Bank of Texas, National Association | $14,084,000 | 0.8% | 1 |
| First National Bank Texas | $2,411,000 | 0.1% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,857 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 25.8² + 20.9² + 19.4² + … (5 more) = 1,857
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 | $259,238,025 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $43,000,140 |
| Department of Transportation | $12,187,590 |
| Department of Education | $10,787,572 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,079,848 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $5,268,948 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1,880,103 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $918,039 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $851,977 |
| Department of Defense | $476,070 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $15,747 per covered job, against 21,698 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $341.7 m / 21,698 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $15,747
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 #
Lamar County, TX: 15 findings, 1 at an alert level, 4 at a watch level and 10 noted
alertLamar County, TX's covered employment is -4.7% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -4.7 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchLamar County, TX's covered employment is -4.7% 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 = -4.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchLamar County, TX's average weekly wage is -1.2% against a year earlier, a watch level here: average weekly wage below the same quarter a year earlier, before inflation (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.avgWeeklyWage = -1.2 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published, nominal dollars; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchLamar County, TX's momentum index is -0.34, a watch level here: momentum index in the cooling band (the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; 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: momentum = -0.34314772796287657 <= -0.25
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
the cooling band of the momentum index computed here, score at or below -0.25; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchLamar County, TX's typical home value of +1.9% scores 39 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 69 across Texas counties, a gap of 31 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 31 = |39 across US counties - 69 across Texas counties|
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.