Nolan County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 32.31, -100.42.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 8th pct · 2,811th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 14th pct · 209th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 85th pct · 442nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 88th pct · 28th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- 52nd pct · 662nd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 58th pct · 45th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- 42nd pct · 1,850th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 50th pct · 126th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 71st pct · 920th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 58th pct · 105th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 5th pct · 2,906th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 13th pct · 210th 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 $127,149 (Aug 2026), +6.9% over one year, -14.9% over five
- 8th pct · 2,811th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 14th pct · 209th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nolan County, TX | $127,149 · +6.9% 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 $1,525/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 6.9
- 52nd pct · 662nd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 58th pct · 45th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nolan County, TX | $1,525/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 $696 a month on $127,149 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,027 a month: 13.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $127,149 × 80% = $101,719, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $696/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,160 × 52 / 12 = $5,027) = 14% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $127,149 / ($1,160 × 52) = 2.1
- price-to-rent = $127,149 / ($1,525 × 12) = 6.9
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 #
6,108 jobs at 411 employers (2026 Q1); -0.6% jobs and +0.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 42nd pct · 1,850th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 50th pct · 126th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Nolan County, TX | 6,108 jobs · $1,160/wk · -0.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,240 | $1,520 | 2.52 | +4.6% |
| Retail trade | 768 | $741 | 1.29 | +1.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 567 | $353 | 1.03 | -4.4% |
| Utilities | 319 | $2,434 | 13.22 | +10.4% |
| Construction | 239 | $1,582 | 0.75 | -8.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 213 | $1,348 | 0.83 | -9.7% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 163 | $1,933 | 7.49 | -6.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 117 | $1,408 | 0.47 | -16.4% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 87 | $973 | 1.97 | -8.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 77 | $1,153 | 0.18 | -10.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 76 | $893 | 0.22 | +0.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 70 | $1,578 | 0.30 | +7.7% |
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 #
33 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 20 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 23, 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 Sweetwater | 17 % full · 12k ac-ft | 18 km |
| Oak Creek Reservoir | 14 % full · 39k ac-ft | 33 km |
| Champion Creek Reservoir | 43 % full · 42k ac-ft | 42 km |
| Lake Colorado City | 53 % full · 31k ac-ft | 47 km |
| E. V. Spence Reservoir | 9 % full · 517k ac-ft | 49 km |
| E. V. Spence Res nr Robert Lee, TX | 47,890 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 49 km |
| Lake Abilene | 8 % full · 8k ac-ft | 50 km |
| Lake J.B. Thomas | 20 % full · 200k ac-ft | 74 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 #
16 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 3 stale
Sites found: 16, 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 Silver, TX | flow 2.49 ft³/s | 43 km |
| Colorado Rv at Colorado City, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 44 km |
| Colorado Rv at Robert Lee, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 48 km |
| Clear Fk Brazos Rv nr Noodle, TX | flow 2.77 ft³/s · STALE | 52 km |
| Clear Fk Brazos Rv nr Roby, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 53 km |
| Colorado Rv nr Cuthbert, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 53 km |
| Deep Ck nr Dunn, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 54 km |
| Elm Ck at FM 89 nr Buffalo Gap, TX | stage 5.28 ft | 55 km |
| Clear Fk Brazos Rv at FM 3116 nr Anson, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 57 km |
| Beals Ck nr Westbrook, TX | flow 0.35 ft³/s | 57 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 #
high (0.58)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.3×0.67 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$539.5 m in deposits at 4 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,798, highly concentrated. $81.6 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $79.5 m, grants $2.0 m), $13,358 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Capital Bank, SSB | $234.2 m · 43.4% share · 2 offices | |
| First Financial Bank | $220.0 m · 40.8% share · 1 office | |
| Texas National Bank | $85.3 m · 15.8% share · 1 office | |
| Nolan, TX | $81.6 m FY2026 · $13,358/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $77.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Capital Bank, SSB | $234,236,000 | 43.4% | 2 |
| First Financial Bank | $219,963,000 | 40.8% | 1 |
| Texas National Bank | $85,281,000 | 15.8% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,798 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 = 43.4² + 40.8² + 15.8² = 3,798
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 | $67,036,694 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $9,546,068 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,719,334 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,197,017 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $1,179,020 |
| Department of Transportation | $721,040 |
| Small Business Administration | $93,750 |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $74,259 |
| Department of Education | $28,297 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $6,882 |
| Department of Defense | -$13,560 |
That is $13,358 per covered job, against 6,108 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $81.6 m / 6,108 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,358
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 #
Nolan County, TX: 11 findings, 1 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchNolan County, TX's covered employment is -0.6% 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 = -0.6 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteNolan County, TX's typical home value rose 1.9% from $124,817 in July 2026 to $127,149 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.9% = (127149.13374836258 - 124817.45858814503) / 124817.45858814503 × 100
- 127149.13374836258 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 124817.45858814503 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteNolan County, TX's covered employment was 0.6% 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
- -0.6 % = 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
noteNolan County, TX's average weekly wage was 0.1% 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
- +0.1 % = 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
notetypical asking rent (rent.latest) and typical asking rent (rent.momPct) for Nolan County, TX could not be lined up against the previous published period this run, so no change is printed for them.
Show the arithmetic
- not comparable this run: rent.latest, rent.momPct
the two newest month columns in the published file are not the two this table carries
Read all 11 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.