Runnels County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 31.85, -99.98.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 12th pct · 2,668th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 19th pct · 196th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- 83rd pct · 520th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 87th pct · 31st of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- US counties: not published this period
- Texas counties: not published this period
- 25th pct · 2,402nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 34th pct · 166th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 60th pct · 1,279th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 44th pct · 142nd of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 10th pct · 2,738th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 23rd pct · 186th 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 $142,322 (Aug 2026), +6.4% over one year, -4.0% over five
- 12th pct · 2,668th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 19th pct · 196th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Runnels County, TX | $142,322 · +6.4% 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 $779 a month on $142,322 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,719 a month: 16.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $142,322 × 80% = $113,858, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $779/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,089 × 52 / 12 = $4,719) = 17% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $142,322 / ($1,089 × 52) = 2.5
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 #
3,124 jobs at 265 employers (2026 Q1); +2.2% jobs and +0.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 25th pct · 2,402nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 34th pct · 166th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Runnels County, TX | 3,124 jobs · $1,089/wk · +2.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 466 | $1,237 | 1.85 | -4.7% |
| Retail trade | 405 | $887 | 1.33 | -2.6% |
| Construction | 293 | $2,605 | 1.79 | +30.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 228 | $860 | 0.49 | -12.6% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 143 | $831 | 6.34 | -0.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 121 | $818 | 1.01 | +2.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 35 | $989 | 0.27 | +34.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 34 | $1,288 | 0.16 | -5.6% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 31 | $908 | 2.79 | +0.0% |
| Utilities | 16 | $1,441 | 1.30 | -5.9% |
| Information | withheld | |||
| Finance and insurance | withheld |
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: 21, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oak Creek Reservoir | 14 % full · 39k ac-ft | 35 km |
| Hords Creek Lake | 45 % full · 8k ac-ft | 40 km |
| Lake Abilene | 8 % full · 8k ac-ft | 44 km |
| O. H. Ivie Reservoir | 42 % full · 554k ac-ft | 49 km |
| E. V. Spence Reservoir | 9 % full · 517k ac-ft | 51 km |
| Lake Coleman | 78 % full · 38k ac-ft | 53 km |
| O. C. Fisher Lake | 11 % full · 116k ac-ft | 62 km |
| Lake Nasworthy | 85 % full · 10k ac-ft | 69 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 (0.58)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.3×0.67 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$384.9 m in deposits at 5 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,330, highly concentrated. $2,847 federal obligations in FY2026 (loans $2,847), $1 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The First National Bank of Ballinger | $108.3 m · 28.1% share · 1 office | |
| Citizens State Bank | $106.4 m · 27.6% share · 1 office | |
| Third Coast Bank | $89.0 m · 23.1% share · 1 office | |
| Runnels, TX | $2,847 FY2026 · $1/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $62.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The First National Bank of Ballinger | $108,311,000 | 28.1% | 1 |
| Citizens State Bank | $106,402,000 | 27.6% | 1 |
| Third Coast Bank | $89,000,000 | 23.1% | 1 |
| Victory Bank | $51,670,000 | 13.4% | 1 |
| West Texas State Bank | $29,517,000 | 7.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,330 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 28.1² + 27.6² + 23.1² + … (2 more) = 2,330
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 | $53,617,895 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $8,439,855 |
| Department of Agriculture | $5,010,802 |
| Department of Transportation | $4,476,421 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $643,581 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $243,821 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $236,405 |
| Department of Education | $82,831 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $1 per covered job, against 3,124 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $2,847 / 3,124 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $1
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 #
Runnels County, TX: 5 findings, 5 noted
noteRunnels County, TX's covered employment was 2.2% 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
- +2.2 % = 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
noteRunnels County, TX's typical home value rose 1.0% from $140,884 in July 2026 to $142,322 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.0% = (142322.00728777205 - 140883.99944973606) / 140883.99944973606 × 100
- 142322.00728777205 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 140883.99944973606 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
noteRunnels 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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Runnels County, TX is due between 2026-10-14 and 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-21, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
noteThe next Unemployment rate (BLS Employment Situation, monthly) covering Runnels County, TX is due between 2026-10-30 and 2026-11-13, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern.
Show the arithmetic
- window = 2026-10-30 to 2026-11-13, estimated from the publisher's past release pattern
estimated from the publisher's past release pattern; not an announced date
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.