Rusk County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 32.11, -94.76.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 42nd pct · 1,752nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 120th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 69th pct · 921st of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 83rd pct · 42nd of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 20th pct · 1,115th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 10th pct · 95th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 62nd pct · 1,221st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 69th pct · 78th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 70th pct · 935th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 57th pct · 108th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 34th pct · 2,015th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 50th pct · 122nd of 243 Texas counties · median 3.6
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
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 $216,219 (Aug 2026), +4.8% over one year, +19.7% over five
- 42nd pct · 1,752nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 50th pct · 120th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rusk County, TX | $216,219 · +4.8% 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 $1,175/mo (Aug 2026), n/a over one year; price-to-rent 15.3
- 20th pct · 1,115th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 10th pct · 95th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rusk County, TX | $1,175/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 $1,184 a month on $216,219 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,005 a month: 23.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $216,219 × 80% = $172,975, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,184/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,155 × 52 / 12 = $5,005) = 24% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $216,219 / ($1,155 × 52) = 3.6
- price-to-rent = $216,219 / ($1,175 × 12) = 15.3
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 #
13,415 jobs at 852 employers (2026 Q1); +0.2% jobs and +3.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 62nd pct · 1,221st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 69th pct · 78th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Longview metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 4 counties in the Longview metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rusk County, TX | 13,415 jobs · $1,155/wk · +0.2% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 1,700 | $804 | 0.84 | -2.1% |
| Retail trade | 1,274 | $696 | 0.97 | +3.2% |
| Manufacturing | 1,214 | $1,112 | 1.12 | -1.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,077 | $408 | 0.89 | +11.6% |
| Construction | 985 | $976 | 1.40 | -11.5% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 764 | $2,044 | 15.99 | -2.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 697 | $934 | 0.91 | -30.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 621 | $1,943 | 1.14 | +6.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 429 | $1,070 | 0.83 | -17.2% |
| Utilities | 384 | $4,699 | 7.25 | -1.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 186 | $1,135 | 0.33 | -5.6% |
| Real estate and rental | 130 | $1,732 | 0.63 | -8.5% |
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 #
D3 extreme 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 #
78 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 23 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 28, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Lake | 79 % full · 76k ac-ft | 24 km |
| Lake Striker | 81 % full · 17k ac-ft | 28 km |
| Lake Cherokee | 80 % full · 40k ac-ft | 30 km |
| Murvaul Lake | 89 % full · 38k ac-ft | 33 km |
| Lake Tyler | 86 % full · 72k ac-ft | 42 km |
| Lake Jacksonville | 97 % full · 26k ac-ft | 57 km |
| Lake Nacogdoches | 86 % full · 40k ac-ft | 58 km |
| Lk Nacogdoches nr Nacogdoches, TX | 33,760 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 58 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 #
27 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 1 stale
Sites found: 27, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Creek at Martin Creek Lake | no readings | 24 km |
| Cherokee Bayou at Lake Cherokee | no flooding | 28 km |
| Striker Creek at Lake Striker | no readings | 28 km |
| E Fk Angelina Rv nr Cushing, TX | flow 48.6 ft³/s · no flooding | 28 km |
| Martin Ck nr Tatum, TX | flow 0.99 ft³/s · STALE | 32 km |
| Murvaul Bayou at Lake Murvaul | no flooding | 33 km |
| Rabbit Ck at Kilgore, TX | flow 4.79 ft³/s · no flooding | 34 km |
| Sabine Rv bl Longview, TX | flow 138.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 34 km |
| Mud Ck nr Jacksonville, TX | flow 71.9 ft³/s · no flooding | 41 km |
| Sabine Rv abv Longview, TX | flow 120.0 ft³/s | 41 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 (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.75 + 0.3×0.22 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.2 bn in deposits at 12 offices of 6 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,091, highly concentrated. $311.8 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $289.0 m, grants $22.7 m), $23,240 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| VeraBank, National Association | $664.2 m · 55.4% share · 4 offices | |
| Texas Bank | $370.1 m · 30.9% share · 4 offices | |
| Henderson Federal Savings Bank | $86.7 m · 7.2% share · 1 office | |
| Rusk, TX | $311.8 m FY2026 · $23,240/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $287.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| VeraBank, National Association | $664,219,000 | 55.4% | 4 |
| Texas Bank | $370,078,000 | 30.9% | 4 |
| Henderson Federal Savings Bank | $86,718,000 | 7.2% | 1 |
| Texas Bank and Trust Company | $42,618,000 | 3.6% | 1 |
| Origin Bank | $30,757,000 | 2.6% | 1 |
| Woodforest National Bank | $4,902,000 | 0.4% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,091 across 6 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 6 banks with deposits in the county = 55.4² + 30.9² + 7.2² + … (3 more) = 4,091
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 | $256,346,447 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $30,481,380 |
| Department of Transportation | $19,723,287 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $2,866,349 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,242,691 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $978,190 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $648,429 |
| Department of Agriculture | $228,742 |
| Department of Education | $138,323 |
| Department of Justice | $34,059 |
| Department of Defense | $2,140 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $23,240 per covered job, against 13,415 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $311.8 m / 13,415 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $23,240
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 | -88,576.00 | 2026-07-01 | -24.4% |
| 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 #
Rusk County, TX: 6 findings, 1 at a watch level and 5 noted
watchRusk County, TX's typical asking rent is -1.2% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; 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: rent.momPct = -1.248763985683876 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZORI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteRusk County, TX's average weekly wage was 3.9% 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
- +3.9 % = 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
noteRusk County, TX's typical asking rent fell 1.2% from $1,190 in July 2026 to $1,175 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -1.2% = (1175 - 1189.8585247375115) / 1189.8585247375115 × 100
- 1175 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1189.8585247375115 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteRusk County, TX's covered employment was 0.2% 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
- +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
noteThe next Zillow ZHVI typical home value (monthly) covering Rusk 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
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.