Smith County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 32.38, -95.27.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 62nd pct · 1,162nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 71st pct · 69th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 17th pct · 2,513th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 44th pct · 136th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 39th pct · 847th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 35th pct · 69th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 91st pct · 273rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 91st pct · 23rd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 74th pct · 826th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 61st pct · 99th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 53rd pct · 1,437th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 69th pct · 76th of 243 Texas counties · median 3.6
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler 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 $271,237 (Aug 2026), -0.4% over one year, +23.2% over five
- 62nd pct · 1,162nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 71st pct · 69th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Smith County, TX | $271,237 · -0.4% 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 #
Typical rent $1,378/mo (Aug 2026), +1.8% over one year; price-to-rent 16.4
- 39th pct · 847th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 35th pct · 69th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Smith County, TX | $1,378/mo · +1.8% 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 $1,485 a month on $271,237 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,122 a month: 29.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $271,237 × 80% = $216,990, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,485/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,182 × 52 / 12 = $5,122) = 29% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $271,237 / ($1,182 × 52) = 4.4
- price-to-rent = $271,237 / ($1,378 × 12) = 16.4
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 #
116,048 jobs at 6,819 employers (2026 Q1); +0.8% jobs and +5.5% average weekly wage over the year
- 91st pct · 273rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 91st pct · 23rd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Tyler metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Tyler metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Smith County, TX | 116,048 jobs · $1,182/wk · +0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 25,963 | $1,287 | 1.49 | +1.8% |
| Retail trade | 13,703 | $806 | 1.21 | +0.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 11,785 | $444 | 1.13 | +0.2% |
| Manufacturing | 7,427 | $1,315 | 0.80 | -0.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 6,275 | $1,670 | 0.78 | +12.4% |
| Construction | 5,228 | $1,221 | 0.86 | -1.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 5,167 | $1,130 | 1.06 | -0.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 5,131 | $1,453 | 1.15 | -8.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 4,751 | $849 | 0.72 | -0.5% |
| Other services | 3,110 | $862 | 0.90 | +1.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 2,994 | $2,019 | 0.63 | +3.9% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 1,639 | $2,544 | 3.97 | +5.8% |
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 #
86 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 29 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 34, 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 Tyler | 86 % full · 72k ac-ft | 17 km |
| Lake Palestine | 89 % full · 367k ac-ft | 39 km |
| Lake Athens | 98 % full · 30k ac-ft | 50 km |
| Lake Jacksonville | 97 % full · 26k ac-ft | 52 km |
| Lake Fork Reservoir | 82 % full · 606k ac-ft | 54 km |
| Lake Fk Res nr Quitman, TX | 560,100 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 54 km |
| Lake Striker | 81 % full · 17k ac-ft | 56 km |
| Lake Cherokee | 80 % full · 40k ac-ft | 56 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 #
22 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 2 stale
Sites found: 22, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sabine Rv nr Hawkins, TX | flow 123.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 21 km |
| Big Sandy Ck nr Big Sandy, TX | flow 19.9 ft³/s · no flooding | 30 km |
| Sabine Rv nr Mineola, TX | flow 20.2 ft³/s · no flooding | 33 km |
| Sabine Rv nr Gladewater, TX | flow 156.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 34 km |
| Rabbit Ck at Kilgore, TX | flow 3.24 ft³/s · no flooding | 34 km |
| Neches River at Lake Palestine | no flooding | 39 km |
| Sabine Rv abv Longview, TX | flow 157.0 ft³/s | 45 km |
| Mud Ck nr Jacksonville, TX | flow 62.4 ft³/s · no flooding | 45 km |
| Lake Fk Ck nr Quitman, TX | flow 75.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 47 km |
| North Texas Lakes at Lake Athens | no readings | 50 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 #
moderate (0.34)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.3×0.14 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$9.0 bn in deposits at 89 offices of 28 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,556, moderately concentrated. $1.6 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.5 bn, grants $85.9 m), $13,475 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Southside Bank | $3.1 bn · 34.5% share · 21 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $895.7 m · 9.9% share · 2 offices | |
| Texas Bank and Trust Company | $682.1 m · 7.6% share · 5 offices | |
| Smith, TX | $1.6 bn FY2026 · $13,475/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.4 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southside Bank | $3,105,136,000 | 34.5% | 21 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $895,655,000 | 9.9% | 2 |
| Texas Bank and Trust Company | $682,138,000 | 7.6% | 5 |
| Austin Bank, Texas National Association | $655,765,000 | 7.3% | 10 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $575,883,000 | 6.4% | 5 |
| American State Bank | $535,514,000 | 5.9% | 5 |
| Capital One, National Association | $450,667,000 | 5.0% | 1 |
| Texas National Bank of Jacksonville | $338,224,000 | 3.8% | 4 |
| Citizens 1st Bank | $291,868,000 | 3.2% | 1 |
| VeraBank, National Association | $265,484,000 | 2.9% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 1,556 across 28 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 28 banks with deposits in the county = 34.5² + 9.9² + 7.6² + … (25 more) = 1,556
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 | $1,189,464,537 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $193,605,665 |
| Department of Transportation | $70,345,709 |
| Department of Education | $61,292,036 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $13,613,863 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $11,970,333 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $11,415,735 |
| Department of Justice | $4,476,981 |
| Department of Defense | $2,533,580 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $2,495,412 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,853,664 |
| National Science Foundation | $1,125,752 |
That is $13,475 per covered job, against 116,048 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.6 bn / 116,048 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,475
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 #
Smith County, TX: 7 findings, 1 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchSmith County, TX's typical home value is -0.4% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical home value below a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; 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: home.yoyPct = -0.4203640615645469 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteSmith County, TX's average weekly wage was 5.5% 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
- +5.5 % = 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
noteSmith County, TX's covered employment was 0.8% 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
- +0.8 % = 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
noteSmith County, TX's covered employment of 116,048 ranks 273rd of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 92 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteSmith County, TX's covered employment of 116,048 ranks 23rd of 254 Texas counties, against a median of 6,022.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 91 on the 0-to-100 scale across 254 Texas counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 7 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.