Taylor County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 32.30, -99.89.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 48th pct · 1,590th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 57th pct · 105th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 94th pct · 173rd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 93rd pct · 17th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.0%
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 83rd pct · 226th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 96th pct · 5th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 87th pct · 395th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 88th pct · 30th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 71st pct · 926th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 58th pct · 106th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 39th pct · 1,850th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 54th pct · 111th of 243 Texas counties · median 3.6
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene 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 $229,535 (Aug 2026), +9.2% over one year, +28.8% over five
- 48th pct · 1,590th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 57th pct · 105th of 243 Texas counties · median $215,660
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor County, TX | $229,535 · +9.2% 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 $2,016/mo (Aug 2026), +33.6% over one year; price-to-rent 9.5
- 83rd pct · 226th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 96th pct · 5th of 106 Texas counties · median $1,483
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor County, TX | $2,016/mo · +33.6% 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 $1,256 a month on $229,535 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,022 a month: 25.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $229,535 × 80% = $183,628, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,256/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,159 × 52 / 12 = $5,022) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $229,535 / ($1,159 × 52) = 3.8
- price-to-rent = $229,535 / ($2,016 × 12) = 9.5
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 #
69,604 jobs at 3,842 employers (2026 Q1); +1.6% jobs and +4.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 87th pct · 395th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 88th pct · 30th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Abilene metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Abilene metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor County, TX | 69,604 jobs · $1,159/wk · +1.6% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 11,852 | $1,301 | 1.13 | +1.3% |
| Retail trade | 7,832 | $861 | 1.15 | -0.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 7,402 | $456 | 1.18 | +0.7% |
| Construction | 4,752 | $1,522 | 1.30 | +37.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 3,476 | $1,564 | 1.30 | -0.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 3,447 | $1,116 | 0.87 | +4.2% |
| Educational services | 3,351 | $912 | 2.24 | +2.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 3,210 | $1,787 | 1.13 | +4.6% |
| Manufacturing | 2,783 | $1,130 | 0.50 | -3.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,464 | $1,416 | 0.51 | -6.3% |
| Other services | 2,175 | $860 | 1.05 | +5.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,732 | $1,365 | 0.59 | +7.8% |
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 #
35 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 23 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 26, 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 Abilene | 8 % full · 8k ac-ft | 7 km |
| Fort Phantom Hill Reservoir | 67 % full · 70k ac-ft | 39 km |
| Lake Sweetwater | 17 % full · 12k ac-ft | 42 km |
| Oak Creek Reservoir | 14 % full · 39k ac-ft | 46 km |
| Lake Coleman | 78 % full · 38k ac-ft | 50 km |
| Hords Creek Lake | 45 % full · 8k ac-ft | 60 km |
| E. V. Spence Reservoir | 9 % full · 517k ac-ft | 75 km |
| E. V. Spence Res nr Robert Lee, TX | 47,890 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 75 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 #
18 gauges · 0 flooding · 1 with quality panels averaging 50 % · 2 stale
Sites found: 18, 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 nr Ballinger, TX | flow 0.85 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) | 66 km |
| Elm Ck at FM 89 nr Buffalo Gap, TX | stage 3.46 ft | 6 km |
| Little Elm Ck at Dub Wright Blvd, Abilene, TX | stage 9.27 ft · STALE | 17 km |
| Cat Claw Ck at Abilene, TX | flow 0.02 ft³/s | 24 km |
| Cedar Ck at IH 20, Abilene, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 27 km |
| Elm Ck at Abilene, TX | flow 0.03 ft³/s | 27 km |
| Clear Fk Brazos Rv at Hwy 83 nr Hawley, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 34 km |
| Clear Fk Brazos Rv at FM 3116 nr Anson, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 41 km |
| Clear Fk Brazos Rv nr Noodle, TX | flow 2.77 ft³/s · STALE | 45 km |
| Clear Fk Brazos Rv at Nugent, TX | flow 1.11 ft³/s | 48 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 (0.55)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.3×0.65 + 0.2×0.50 / 0.85
Banks & federal dollars #
$5.0 bn in deposits at 37 offices of 15 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 4,367, highly concentrated. $1.1 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $846.9 m, grants $178.1 m), $16,279 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| First Financial Bank | $3.3 bn · 64.9% share · 14 offices | |
| Prosperity Bank | $347.6 m · 6.9% share · 7 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $347.3 m · 6.9% share · 1 office | |
| Taylor, TX | $1.1 bn FY2026 · $16,279/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $809.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Financial Bank | $3,263,602,000 | 64.9% | 14 |
| Prosperity Bank | $347,572,000 | 6.9% | 7 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $347,335,000 | 6.9% | 1 |
| Clear Fork Bank, National Association | $248,227,000 | 4.9% | 1 |
| First National Bank and Trust Company of Weatherford | $205,121,000 | 4.1% | 3 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $178,309,000 | 3.5% | 1 |
| Coleman County State Bank | $92,149,000 | 1.8% | 2 |
| Centennial Bank | $68,124,000 | 1.4% | 1 |
| The City National Bank of Colorado City | $66,818,000 | 1.3% | 1 |
| Western Bank | $62,217,000 | 1.2% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 4,367 across 15 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 15 banks with deposits in the county = 64.9² + 6.9² + 6.9² + … (12 more) = 4,367
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 | $596,721,690 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $211,398,778 |
| Department of Transportation | $148,011,536 |
| Department of Defense | $102,095,750 |
| Department of Education | $31,970,490 |
| Department of Agriculture | $17,327,150 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $13,673,992 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $6,775,677 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $2,360,939 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,446,944 |
| General Services Administration | $1,135,518 |
| Department of Commerce | $139,040 |
That is $16,279 per covered job, against 69,604 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.1 bn / 69,604 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,279
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 #
Taylor County, TX: 15 findings, 2 at a watch level and 13 noted
watchTaylor County, TX's typical asking rent is +33.6% against a year earlier, a watch level here: typical asking rent at least 8 percent above a year ago (arithmetic on Zillow ZORI; 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.yoyPct = 33.60134859794525 >= 8
arithmetic on Zillow ZORI; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchTaylor County, TX's typical asking rent is -1.3% 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 = -1.2819176291824195 <= -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
noteTaylor County, TX's average weekly wage was 4.0% 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
- +4 % = 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
noteTaylor County, TX's covered employment was 1.6% 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
- +1.6 % = 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
noteTaylor County, TX's typical asking rent fell 1.3% from $2,043 in July 2026 to $2,016 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- -1.3% = (2016.4069934699528 - 2042.5913318450262) / 2042.5913318450262 × 100
- 2016.4069934699528 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 2042.5913318450262 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
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.