Boulder County, CO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.09, -105.40.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 97th pct · 66th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 86th pct · 9th of 62 Colorado counties · median $448,803
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 17th pct · 2,516th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 47th pct · 33rd of 62 Colorado counties · median -0.4%
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 90th pct · 133rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 71st pct · 10th of 33 Colorado counties · median $1,931
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 94th pct · 179th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 6th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 98th pct · 38th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 96th pct · 3rd of 64 Colorado counties · median $1,075
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 83rd pct · 493rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 50th pct · 31st of 62 Colorado counties · median 6.4
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder 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 $706,773 (Sep 2026), -0.4% over one year, +5.5% over five
- 97th pct · 66th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 86th pct · 9th of 62 Colorado counties · median $448,803
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Boulder County, CO | $706,773 · -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 $2,196/mo (Sep 2026), +2.5% over one year; price-to-rent 26.8
- 90th pct · 133rd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 71st pct · 10th of 33 Colorado counties · median $1,931
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Boulder County, CO | $2,196/mo · +2.5% 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 $3,915 a month on $706,773 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $9,130 a month: 42.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $706,773 × 80% = $565,419, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $3,915/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $2,107 × 52 / 12 = $9,130) = 43% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $706,773 / ($2,107 × 52) = 6.5
- price-to-rent = $706,773 / ($2,196 × 12) = 26.8
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 #
185,013 jobs at 19,500 employers (2026 Q1); -2.7% jobs and +4.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 94th pct · 179th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 6th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- counties in the Boulder metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Boulder metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Boulder County, CO | 185,013 jobs · $2,107/wk · -2.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional and technical services | 32,168 | $3,678 | 2.52 | -5.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 23,840 | $1,403 | 0.86 | +0.6% |
| Manufacturing | 18,146 | $2,138 | 1.22 | -10.2% |
| Accommodation and food services | 15,921 | $628 | 0.96 | +2.5% |
| Retail trade | 15,710 | $862 | 0.87 | -3.1% |
| Information | 7,826 | $5,379 | 2.29 | -2.2% |
| Wholesale trade | 6,333 | $3,074 | 0.89 | -13.1% |
| Other services | 5,311 | $1,216 | 0.96 | -6.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 5,013 | $1,484 | 0.48 | +0.3% |
| Construction | 4,933 | $1,609 | 0.51 | -2.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 3,907 | $4,459 | 0.52 | +0.2% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 3,686 | $750 | 1.21 | +6.8% |
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 #
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 #
1 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 1, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| WOLFORD MTN RESERVOIR NR KREMMLING, CO | 18,910 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 87 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 #
205 gauges · 0 flooding · 25 with quality panels averaging 98 % · 71 stale
Sites found: 205, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Left Hand Creek (CO) below Jamestown | no flooding | 6 km |
| FOURMILE CANYON CREEK NEAR SUNSHINE, CO | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 6 km |
| USGS-400341105302901 | temp 9.20 °C · quality 100 % (2) · STALE | 10 km |
| BUMMERS GULCH NEAR EL VADO, CO. | flow 0.25 ft³/s · STALE | 10 km |
| Boulder Creek (CO) below Nederland | no flooding | 10 km |
| USGS-400352105304301 | temp 8.40 °C · quality 100 % (2) · STALE | 10 km |
| BOULDER CREEK NEAR ORODELL, CO. | flow 81.0 ft³/s · no flooding · STALE | 11 km |
| Boulder Creek (CO) below Broadway St | no flooding | 13 km |
| South Saint Vrain Creek (CO) above Lyons | no flooding | 14 km |
| Middle Boulder Creek (CO) at Nederland | no flooding | 17 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 #
10 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 10, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-400112105135800 | depth 3.77 ft · 1990-09-29 | 16 km |
| USGS-400116105135100 | depth 6.34 ft · 1990-09-29 | 16 km |
| USGS-400115105135000 | depth 5.12 ft · 1990-09-29 | 16 km |
| USGS-400237104500301 | level 4,913 ft · 2018-11-04 | 49 km |
| USGS-400711104481801 | level 4,859 ft · 2017-07-13 | 51 km |
| USGS-401834104444801 | depth 12.8 ft · 2009-10-14 | 60 km |
| USGS-401842104442501 | depth 11.0 ft · 2009-10-14 | 61 km |
| USGS-402104104404501 | level 4,663 ft · 2018-11-04 | 67 km |
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 (0.49)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.75 + 0.2×0.03 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$11.6 bn in deposits at 89 offices of 32 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,144, moderately concentrated. $3.2 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.8 bn, contracts $784.8 m), $17,294 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $2.7 bn · 23.3% share · 10 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $2.0 bn · 17.1% share · 9 offices | |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1.5 bn · 12.6% share · 8 offices | |
| Boulder, CO | $3.2 bn FY2026 · $17,294/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.6 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $2,696,274,000 | 23.3% | 10 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,970,692,000 | 17.1% | 9 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1,455,109,000 | 12.6% | 8 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $654,759,000 | 5.7% | 5 |
| AMG National Trust Bank | $583,903,000 | 5.1% | 1 |
| First National Bank of Omaha | $573,457,000 | 5.0% | 4 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $447,315,000 | 3.9% | 4 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $381,131,000 | 3.3% | 3 |
| BOKF, National Association | $367,022,000 | 3.2% | 1 |
| FlatIrons Bank | $336,129,000 | 2.9% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,144 across 32 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 32 banks with deposits in the county = 23.3² + 17.1² + 12.6² + … (29 more) = 1,144
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 | $1,477,456,202 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $415,464,369 |
| National Science Foundation | $264,843,559 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $254,793,310 |
| Department of Commerce | $196,939,438 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $119,858,301 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $104,160,629 |
| Department of Defense | $102,718,122 |
| Department of Education | $99,853,692 |
| Department of Transportation | $61,827,271 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $56,244,941 |
| Department of Energy | $17,471,350 |
That is $17,294 per covered job, against 185,013 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $3.2 bn / 185,013 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $17,294
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 | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| 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 · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +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 | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| 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 | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| 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 | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
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 #
Boulder County, CO: 18 findings, 5 at a watch level and 13 noted
watchBoulder County, CO's price-to-rent ratio of 26.8 ranks 54th of 1,358 US counties, a watch level here: price-to-rent in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: priceToRent percentile = 96.09432571849669 >= 90
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the counties that published both ZHVI and ZORI this month; not an official level
watchBoulder County, CO's covered employment is -2.7% 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 = -2.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchBoulder County, CO's price-to-rent ratio is 26.8, a watch level here: typical home value worth 25 or more years of typical rent (typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; 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 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: priceToRent = 26.825945218633038 >= 25
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
typical home value / (typical rent × 12), Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchBoulder County, CO'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 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.yoyPct = -0.4210334491266052 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchBoulder County, CO's years of wages of 6.5 scores 84 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 51 across Colorado counties, a gap of 33 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 33 = |84 across US counties - 51 across Colorado counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.