Chaves County, NM
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 33.36, -104.47.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 25th pct · 2,286th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 27th pct · 22nd of 30 New Mexico counties · median $216,844
- 24th pct · 2,326th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 37th pct · 19th of 30 New Mexico counties · median +1.6%
- 26th pct · 998th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 7th pct · 13th of 14 New Mexico counties · median $1,498
- 73rd pct · 870th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 75th pct · 9th of 33 New Mexico counties · median 8,227
- 29th pct · 2,256th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 40th pct · 20th of 33 New Mexico counties · median $968
- 32nd pct · 2,079th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 37th pct · 19th of 30 New Mexico counties · median 4.2
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 $171,293 (Sep 2026), +0.4% over one year, -4.2% over five
- 25th pct · 2,286th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 27th pct · 22nd of 30 New Mexico counties · median $216,844
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chaves County, NM | $171,293 · +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 $1,263/mo (Sep 2026), +7.5% over one year; price-to-rent 11.3
- 26th pct · 998th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 7th pct · 13th of 14 New Mexico counties · median $1,498
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chaves County, NM | $1,263/mo · +7.5% 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 $949 a month on $171,293 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,125 a month: 23.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $171,293 × 80% = $137,034, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $949/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $952 × 52 / 12 = $4,125) = 23% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $171,293 / ($952 × 52) = 3.5
- price-to-rent = $171,293 / ($1,263 × 12) = 11.3
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 #
21,997 jobs at 1,781 employers (2026 Q1); +0.8% jobs and +3.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 73rd pct · 870th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 75th pct · 9th of 33 New Mexico counties · median 8,227
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Chaves County, NM | 21,997 jobs · $952/wk · +0.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 3,866 | $947 | 1.17 | +1.7% |
| Retail trade | 3,004 | $663 | 1.40 | -0.4% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,914 | $423 | 1.47 | -0.3% |
| Manufacturing | 934 | $1,224 | 0.53 | +4.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 925 | $1,000 | 1.10 | +1.4% |
| Construction | 867 | $960 | 0.75 | +19.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 792 | $878 | 4.98 | -6.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 716 | $981 | 0.77 | -9.7% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 601 | $2,375 | 7.67 | +3.8% |
| Other services | 571 | $660 | 0.87 | -0.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 550 | $1,128 | 0.36 | +0.7% |
| Administrative and waste services | 550 | $821 | 0.44 | +9.6% |
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 #
D1 moderate 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 #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
Sites found: 0, 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.
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 #
17 gauges · 0 flooding · 0 with quality panels · 7 stale
Sites found: 17, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| RIO HONDO NEAR ROSWELL, NM | flow 33.7 ft³/s | 5 km |
| RIO HONDO AT ROSWELL, NM | flow 0.00 ft³/s · STALE | 7 km |
| PECOS R N BOUNDARY (BLM WETLANDS) NR DEXTER, NM | flow 19.8 ft³/s · STALE | 11 km |
| PECOS R S BOUNDARY (BLM WETLANDS) NR DEXTER, NM | flow 20.0 ft³/s · STALE | 15 km |
| ROCKY ARROYO BLW ROCKY DAM, NM | flow 1.75 ft³/s | 24 km |
| RIO HONDO BLW DIAMOND A DAM NR ROSWELL, NM | flow 31.9 ft³/s | 24 km |
| PECOS RIVER NEAR ACME, NM | flow 37.7 ft³/s · no flooding | 25 km |
| RIO HONDO AT DIAMOND A RANCH NR ROSWELL, NM | flow 41.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 35 km |
| PECOS RIVER ABOVE ACME, NM | flow 77.0 ft³/s · STALE | 39 km |
| PECOS RIVER NEAR LAKE ARTHUR, NM | flow 58.3 ft³/s | 44 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 #
1 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 1, 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-332115103403301 | depth 60.2 ft · 2024-05-06 | 74 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 (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.3 bn in deposits at 18 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,828, highly concentrated. $456.4 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $307.6 m, contracts $117.2 m), $20,750 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Bank | $336.3 m · 25.3% share · 3 offices | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $292.4 m · 22.0% share · 2 offices | |
| Valley Bank of Commerce | $260.2 m · 19.6% share · 3 offices | |
| Chaves, NM | $456.4 m FY2026 · $20,750/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $290.9 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Bank | $336,253,000 | 25.3% | 3 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $292,404,000 | 22.0% | 2 |
| Valley Bank of Commerce | $260,160,000 | 19.6% | 3 |
| WaFd Bank | $165,932,000 | 12.5% | 1 |
| First American Bank | $148,914,000 | 11.2% | 2 |
| The James Polk Stone Community Bank | $73,727,000 | 5.5% | 2 |
| Bank of the Southwest | $46,834,000 | 3.5% | 4 |
| First National Bank Texas | $6,363,000 | 0.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,828 across 8 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 8 banks with deposits in the county = 25.3² + 22.0² + 19.6² + … (5 more) = 1,828
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 | $255,747,327 |
| Department of Agriculture | $108,597,675 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $34,573,717 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $15,902,380 |
| Department of Transportation | $14,757,670 |
| Department of Energy | $10,000,000 |
| Department of Labor | $9,459,562 |
| Department of Education | $2,355,197 |
| Department of the Interior | $1,166,385 |
| General Services Administration | $1,148,573 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $821,312 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $742,211 |
That is $20,750 per covered job, against 21,997 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $456.4 m / 21,997 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $20,750
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 #
Chaves County, NM: 9 findings, 9 noted
noteChaves County, NM's average weekly wage was 3.4% 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
- +3.4 % = 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
noteChaves County, NM'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
noteChaves County, NM's typical asking rent rose 0.6% from $1,256 in August 2026 to $1,263 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.6% = (1263.4444444444443 - 1256.154665636788) / 1256.154665636788 × 100
- 1263.4444444444443 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1256.154665636788 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteChaves County, NM's typical home value fell 0.4% from $171,963 in August 2026 to $171,293 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.4% = (171293.01928556387 - 171963.45368973233) / 171963.45368973233 × 100
- 171293.01928556387 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 171963.45368973233 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteChaves County, NM's price-to-rent ratio of 11.3 ranks 1,300th of 1,358 US counties, against a median of 17.0.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 4 on the 0-to-100 scale across 1358 US counties that published priceToRent
- typical home value / (typical rent × 12); Zillow ZHVI over ZORI, same month
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 9 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.