Lea County, NM
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 32.80, -103.41.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 36th pct · 1,937th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 37th pct · 19th of 30 New Mexico counties · median $216,844
- 52nd pct · 1,467th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 68th pct · 10th of 30 New Mexico counties · median +1.6%
- 46th pct · 725th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 38th pct · 9th of 14 New Mexico counties · median $1,498
- 79th pct · 672nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 6th of 33 New Mexico counties · median 8,227
- 88th pct · 366th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 93rd pct · 3rd of 33 New Mexico counties · median $968
- 15th pct · 2,579th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 13th pct · 26th 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 $196,513 (Sep 2026), +3.0% over one year, -17.3% over five
- 36th pct · 1,937th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 37th pct · 19th of 30 New Mexico counties · median $216,844
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lea County, NM | $196,513 · +3.0% 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 $1,469/mo (Sep 2026), +9.1% over one year; price-to-rent 11.1
- 46th pct · 725th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 38th pct · 9th of 14 New Mexico counties · median $1,498
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lea County, NM | $1,469/mo · +9.1% 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 $1,088 a month on $196,513 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,967 a month: 18.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $196,513 × 80% = $157,210, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,088/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,377 × 52 / 12 = $5,967) = 18% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $196,513 / ($1,377 × 52) = 2.7
- price-to-rent = $196,513 / ($1,469 × 12) = 11.1
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 #
34,466 jobs at 2,151 employers (2026 Q1); +1.3% jobs and +2.3% average weekly wage over the year
- 79th pct · 672nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 84th pct · 6th of 33 New Mexico counties · median 8,227
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lea County, NM | 34,466 jobs · $1,377/wk · +1.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mining, oil and gas | 7,279 | $2,027 | 59.31 | -7.5% |
| Retail trade | 3,966 | $692 | 1.18 | +11.4% |
| Construction | 3,363 | $1,399 | 1.86 | +13.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,085 | $509 | 1.00 | -2.9% |
| Health care and social assistance | 2,699 | $1,057 | 0.52 | +1.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,391 | $1,702 | 1.65 | +16.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,240 | $1,177 | 0.63 | -12.7% |
| Other services | 946 | $1,491 | 0.92 | +15.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 913 | $1,857 | 0.69 | -2.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 854 | $1,321 | 0.36 | -8.5% |
| Manufacturing | 681 | $2,487 | 0.25 | +4.4% |
| Real estate and rental | 550 | $1,321 | 1.04 | +3.2% |
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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Red Bluff Reservoir | 46 % full · 145k ac-ft | 110 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 #
Surface water layer not loaded
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 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 (0.38)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.3×0.54 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$2.6 bn in deposits at 19 offices of 8 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,939, highly concentrated. $308.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $256.5 m, grants $50.6 m), $8,940 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1.2 bn · 45.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Lea County State Bank | $662.4 m · 25.5% share · 3 offices | |
| First American Bank | $247.4 m · 9.5% share · 3 offices | |
| Lea, NM | $308.1 m FY2026 · $8,940/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $244.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,185,751,000 | 45.7% | 2 |
| Lea County State Bank | $662,407,000 | 25.5% | 3 |
| First American Bank | $247,437,000 | 9.5% | 3 |
| Western Commerce Bank | $213,849,000 | 8.2% | 5 |
| The James Polk Stone Community Bank | $111,961,000 | 4.3% | 2 |
| WaFd Bank | $90,815,000 | 3.5% | 1 |
| Pioneer Bank | $68,410,000 | 2.6% | 2 |
| First National Bank Texas | $13,056,000 | 0.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,939 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 = 45.7² + 25.5² + 9.5² + … (5 more) = 2,939
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 | $223,224,215 |
| Department of Agriculture | $28,542,633 |
| Department of Transportation | $22,465,516 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $21,093,419 |
| Department of Education | $5,247,537 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $3,430,384 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $2,159,293 |
| Department of the Interior | $973,558 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $842,374 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $156,940 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $0 |
That is $8,940 per covered job, against 34,466 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $308.1 m / 34,466 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $8,940
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 #
Lea County, NM: 11 findings, 1 at a watch level and 10 noted
watchLea County, NM's typical asking rent is +9.1% 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 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: rent.yoyPct = 9.051146071583647 >= 8
arithmetic on Zillow ZORI; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteLea County, NM's average weekly wage was 2.3% 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
- +2.3 % = 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
noteLea County, NM's covered employment was 1.3% 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
- +1.3 % = 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
noteLea County, NM's typical asking rent rose 0.9% from $1,456 in August 2026 to $1,469 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.9% = (1469.1555555555558 - 1456.2046785707792) / 1456.2046785707792 × 100
- 1469.1555555555558 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1456.2046785707792 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteLea County, NM's typical home value fell 0.3% from $197,064 in August 2026 to $196,513 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (196512.97614745505 - 197063.62276029482) / 197063.62276029482 × 100
- 196512.97614745505 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 197063.62276029482 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
Read all 11 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.