Jefferson County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 29.85, -94.15.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 28th pct · 2,195th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 37th pct · 153rd of 243 Texas counties · median $207,861
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 64th pct · 1,073rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 79th pct · 51st of 243 Texas counties · median +0.1%
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 30th pct · 949th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 23rd pct · 75th of 98 Texas counties · median $1,449
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 91st pct · 261st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 20th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 92nd pct · 246th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 84th pct · 39th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 7th pct · 2,829th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 19th pct · 196th of 243 Texas counties · median 3.5
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur 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 $176,616 (Sep 2026), +4.1% over one year, +6.1% over five
- 28th pct · 2,195th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 37th pct · 153rd of 243 Texas counties · median $207,861
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TX | $176,616 · +4.1% 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 $1,290/mo (Sep 2026), +2.7% over one year; price-to-rent 11.4
- 30th pct · 949th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 23rd pct · 75th of 98 Texas counties · median $1,449
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TX | $1,290/mo · +2.7% 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 $978 a month on $176,616 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,457 a month: 15.2% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $176,616 × 80% = $141,293, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $978/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,490 × 52 / 12 = $6,457) = 15% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $176,616 / ($1,490 × 52) = 2.3
- price-to-rent = $176,616 / ($1,290 × 12) = 11.4
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 #
122,108 jobs at 5,766 employers (2026 Q1); -3.8% jobs and +1.4% average weekly wage over the year
- 91st pct · 261st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 92nd pct · 20th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Beaumont-Port Arthur metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TX | 122,108 jobs · $1,490/wk · -3.8% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 17,534 | $1,045 | 0.95 | -0.8% |
| Construction | 16,213 | $1,753 | 2.53 | -15.9% |
| Manufacturing | 14,881 | $2,843 | 1.51 | -6.5% |
| Retail trade | 12,070 | $770 | 1.01 | -2.5% |
| Accommodation and food services | 10,587 | $479 | 0.97 | -3.6% |
| Professional and technical services | 5,720 | $1,895 | 0.68 | +0.1% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 5,431 | $1,634 | 1.06 | +8.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 5,429 | $1,683 | 0.78 | -11.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 4,626 | $1,970 | 0.99 | +0.9% |
| Other services | 2,957 | $1,075 | 0.81 | -2.5% |
| Finance and insurance | 2,801 | $1,908 | 0.56 | +0.5% |
| Real estate and rental | 1,954 | $1,368 | 1.04 | +2.8% |
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 #
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: 5, 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 Houston | 98 % full · 132k ac-ft | 96 km |
| B. A. Steinhagen Lake | 94 % full · 69k ac-ft | 105 km |
| Livingston Reservoir | 92 % full · 1,604k ac-ft | 120 km |
| Sam Rayburn Reservoir | 62 % full · 2,857k ac-ft | 134 km |
| Lake Conroe | 93 % full · 418k ac-ft | 147 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 #
low (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.3×0.24 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$6.0 bn in deposits at 42 offices of 18 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,139, highly concentrated. $1.5 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.3 bn, contracts $123.2 m), $12,272 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Stellar Bank | $2.5 bn · 41.8% share · 7 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $602.0 m · 10.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Capital One, National Association | $584.4 m · 9.7% share · 2 offices | |
| Jefferson, TX | $1.5 bn FY2026 · $12,272/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stellar Bank | $2,517,345,000 | 41.8% | 7 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $602,046,000 | 10.0% | 3 |
| Capital One, National Association | $584,408,000 | 9.7% | 2 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $479,601,000 | 8.0% | 3 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $410,128,000 | 6.8% | 1 |
| First Financial Bank | $349,581,000 | 5.8% | 2 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $331,260,000 | 5.5% | 5 |
| Hancock Whitney Bank | $181,327,000 | 3.0% | 2 |
| Texas First Bank | $180,089,000 | 3.0% | 3 |
| Third Coast Bank | $144,276,000 | 2.4% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 2,139 across 18 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 18 banks with deposits in the county = 41.8² + 10.0² + 9.7² + … (15 more) = 2,139
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 | $1,044,199,137 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $147,893,159 |
| Department of Transportation | $120,056,876 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $77,345,155 |
| Department of Education | $49,748,102 |
| Department of Defense | $21,402,808 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $12,267,672 |
| Department of Justice | $8,290,560 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $7,247,713 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,973,205 |
| Department of Energy | $2,818,278 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $2,589,159 |
That is $12,272 per covered job, against 122,108 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.5 bn / 122,108 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $12,272
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 #
Jefferson County, TX: 15 findings, 1 at an alert level, 1 at a watch level and 13 noted
alertJefferson County, TX's covered employment is -3.8% against a year earlier, an alert level here: covered employment at least 3 percent below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; 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 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -3.8 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchJefferson County, TX's covered employment is -3.8% 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 = -3.8 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
noteJefferson County, TX's covered employment was 3.8% lower 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
- -3.8 % = 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
noteJefferson County, TX's average weekly wage was 1.4% 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
- +1.4 % = 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
noteJefferson County, TX's typical asking rent fell 0.4% from $1,295 in August 2026 to $1,290 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.4% = (1290.422132034632 - 1294.9616211248456) / 1294.9616211248456 × 100
- 1290.422132034632 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1294.9616211248456 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
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.