Karnes County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 28.91, -97.85.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 41st pct · 1,799th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 50th pct · 122nd of 243 Texas counties · median $207,861
- 14th pct · 2,614th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 39th pct · 148th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.1%
- US counties: not published this period
- Texas counties: not published this period
- 44th pct · 1,803rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 51st pct · 123rd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 96th pct · 129th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 92nd pct · 21st of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 9th pct · 2,765th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 23rd pct · 186th of 243 Texas counties · median 3.5
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 $207,861 (Sep 2026), -1.0% over one year, -27.7% over five
- 41st pct · 1,799th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 50th pct · 122nd of 243 Texas counties · median $207,861
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Karnes County, TX | $207,861 · -1.0% 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 #
Zillow publishes no rent index for this area (ZORI covers about 1,400 counties)
- US counties: not published this period
- Texas counties: not published this period
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 $1,151 a month on $207,861 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $7,258 a month: 15.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $207,861 × 80% = $166,289, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,151/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,675 × 52 / 12 = $7,258) = 16% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $207,861 / ($1,675 × 52) = 2.4
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 #
6,437 jobs at 396 employers (2026 Q1); +5.3% jobs and +3.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 44th pct · 1,803rd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 51st pct · 123rd of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Karnes County, TX | 6,437 jobs · $1,675/wk · +5.3% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative and waste services | 812 | $1,393 | 2.22 | +30.3% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 602 | $1,691 | 26.27 | -17.1% |
| Retail trade | 576 | $653 | 0.92 | -0.5% |
| Construction | 294 | $1,324 | 0.87 | +31.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 256 | $2,304 | 0.94 | +3.2% |
| Manufacturing | 241 | $1,528 | 0.47 | +4.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 198 | $1,585 | 0.80 | -8.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 128 | $1,630 | 0.49 | +9.4% |
| Utilities | 98 | $1,980 | 3.85 | -1.0% |
| Real estate and rental | 94 | $1,128 | 0.95 | +0.0% |
| Other services | 86 | $1,091 | 0.45 | +16.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 63 | $821 | 1.35 | -11.3% |
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 #
55 % of conservation capacity, weighted over 6 TWDB reservoirs
Sites found: 9, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Choke Canyon Res nr Three Rivers, TX | 141,600 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 61 km |
| Choke Canyon Reservoir | 21 % full · 663k ac-ft | 61 km |
| Coleto Creek Reservoir | 75 % full · 31k ac-ft | 70 km |
| Lake Corpus Christi | 81 % full · 256k ac-ft | 97 km |
| Lk Corpus Christi nr Mathis, TX | 206,800 Acre-ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 97 km |
| Canyon Lake | 97 % full · 379k ac-ft | 112 km |
| Lake Texana | 87 % full · 159k ac-ft | 124 km |
| Medina Lake | 28 % full · 255k ac-ft | 126 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 #
41 gauges · 0 flooding · 5 with quality panels averaging 92 % · 1 stale
Sites found: 41, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ecleto Ck nr Runge, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 8 km |
| Escondido Ck at Kenedy, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 10 km |
| San Antonio Rv at SH 72 nr Runge, TX | flow 165.0 ft³/s · quality 90 % (5) · no flooding | 13 km |
| Cibolo Ck nr Falls City, TX | flow 24.5 ft³/s · no flooding | 14 km |
| San Antonio Rv nr Falls City, TX | flow 177.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 21 km |
| San Antonio Rv nr Floresville, TX | flow 148.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 38 km |
| Medio Ck nr Normanna, TX | stage 214.1 ft | 44 km |
| Cibolo Ck at Sutherland Springs, TX | flow 24.3 ft³/s · no flooding | 46 km |
| Atascosa Rv nr McCoy, TX | flow 0.00 ft³/s | 48 km |
| Sandies Ck at FM 108 nr Smiley, TX | flow 0.00 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 #
6 wells in 3 named aquifers: Edwards-Trinity aquifer system, Texas coastal uplands aquifer system, Coastal lowlands aquifer system
Sites found: 6, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ZL-67-57-102 (Kosciusko) | depth 22.0 ft · 2008-09-29 | 25 km |
| Coastal lowlands aquifer system | depth 25.1 ft · 2008-09-29 | 45 km |
| Coastal lowlands aquifer system | depth 7.30 ft · 2008-09-30 | 46 km |
| Texas coastal uplands aquifer system | depth 34.3 ft · 2008-11-12 | 48 km |
| Texas coastal uplands aquifer system | depth 148.5 ft · 2008-09-29 | 48 km |
| Edwards-Trinity aquifer system | depth 22.2 ft · 2013-10-19 | 75 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 (0.39)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.3×0.45 + 0.2×0.08 / 0.85
Banks & federal dollars #
$1.1 bn in deposits at 5 offices of 4 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,744, highly concentrated. $83.2 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $70.1 m, grants $13.0 m), $12,931 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Karnes County National Bank of Karnes City | $509.2 m · 47.7% share · 2 offices | |
| The Falls City National Bank | $391.6 m · 36.7% share · 1 office | |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $98.1 m · 9.2% share · 1 office | |
| Karnes, TX | $83.2 m FY2026 · $12,931/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $68.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Karnes County National Bank of Karnes City | $509,182,000 | 47.7% | 2 |
| The Falls City National Bank | $391,646,000 | 36.7% | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $98,100,000 | 9.2% | 1 |
| Texas Champion Bank | $69,020,000 | 6.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 3,744 across 4 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 4 banks with deposits in the county = 47.7² + 36.7² + 9.2² + … (1 more) = 3,744
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 | $58,016,690 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $9,880,389 |
| Department of Transportation | $9,748,435 |
| Department of Education | $2,950,824 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $1,423,127 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,306,713 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $120,739 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $111,210 |
| Department of Defense | $64,862 |
| Department of the Interior | $32,600 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | -$420,870 |
That is $12,931 per covered job, against 6,437 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $83.2 m / 6,437 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $12,931
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 #
Karnes County, TX: 11 findings, 2 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchKarnes County, TX's typical home value is -1.0% 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 = -0.9820799989375409 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchKarnes County, TX's typical home value is -1.8% against the previous month, a watch level here: typical home value at least 1 percent below the previous month (arithmetic on the Zillow ZHVI 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 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- test: home.momPct = -1.799805244469381 <= -1
- month-over-month percent change = (newest month − previous month) / |previous month| × 100, from Zillow's own published month columns
arithmetic on the Zillow ZHVI month columns; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
noteKarnes County, TX's covered employment was 5.3% 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
- +5.3 % = 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
noteKarnes County, TX's average weekly wage was 3.8% 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
- +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
noteKarnes County, TX's typical home value fell 1.8% from $211,671 in August 2026 to $207,861 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -1.8% = (207861.05062183508 - 211670.71118270708) / 211670.71118270708 × 100
- 207861.05062183508 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 211670.71118270708 = 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.