Ponce Municipio, PR
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 18.00, -66.61.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- US counties: not published this period
- Puerto Rico counties: not published this period
- counties in the Ponce metro: not published this period
- US counties: not published this period
- Puerto Rico counties: not published this period
- counties in the Ponce metro: not published this period
- US counties: not published this period
- Puerto Rico counties: not published this period
- counties in the Ponce metro: not published this period
- 83rd pct · 535th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 94th pct · 5th of 78 Puerto Rico counties · median 4,800
- 100th pct · 1st of 6 counties in the Ponce metro · median 4,949
- 1st pct · 3,172nd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 62nd pct · 29th of 78 Puerto Rico counties · median $553
- 60th pct · 3rd of 6 counties in the Ponce metro · median $596
- US counties: not published this period
- Puerto Rico counties: not published this period
- counties in the Ponce metro: not published this period
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 #
No Zillow home value index for this area
- US counties: not published this period
- Puerto Rico counties: not published this period
- counties in the Ponce metro: not published this period
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 #
No rent index for this area
- US counties: not published this period
- Puerto Rico counties: not published this period
- counties in the Ponce metro: 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 #
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 #
47,098 jobs at 2,432 employers (2026 Q1); -1.0% jobs and +2.7% average weekly wage over the year
- 83rd pct · 535th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 94th pct · 5th of 78 Puerto Rico counties · median 4,800
- 100th pct · 1st of 6 counties in the Ponce metro · median 4,949
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ponce Municipio, PR | 47,098 jobs · $602/wk · -1.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 7,867 | $486 | 1.71 | +0.2% |
| Health care and social assistance | 6,821 | $679 | 0.96 | -1.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 5,167 | $340 | 1.22 | -2.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 3,100 | $451 | 1.16 | +0.3% |
| Educational services | 2,812 | $693 | 2.78 | +6.1% |
| Manufacturing | 2,713 | $732 | 0.72 | +0.6% |
| Construction | 1,781 | $549 | 0.72 | +5.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,302 | $654 | 0.40 | +5.3% |
| Real estate and rental | 1,066 | $578 | 1.48 | -29.4% |
| Other services | 785 | $427 | 0.56 | +5.7% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 757 | $606 | 0.38 | +2.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 717 | $946 | 0.37 | +2.1% |
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 #
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 #
154 gauges · 0 flooding · 4 with quality panels averaging 86 % · 56 stale
Sites found: 154, 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-50048580 | DO 0.30 mg/l · quality 75 % (4) | 70 km |
| USGS-50048570 | turb. 32.8 FNU · quality 70 % (5) | 69 km |
| USGS-50115900 | flow 619.0 ft³/s · STALE | 2 km |
| USGS-50115240 | flow 2.26 ft³/s | 5 km |
| USGS-50114390 | flow 4.60 ft³/s · STALE | 5 km |
| USGS-50115230 | flow 2.20 ft³/s · STALE | 6 km |
| USGS-50114000 | flow 3.80 ft³/s | 8 km |
| USGS-50115000 | flow 60.0 ft³/s · STALE | 9 km |
| USGS-50112500 | flow 8.58 ft³/s | 10 km |
| USGS-50111750 | flow 22.0 ft³/s · STALE | 11 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 #
132 wells in 3 named aquifers: North Coast Limestone aquifer system (Puerto Rico), South Coast aquifer (Puerto Rico), Other aquifers
Sites found: 132, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| South Coast aquifer (Puerto Rico) | depth 9.78 ft · 2026-10-19 | 1 km |
| South Coast aquifer (Puerto Rico) | depth 16.8 ft · 2009-07-28 | 1 km |
| South Coast aquifer (Puerto Rico) | depth 98.1 ft · 2014-07-10 | 7 km |
| South Coast aquifer (Puerto Rico) | depth 27.9 ft · 2026-10-19 | 9 km |
| Other aquifers | depth 28.8 ft · 1998-02-24 | 11 km |
| PIEZOMETER JAC-1, JUANA DIAZ, PR | depth 18.8 ft · 1989-11-12 | 11 km |
| Other aquifers | depth 28.6 ft · 2026-10-19 | 13 km |
| South Coast aquifer (Puerto Rico) | depth 47.3 ft · 2026-10-19 | 18 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 (0.37)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 + 0.2×0.14 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$2.3 bn in deposits at 15 offices of 3 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,850, highly concentrated. $800.7 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $684.7 m, grants $72.6 m), $17,000 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | $1.2 bn · 51.3% share · 8 offices | |
| FirstBank Puerto Rico | $640.4 m · 28.4% share · 3 offices | |
| Oriental Bank | $458.8 m · 20.3% share · 4 offices | |
| Ponce, PR | $800.7 m FY2026 · $17,000/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $602.8 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banco Popular de Puerto Rico | $1,158,000,000 | 51.3% | 8 |
| FirstBank Puerto Rico | $640,385,000 | 28.4% | 3 |
| Oriental Bank | $458,817,000 | 20.3% | 4 |
Deposit concentration is 3,850 across 3 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 3 banks with deposits in the county = 51.3² + 28.4² + 20.3² = 3,850
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 | $516,462,056 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $86,216,995 |
| Department of Education | $64,857,486 |
| Department of Transportation | $56,952,769 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $34,176,564 |
| Department of Defense | $32,930,880 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $3,877,603 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $2,177,129 |
| Department of Agriculture | $1,258,788 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $860,302 |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $485,683 |
| Department of State | $290,678 |
That is $17,000 per covered job, against 47,098 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $800.7 m / 47,098 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $17,000
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 #
Ponce Municipio, PR: 8 findings, 2 at a watch level and 6 noted
watchPonce Municipio, PR's covered employment is -1.0% 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 = -1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchPonce Municipio, PR's average weekly wage of $602 scores 2 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 63 across Puerto Rico counties, a gap of 61 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 61 = |2 across US counties - 63 across Puerto Rico counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
notePonce Municipio, PR's average weekly wage was 2.7% 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
- +2.7 % = 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
notePonce Municipio, PR's covered employment was 1.0% 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
- -1 % = 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
notePonce Municipio, PR's covered employment of 47,098 ranks 1st of 6 counties in the Ponce metro, against a median of 4,949.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 6 counties in the Ponce metro that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 8 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.