El Paso County, CO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 38.83, -104.53.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 90th pct · 297th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 49th pct · 32nd of 62 Colorado counties · median $448,803
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 12th pct · 2,681st of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 29th pct · 44th of 62 Colorado counties · median -0.4%
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 70th pct · 405th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 31st pct · 23rd of 33 Colorado counties · median $1,931
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 96th pct · 104th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 96th pct · 3rd of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 90th pct · 298th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 82nd pct · 12th of 64 Colorado counties · median $1,075
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 79th pct · 639th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 42nd pct · 36th of 62 Colorado counties · median 6.4
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs 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 $445,559 (Sep 2026), -1.4% over one year, +3.6% over five
- 90th pct · 297th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 49th pct · 32nd of 62 Colorado counties · median $448,803
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| El Paso County, CO | $445,559 · -1.4% 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 $1,761/mo (Sep 2026), +2.8% over one year; price-to-rent 21.1
- 70th pct · 405th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 31st pct · 23rd of 33 Colorado counties · median $1,931
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| El Paso County, CO | $1,761/mo · +2.8% 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 $2,468 a month on $445,559 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,227 a month: 39.6% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $445,559 × 80% = $356,448, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,468/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,437 × 52 / 12 = $6,227) = 40% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $445,559 / ($1,437 × 52) = 6.0
- price-to-rent = $445,559 / ($1,761 × 12) = 21.1
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 #
301,647 jobs at 26,333 employers (2026 Q1); -1.0% jobs and +5.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 96th pct · 104th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 96th pct · 3rd of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- counties in the Colorado Springs metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 2 counties in the Colorado Springs metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| El Paso County, CO | 301,647 jobs · $1,437/wk · -1.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 47,968 | $1,213 | 1.06 | +8.5% |
| Professional and technical services | 33,371 | $2,564 | 1.60 | -1.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 31,491 | $599 | 1.16 | -1.7% |
| Retail trade | 30,582 | $812 | 1.04 | -2.2% |
| Construction | 15,629 | $1,439 | 0.99 | -8.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 14,545 | $1,119 | 0.85 | -4.8% |
| Finance and insurance | 13,073 | $2,304 | 1.06 | +0.1% |
| Other services | 11,874 | $1,165 | 1.32 | -2.7% |
| Manufacturing | 11,307 | $1,828 | 0.47 | -2.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 9,766 | $930 | 0.77 | +7.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 6,426 | $1,911 | 0.56 | -6.3% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 5,404 | $546 | 1.09 | -2.4% |
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 #
D4 exceptional 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: 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 #
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 #
severe (1.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×1.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$10.4 bn in deposits at 130 offices of 40 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 897, unconcentrated. $9.2 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $5.1 bn, contracts $3.9 bn), $30,511 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $2.0 bn · 19.2% share · 10 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1.6 bn · 15.4% share · 10 offices | |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $1.2 bn · 11.6% share · 12 offices | |
| El Paso, CO | $9.2 bn FY2026 · $30,511/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $4.8 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,993,069,000 | 19.2% | 10 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1,603,480,000 | 15.4% | 10 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $1,206,641,000 | 11.6% | 12 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $821,791,000 | 7.9% | 8 |
| UMB Bank, National Association | $430,398,000 | 4.1% | 4 |
| Integrity Bank & Trust | $372,598,000 | 3.6% | 5 |
| ANB Bank | $346,152,000 | 3.3% | 4 |
| Farmers State Bank of Calhan | $284,209,000 | 2.7% | 3 |
| 5Star Bank | $248,522,000 | 2.4% | 3 |
| SouthState Bank, National Association | $204,233,000 | 2.0% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 897 across 39 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 39 banks with deposits in the county = 19.2² + 15.4² + 11.6² + … (36 more) = 897
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 | $2,888,925,738 |
| Department of Defense | $2,669,083,931 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $2,449,038,261 |
| General Services Administration | $392,275,509 |
| Department of Education | $282,477,546 |
| Department of Justice | $208,854,687 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $96,059,701 |
| Department of Transportation | $59,748,187 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $54,758,291 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $39,623,952 |
| Department of the Interior | $13,443,091 |
| Department of the Treasury | $13,242,651 |
That is $30,511 per covered job, against 301,647 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $9.2 bn / 301,647 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $30,511
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 #
El Paso County, CO: 16 findings, 7 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchEl Paso County, CO's typical home value is -1.4% 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 = -1.3950885191078963 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchEl Paso County, CO'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
watchEl Paso County, CO's price-to-rent ratio of 21.1 scores 80 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 38 across Colorado counties, a gap of 43 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 43 = |80 across US counties - 38 across Colorado counties|
- 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
watchEl Paso County, CO's typical home value of $445,559 scores 90 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 49 across Colorado counties, a gap of 41 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 41 = |90 across US counties - 49 across Colorado counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchEl Paso County, CO's typical asking rent of $1,761 scores 70 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 31 across Colorado counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |70 across US counties - 31 across Colorado counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
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.