Montezuma County, CO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.34, -108.60.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 87th pct · 397th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 45th pct · 34th of 62 Colorado counties · median $448,803
- 38th pct · 1,881st of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 65th pct · 22nd of 62 Colorado counties · median -0.4%
- 68th pct · 426th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 28th pct · 24th of 33 Colorado counties · median $1,931
- 52nd pct · 1,541st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 24th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
- 26th pct · 2,359th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 22nd pct · 50th of 64 Colorado counties · median $1,075
- 94th pct · 181st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 70th pct · 19th of 62 Colorado counties · median 6.4
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 $407,031 (Sep 2026), +1.9% over one year, +17.6% over five
- 87th pct · 397th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 45th pct · 34th of 62 Colorado counties · median $448,803
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montezuma County, CO | $407,031 · +1.9% 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 $1,746/mo (Sep 2026), +6.3% over one year; price-to-rent 19.4
- 68th pct · 426th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 28th pct · 24th of 33 Colorado counties · median $1,931
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montezuma County, CO | $1,746/mo · +6.3% 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 $2,255 a month on $407,031 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,065 a month: 55.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $407,031 × 80% = $325,625, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,255/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $938 × 52 / 12 = $4,065) = 55% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $407,031 / ($938 × 52) = 8.3
- price-to-rent = $407,031 / ($1,746 × 12) = 19.4
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 #
8,852 jobs at 1,058 employers (2026 Q1); -3.4% jobs and +5.6% average weekly wage over the year
- 52nd pct · 1,541st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 63rd pct · 24th of 64 Colorado counties · median 4,853
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montezuma County, CO | 8,852 jobs · $938/wk · -3.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 1,575 | $897 | 1.18 | +0.1% |
| Retail trade | 1,344 | $752 | 1.56 | -6.7% |
| Accommodation and food services | 849 | $475 | 1.07 | -8.8% |
| Construction | 402 | $1,000 | 0.87 | -2.4% |
| Other services | 375 | $637 | 1.42 | +6.8% |
| Manufacturing | 278 | $822 | 0.39 | -5.4% |
| Professional and technical services | 277 | $2,071 | 0.45 | -2.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 228 | $1,137 | 0.67 | -4.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 192 | $1,715 | 0.51 | -7.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 154 | $1,517 | 0.43 | -5.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 126 | $705 | 0.25 | -2.3% |
| Utilities | 93 | $1,878 | 2.66 | +4.5% |
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 #
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 #
1 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 1, 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-375050109034801 | depth 38.4 ft · 2024-07-07 | 70 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 #
high (0.50)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.50 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$788.9 m in deposits at 8 offices of 5 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 2,958, highly concentrated. $265.5 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $207.6 m, contracts $49.8 m), $29,996 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Dolores State Bank | $357.3 m · 45.3% share · 4 offices | |
| Zions Bancorporation, N.A. | $167.1 m · 21.2% share · 1 office | |
| First National Bank, Cortez | $137.2 m · 17.4% share · 1 office | |
| Montezuma, CO | $265.5 m FY2026 · $29,996/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $188.0 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dolores State Bank | $357,326,000 | 45.3% | 4 |
| Zions Bancorporation, N.A. | $167,099,000 | 21.2% | 1 |
| First National Bank, Cortez | $137,246,000 | 17.4% | 1 |
| Four Corners Community Bank | $91,698,000 | 11.6% | 1 |
| First Southwest Bank | $35,537,000 | 4.5% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 2,958 across 5 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 5 banks with deposits in the county = 45.3² + 21.2² + 17.4² + … (2 more) = 2,958
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 | $164,287,017 |
| Department of the Interior | $45,054,297 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $22,763,219 |
| Department of Transportation | $15,751,812 |
| Department of Agriculture | $5,549,925 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $5,141,689 |
| Department of Education | $3,685,238 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $2,328,800 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $627,614 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $320,725 |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $10,000 |
| Small Business Administration | $0 |
That is $29,996 per covered job, against 8,852 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $265.5 m / 8,852 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $29,996
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 #
Montezuma County, CO: 13 findings, 1 at an alert level, 5 at a watch level and 7 noted
alertMontezuma County, CO's covered employment is -3.4% 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 = -3.4 <= -3
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; convention chosen for this dashboard, not an official level
watchMontezuma County, CO's years of wages of 8.3 ranks 181st of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; 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: yearsOfWages percentile = 94.12148922273023 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchMontezuma County, CO's covered employment is -3.4% 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 = -3.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchMontezuma County, CO's price-to-rent ratio of 19.4 scores 70 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 19 across Colorado counties, a gap of 52 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 52 = |70 across US counties - 19 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
watchMontezuma County, CO's typical home value of $407,031 scores 87 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 46 across Colorado counties, a gap of 41 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 41 = |87 across US counties - 46 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.