Lee County, FL
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 26.56, -81.98.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 77th pct · 700th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 57th pct · 29th of 67 Florida counties · median $306,116
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 6th pct · 2,877th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 3rd pct · 65th of 67 Florida counties · median -0.3%
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 74th pct · 347th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 40th pct · 27th of 45 Florida counties · median $1,881
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 96th pct · 100th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 89th pct · 8th of 67 Florida counties · median 43,443
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 80th pct · 633rd of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 74th pct · 18th of 67 Florida counties · median $1,084
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 68th pct · 973rd of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 42nd pct · 39th of 67 Florida counties · median 5.4
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 $334,485 (Sep 2026), -3.5% over one year, +5.9% over five
- 77th pct · 700th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 57th pct · 29th of 67 Florida counties · median $306,116
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lee County, FL | $334,485 · -3.5% 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 $1,827/mo (Sep 2026), -0.1% over one year; price-to-rent 15.3
- 74th pct · 347th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 40th pct · 27th of 45 Florida counties · median $1,881
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lee County, FL | $1,827/mo · -0.1% 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 $1,853 a month on $334,485 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,378 a month: 34.5% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $334,485 × 80% = $267,588, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,853/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,241 × 52 / 12 = $5,378) = 34% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $334,485 / ($1,241 × 52) = 5.2
- price-to-rent = $334,485 / ($1,827 × 12) = 15.3
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 #
306,902 jobs at 29,840 employers (2026 Q1); -0.4% jobs and +2.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 96th pct · 100th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 89th pct · 8th of 67 Florida counties · median 43,443
- counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lee County, FL | 306,902 jobs · $1,241/wk · -0.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 50,048 | $1,406 | 1.08 | +1.1% |
| Retail trade | 42,440 | $830 | 1.42 | -1.4% |
| Construction | 38,280 | $1,342 | 2.38 | -7.1% |
| Accommodation and food services | 35,752 | $674 | 1.30 | +1.3% |
| Administrative and waste services | 19,286 | $947 | 1.11 | -1.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 18,278 | $2,000 | 0.86 | +0.0% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 10,793 | $975 | 2.14 | +3.4% |
| Other services | 10,190 | $949 | 1.11 | +1.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 8,367 | $1,056 | 0.65 | +30.9% |
| Wholesale trade | 8,270 | $1,822 | 0.70 | -1.0% |
| Manufacturing | 7,847 | $1,526 | 0.32 | -5.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 7,526 | $1,534 | 1.60 | -3.1% |
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 #
D0 abnormally dry
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 #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$21.1 bn in deposits at 162 offices of 34 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 803, unconcentrated. $6.3 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $6.0 bn, contracts $127.2 m), $20,460 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $3.2 bn · 15.3% share · 21 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $2.8 bn · 13.1% share · 15 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $2.2 bn · 10.5% share · 15 offices | |
| Lee, FL | $6.3 bn FY2026 · $20,460/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $5.9 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $3,232,787,000 | 15.3% | 21 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $2,762,331,000 | 13.1% | 15 |
| Truist Bank | $2,219,623,000 | 10.5% | 15 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1,991,633,000 | 9.4% | 15 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $1,986,723,000 | 9.4% | 20 |
| Commerce Bank | $1,066,637,000 | 5.1% | 5 |
| Sanibel Captiva Community Bank | $805,900,000 | 3.8% | 8 |
| First Horizon Bank | $790,962,000 | 3.7% | 9 |
| EverBank, National Association | $732,739,000 | 3.5% | 1 |
| Bank OZK | $634,752,000 | 3.0% | 6 |
Deposit concentration is 803 across 33 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 33 banks with deposits in the county = 15.3² + 13.1² + 10.5² + … (30 more) = 803
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 | $5,345,509,737 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $521,393,740 |
| Department of Defense | $91,273,585 |
| Department of Education | $79,926,950 |
| Department of Transportation | $67,342,796 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $66,153,441 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $46,045,472 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $26,622,970 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $10,673,899 |
| Department of Agriculture | $7,859,829 |
| General Services Administration | $7,363,863 |
| Department of Justice | $4,202,366 |
That is $20,460 per covered job, against 306,902 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $6.3 bn / 306,902 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $20,460
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 #
Lee County, FL: 11 findings, 3 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchLee County, FL's typical home value is -3.5% 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 = -3.524425727719688 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
watchLee County, FL's covered employment is -0.4% 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 = -0.4 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchLee County, FL's typical asking rent of $1,827 scores 75 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 41 across Florida counties, a gap of 34 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 34 = |75 across US counties - 41 across Florida counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteLee County, FL's average weekly wage was 2.0% 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 % = 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
noteLee County, FL's covered employment was 0.4% 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
- -0.4 % = 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
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.