Montgomery County, TX
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 30.30, -95.50.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 78th pct · 664th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 87th pct · 32nd of 243 Texas counties · median $207,861
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $332,146
- 12th pct · 2,685th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 34th pct · 160th of 243 Texas counties · median +0.1%
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median -1.6%
- 68th pct · 430th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 88th pct · 12th of 98 Texas counties · median $1,449
- 50th pct · 5th of 9 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $1,744
- 95th pct · 141st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 95th pct · 12th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 77th pct · 3rd of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median 76,883
- 94th pct · 176th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 89th pct · 28th of 254 Texas counties · median $1,115
- 88th pct · 2nd of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $1,347
- 48th pct · 1,586th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 64th pct · 87th of 243 Texas counties · median 3.5
- 22nd pct · 8th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median 4.6
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 $340,504 (Sep 2026), -1.4% over one year, +12.7% over five
- 78th pct · 664th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 87th pct · 32nd of 243 Texas counties · median $207,861
- 55th pct · 5th of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $332,146
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, TX | $340,504 · -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 $1,744/mo (Sep 2026), +0.6% over one year; price-to-rent 16.3
- 68th pct · 430th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 88th pct · 12th of 98 Texas counties · median $1,449
- 50th pct · 5th of 9 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median $1,744
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, TX | $1,744/mo · +0.6% 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 $1,886 a month on $340,504 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,890 a month: 27.4% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $340,504 × 80% = $272,403, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,886/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,590 × 52 / 12 = $6,890) = 27% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $340,504 / ($1,590 × 52) = 4.1
- price-to-rent = $340,504 / ($1,744 × 12) = 16.3
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 #
239,165 jobs at 15,567 employers (2026 Q1); +2.5% jobs and +5.9% average weekly wage over the year
- 95th pct · 141st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 95th pct · 12th of 254 Texas counties · median 6,022
- 77th pct · 3rd of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro · median 76,883
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, TX | 239,165 jobs · $1,590/wk · +2.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 29,923 | $1,262 | 0.83 | +6.1% |
| Retail trade | 28,742 | $817 | 1.23 | +0.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 27,850 | $525 | 1.30 | +2.0% |
| Construction | 22,470 | $1,754 | 1.79 | +12.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 15,900 | $2,032 | 0.96 | +1.1% |
| Manufacturing | 13,057 | $2,243 | 0.68 | -1.5% |
| Administrative and waste services | 11,233 | $1,453 | 0.83 | +1.6% |
| Wholesale trade | 8,579 | $2,275 | 0.94 | +5.0% |
| Other services | 7,465 | $928 | 1.04 | +3.0% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 6,895 | $3,414 | 0.68 | +0.3% |
| Finance and insurance | 6,863 | $2,945 | 0.70 | -10.3% |
| Mining, oil and gas | 4,666 | $6,088 | 5.48 | -5.1% |
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 #
D1 moderate 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: 8, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Conroe | 93 % full · 418k ac-ft | 9 km |
| Lake Houston | 98 % full · 132k ac-ft | 55 km |
| Livingston Reservoir | 92 % full · 1,604k ac-ft | 60 km |
| Gibbons Creek Reservoir | 86 % full · 26k ac-ft | 64 km |
| Somerville Lake | 89 % full · 150k ac-ft | 98 km |
| Houston County Lake | 94 % full · 17k ac-ft | 124 km |
| B. A. Steinhagen Lake | 93 % full · 69k ac-ft | 138 km |
| Lake Limestone | 83 % full · 204k ac-ft | 138 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 #
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 (0.17)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 + 0.3×0.08 / 0.65
Banks & federal dollars #
$18.3 bn in deposits at 164 offices of 36 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,266, moderately concentrated. $3.8 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $3.7 bn, grants $85.2 m), $15,893 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Woodforest National Bank | $4.1 bn · 22.4% share · 32 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $3.6 bn · 19.7% share · 17 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $2.0 bn · 10.9% share · 9 offices | |
| Montgomery, TX | $3.8 bn FY2026 · $15,893/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $3.7 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodforest National Bank | $4,089,939,000 | 22.4% | 32 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $3,598,610,000 | 19.7% | 17 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $1,984,529,000 | 10.9% | 9 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,807,811,000 | 9.9% | 13 |
| Zions Bancorporation, N.A. | $1,629,292,000 | 8.9% | 9 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1,020,092,000 | 5.6% | 13 |
| First Financial Bank | $970,654,000 | 5.3% | 8 |
| Frost Bank | $418,090,000 | 2.3% | 3 |
| Simmons Bank | $337,215,000 | 1.8% | 5 |
| Prosperity Bank | $327,399,000 | 1.8% | 5 |
Deposit concentration is 1,266 across 35 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 35 banks with deposits in the county = 22.4² + 19.7² + 10.9² + … (32 more) = 1,266
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 | $2,962,817,054 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $684,368,189 |
| Department of Transportation | $56,683,106 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $24,659,614 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $23,482,163 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $22,694,788 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $11,777,884 |
| Department of Defense | $3,520,159 |
| Department of Agriculture | $3,431,898 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $2,884,639 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $2,109,422 |
| Department of Energy | $967,192 |
That is $15,893 per covered job, against 239,165 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $3.8 bn / 239,165 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $15,893
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 #
Montgomery County, TX: 10 findings, 1 at a watch level and 9 noted
watchMontgomery County, TX'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 = -1.4248224045476947 < 0
arithmetic on Zillow ZHVI, county and metro files; not an official level
noteMontgomery County, TX's average weekly wage was 5.9% 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
- +5.9 % = 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
noteMontgomery County, TX's covered employment was 2.5% 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
- +2.5 % = 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
noteMontgomery County, TX's momentum index of 0.46 ranks 1st of 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro, against a median of 0.19.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 100 on the 0-to-100 scale across 10 counties in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro that published momentum
- momentum = Σ wᵢ · clip(changeᵢ / scaleᵢ, −1, 1) / Σ wᵢ over the terms present; weights and scales: home value 1-yr change 0.3 (±10%), rent 1-yr change 0.15 (±10%), jobs over-the-year change 0.3 (±3%), avg weekly wage over-the-year change 0.25 (±6%)
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMontgomery County, TX's covered employment of 239,165 ranks 141st of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 96 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 10 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.