City · McLennan County, Texas

Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in McLennan County, Texas, part of the Waco, TX metro area. It has 143,570 residents. Waco, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,903 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #707 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), average commute time (low) and child care cost burden (low). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), food environment index (low) and child poverty rate (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,903 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #707 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 143,570 (2020-2024)
Land area: 91 mi²
Density: 1,577.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 4876000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety33#10,527/15,637
Economy17#13,009/15,631
Housing13#12,970/14,977
Health31#10,727/15,609
Healthcare19#12,717/15,650
Environment49#7,949/15,453
Education27#11,375/15,649
Infrastructure38#9,765/15,650
Community9#14,164/15,651
Leisure & amenities16#13,088/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Waco, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “McLennan County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Natural hazard risk · low1.0
99/100Texas 39.62025Federal Emergency Management AgencyMcLennan County value
Average commute time · low18.7 min
92/100Texas 26.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Child care cost burden · low22.6%
86/100Texas 24.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLennan County value
New homes permitted · high7.6 /1k
83/100Texas 6.3 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Comfortable days · high30.7%
81/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMcLennan County value
Injury deaths · low69 /100k
80/100Texas 69 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLennan County value

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.511
3/100Texas 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Food environment index · low6.1
4/100Texas 5.7United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMcLennan County value
Child poverty rate · high28.2%
5/100Texas 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Time spent in the emergency room · high239 min
5/100Texas 149 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMcLennan County value
Rent-burdened households · high58.3%
8/100Texas 51.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Poverty rate · high23.1%
8/100Texas 13.4%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
135,858 (2015-2019) → 143,570 (2020-2024)
+5.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.4% (2015-2019) → 88.9% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedImproving
5.4 /1k (2021) → 7.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+40%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$40,190 (2015-2019) → $54,365 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.1× (2015-2019) → 4.1× (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.6% (2015-2019) → 86.0% (2020-2024)
+4.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Waco, Texas improved on 6 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved6

High school++4.4 points81.6% → 86.0%
Broadband+14 points75.4% → 88.9%
Poverty−3.1 points26.2% → 23.1%
Household income+35%$40,190 → $54,365
Child poverty−3.4 points31.7% → 28.2%

Declined2

Price / income+1.0×3.1× → 4.1×
Commute+1.4 min17.3 min → 18.7 min

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Waco, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.3 min2015-2019	18.7 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Declined	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	24.9%2015-2019	28.7%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Improved	59%
Broadband subscriptions	75.4%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	75%
Child poverty rate	31.7%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Improved	63%
Effective property tax rate	1.81%2015-2019	1.60%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	60%
High school diploma or higher	81.6%2015-2019	86.0%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Improved	78%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5092015-2019	0.5112020-2024	+0.002	Within the margin of error	49%
Median household income	$40,1902015-2019	$54,3652020-2024	+35%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	26.2%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Improved	70%
Public transit commuters	0.4%2015-2019	0.7%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Rent as share of income	33.3%2015-2019	34.6%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Rent-burdened households	56.8%2015-2019	58.3%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Unemployment rate	4.8%2015-2019	4.6%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.4%2015-2019	17.2%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	50%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Waco, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Waco, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Waco, Texas itself moved +0.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

143,570 residents (±93)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

53,906 households (±1,032)

Waco, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k24%12,846
$25k–50k23%12,333
$50k–75k17%9,158

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

53,906 households (±1,032)

Waco, Texas
Texas share

Own49%26,648
Rent51%27,258

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+3.3 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

66,671 workers (±1,538)

Waco, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone76%50,439
Carpool10%6,874
Public transit0.7%†460

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Waco, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of McLennan County, the county holding most of Waco's residents.

McLennan County has 5,928 employer establishments, 221 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 1.01× Texas's), with 111,600 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,938. The Census Bureau also counts 21,205 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,928; 21,205 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 221; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 111,600
Average annual pay: $50,938; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of McLennan County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	491	18.3	1.00×About typical	10,791	$20,375	122
Ambulatory health care services	470	17.5	0.84×About typical	7,188	$79,970	819
Specialty trade contractors	382	14.2	0.92×About typical	5,335	$60,475	1,974
Lessors of real estate	252	9.4	0.76×Fewer than typical	837	$54,740	1,852
Limited-service restaurants	248	9.2	1.15×About typical	5,164	$19,168	46
Religious organizations	209	7.8	1.40×More than typical	1,832	$22,883	—
Building equipment contractors	175	6.5	1.08×About typical	2,802	$64,942	340
Construction of buildings	174	6.5	0.86×About typical	961	$64,938	741
Full-service restaurants	154	5.7	0.75×Fewer than typical	4,376	$22,881	50
Services to buildings and dwellings	150	5.6	0.83×About typical	1,340	$35,419	1,363
Automotive repair and maintenance	145	5.4	1.07×About typical	878	$43,256	304
Offices of physicians	136	5.1	0.78×Fewer than typical	2,260	$113,769	153

Rank places for an industry Open McLennan County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 268,480 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $74.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Waco, Texas: $519 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $74.5M; +55% vs FY2025
Per resident: $519; US $1,994
Sole-source: 35%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.5%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$39.1M52%
Department of the Air Force$22.2M30%
Department of the Navy$4.7M6.4%
Defense Contract Management Agency$4.2M5.6%
Defense Logistics Agency$1.9M2.6%
Public Buildings Service$800.6K1.1%
Department of the Army$600.5K0.8%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$433.1K0.6%

Top recipients

L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INTEGRATED SYSTEMS L.P.$26.6M36%
HURLEY JV 2, LLP$19.2M26%
WICHITA FALLS TRI-TECH, LLC$12.3M17%
ACT1 FEDERAL LLC$4.7M6.3%
VALCORP ENTERPRISES LLC$1.6M2.2%

Spending by fiscal year

34.3MFY2017
33.7MFY2018
33.9MFY2019
30MFY2020
24.1MFY2021
54.3MFY2022
54.4MFY2023
57.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$34.7M47%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$24.2M32%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$6.3M8.5%
Support activities for air transportation · 4881$2.8M3.8%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$1.5M2.0%
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Waco, Texas

CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE TOOLS, EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, LABOR, SUPERVISION, PERSONNEL, & SHALL DO ALL THINGS NECESSARY THAT WILL RESULT IN COMPLETION OF EHRM INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, ACCORDANCE WITH SPECIFICATIONS & DRAWINGS. EO14398.$23.2M
HURLEY JV 2, LLP· McLennan County, TX· Construction & real property· Jul 8, 2026 – Jul 8, 2026· 36C77626C0065
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE RENOVATION OF BLDG. 10 FOR CLC LOCATED AT THE DORIS MILLER VA.$20.1M
WICHITA FALLS TRI-TECH, LLC· McLennan County, TX· Construction & real property· Sep 23, 2025 – May 7, 2026· 36C25725C0077
AIRCRAFT LAUNCH AND RECOVERY EQUIPMENT (ALRE) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SERVICES$18.5M
ACT1 FEDERAL LLC· McLennan County, TX· Professional services· Apr 5, 2022 – May 21, 2026· N6833522F3001

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Waco, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Waco, Texas's figures are part of those of McLennan County, TX ($442M in FY2026), never added to them: 17% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Waco is mostly in McLennan County.

See federal money in McLennan County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Waco, Texas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Pete SessionsR-TX-17 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

McLennan County33100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Waco, TX23

Other cities and towns in McLennan County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4876000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends