Waco, TX

Metro Area Profile

302,045 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Waco, TX metropolitan area.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 22% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity192nd of 379 metros measured55
GrowthTop 28% of 821 metros measured64
Housing affordability571st of 822 metros measured87
ClimateTop 49% of 822 metros measured67
Physical resilienceTop 6% of 822 metros measured88
AccessTop 9% of 822 metros measured97
Economic stability470th of 822 metros measured46
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,366 units authorized over the past twelve months, 17% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Waco in the top 6% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 13 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
302,045
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,205
Bottom 48% nationally
Density
108/sq mi
2785.2 sq mi of land
Median age
35.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Waco, TX
Nearest major airport
CNW
13 mi · Tstc Waco
Median home value
$234,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% is lower than 33% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 0.3% over the past year, to 140,416 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,712$66,205Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$787$34,919Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.0%Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.1 minBottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher27.5%Top 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment140,416Top 43%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.5%Top 20%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.3%Top 27%of 379June 2026
Labor force147,244Top 43%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation61.4%Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$58,190Bottom 34%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,020Bottom 30%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment129,860Top 43%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 24%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate4.6%Top 33%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.73.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Waco, TX
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,100$27,750
General and Operations Managers3,690$92,990
Stockers and Order Fillers3,540$37,500
Customer Service Representatives3,260$38,810
Retail Salespersons3,140$29,810
Registered Nurses2,570$92,890

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,151 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,151
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$234,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.54Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate63.6%Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±122125,252Top 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$23$1,151Top 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,122$234,100Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.9%Top 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate11.2%Top 50%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
64/ 100
Top 28% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 307,123 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 4.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,366
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.5
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
−17%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
39.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024307k296k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 97°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.4 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WACO RGNL AP, 3.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation36.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high97°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing38°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

88 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, wildfire and strong wind.

WildfireModerate
HurricaneModerate
Strong windModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, lightning, heat wave, cold wave, hail, inland flooding, ice storm, earthquake, drought, landslide.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 13 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tstc WacoCNW13 mi8,600 ft
Dallas Love FldDAL90 mi8,800 ft
Dallas-Fort Worth IntlDFW91 mi13,401 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
71
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.