McLennan County, TX

County Profile

266,067 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for McLennan County, TX.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

68out of 100
Area Score
Top 29% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 45% of 1,255 counties measured58
Schools687th of 973 counties measured35
GrowthTop 33% of 1,226 counties measured59
Housing affordability858th of 1,255 counties measured85
Climate678th of 1,254 counties measured67
Physical resilienceTop 5% of 1,255 counties measured93
AccessTop 3% of 1,255 counties measured99
Economic stability753rd of 1,255 counties measured55
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,351 units authorized over the past twelve months, 17% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing McLennan County in the top 5% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 10 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
266,067
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,643
Top 45% nationally
Density
257/sq mi
1036.7 sq mi of land
Median age
34.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
McLennan County
Texas
Metro area
Waco, TX
Nearest major airport
CNW
10 mi · Tstc Waco
Median home value
$243,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% is lower than 34% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 0.2% over the past year, to 126,007 employed residents.

29% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,952$66,643Top 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$852$35,149Top 49%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.6%Top 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute22.3 minBottom 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher28.7%Top 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment126,007Top 21%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.5%Top 24%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.2%Top 29%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force132,148Top 21%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation63.0%Top 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 27%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate4.6%Top 34%of 1,255June 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.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202467k54k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $66,643 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
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.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.0 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
107
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
34.6%
Bottom 25% in Texas
Reading proficiency
37.6%
Bottom 29% in Texas
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
MIDWAY H SMIDWAY ISD2,68716.3
WACO H SWACO ISD1,88513.5
UNIVERSITY H SWACO ISD1,75214.2
MIDWAY MIDDLEMIDWAY ISD1,11214.464%60%
TENNYSON MIDDLEWACO ISD96315.832%42%
CHINA SPRING H SCHINA SPRING ISD95914.3
RIVER VALLEY MIDDLEMIDWAY ISD90214.1
LA VEGA H SLA VEGA ISD88113.8
BELL'S HILL ELWACO ISD78615.730%32%
CESAR CHAVEZ MIDDLEWACO ISD78614.017%27%
LAKE AIR MONTESSORI SCHOOLWACO ISD73413.623%35%
ROBINSON H SROBINSON ISD72513.2

61.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,173 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
21.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,173
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$243,600
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.66Top 27%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate61.8%Bottom 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±95108,454Top 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$23$1,173Top 18%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,152$243,600Top 29%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.1%Top 15%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.2%Bottom 31%of 3,2222024 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
59/ 100
Top 33% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2022 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 270,358 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

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

At 5.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
1,351
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.1
Top 29% nationally
Year over year
−17%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
39.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024270k261k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
20222023202420252k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2022 (+4%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 53, in the Moderate band, and about 5 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

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, 5.0 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index73.02024 calendar year
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
Days above AQI 10052024 calendar year
Median air quality index53.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing38°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
53
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
73
90th percentile index
Days above 100
5
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

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. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

93 / 100
Physical resilience

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

WildfireModerate
HurricaneModerate
Winter weatherModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

McLennan County records 5.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 10.4 per 100,000 residents in McLennan County.

Homicide
5.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for McLennan County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around McLennan County rather than McLennan County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

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 10 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tstc WacoCNW10 mi8,600 ft
Dallas Love FldDAL92 mi8,800 ft
Dallas-Fort Worth IntlDFW94 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
68
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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
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)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

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.