Waxahachie, Texas

Area Profile

45,347 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Waxahachie, in Ellis County.

73out of 100
Area Score
Top 8% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 35% of 4,199 cities measured64
SchoolsTop 37% of 4,162 cities measured60
GrowthTop 2% of 4,224 cities measured86
Housing affordabilityTop 28% of 4,218 cities measured74
Climate2,489th of 4,225 cities measured68
Physical resilienceTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured85
Access2,933rd of 4,226 cities measured86
Economic stabilityTop 44% of 4,226 cities measured61
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $85,723, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 50% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.0 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 789 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 17% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
45,347
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$85,723
Top 28% nationally
Density
911/sq mi
49.8 sq mi of land
Median age
33.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Texas
Nearest major airport
DAL
31 mi · Dallas Love Fld
Median home value
$336,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% — higher than in all but 40% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.1% over the past year, to 25,458 employed residents.

31% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 71% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsEllis County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$69,94045th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftEllis County, TX’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$61,38225th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,4922024 ACS 5-Year$85,723Top 28%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0122024 ACS 5-Year$38,706Top 36%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.0%Top 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.1 minBottom 43%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.4%Top 29%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.2%57th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202625,458Bottom 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.2%Top 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.1%Top 36%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202626,68930th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.1%Top 39%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$70,630Top 45%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$51,440Top 48%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.6%Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.7%63rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.03.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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

202120222023202486k75k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $85,723 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 — Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers128,380$28,070
General and Operations Managers125,090$111,010
Stockers and Order Fillers111,100$37,590
Retail Salespersons100,340$33,400
Customer Service Representatives96,930$44,990
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand81,940$38,510

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

50% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.0 students for every full-time teacher across 19 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
25
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.0
across 19 of them
Math proficiency
50.2%
Top 47% in Texas
Reading proficiency
51.2%
Top 31% in Texas
The 12 largest of 25 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Waxahachie H SWAXAHACHIE ISD3,05615.849%51%
Life H S Waxahachie · charterLIFE SCHOOL1,11418.032%55%
Howard J HWAXAHACHIE ISD91816.757%51%
Finley J HWAXAHACHIE ISD83914.549%49%
Coleman J HWAXAHACHIE ISD77513.843%47%
Wedgeworth ElWAXAHACHIE ISD59413.247%44%
Simpson ElWAXAHACHIE ISD59216.4——
Life Middle Waxahachie · charterLIFE SCHOOL55115.749%47%
Marvin Biomedical AcademyWAXAHACHIE ISD53515.750%43%
Dunaway ElWAXAHACHIE ISD52514.646%42%
Northside ElWAXAHACHIE ISD48014.152%47%
Felty ElWAXAHACHIE ISD47115.269%66%

51.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division is up 35% over five years, and up 0.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,225 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.55% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,500, some 55% above the $1,618 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,500 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $100,000 a year, about 117% of the median household income here of $85,723.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,618 a month.

A median home at $336,500 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $104,362, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
102.5

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,500
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,618
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$336,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Waxahachie’s median household income of $85,723, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area’s figure2023102.5Bottom 42%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+0.5%11th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+35.4%28th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+92.5%49th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 30%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year60.3%21st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5522024 ACS 5-Year16,84097th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,130Bottom 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,150Bottom 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,500Bottom 16%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$742024 ACS 5-Year$1,618Bottom 17%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,8752024 ACS 5-Year$336,50076th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2962024 ACS 5-Year$5,22591st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$9,1962024 ACS 5-Year$104,362Top 24%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year1.55%80th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year28.2%Top 49%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1242024 ACS 5-Year8888th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%57th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%39th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3422024 ACS 5-Year92294th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

86/ 100
Top 2% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 17% since 2020, reaching 48,617 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 48,617 residents in 2024, up 2.9% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 789 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Ellis County, which contains Waxahachie, gained about 3.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $69,940, above the $61,382 of households that moved out.

At 17.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
789
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
17.4
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
+17%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202449k42k
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. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+3.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
19%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$69,940
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$61,382
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Dallas County, TX 6,687 people · 38% of arrivals
  2. Tarrant County, TX 3,027 people · 17% of arrivals
  3. Johnson County, TX 506 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  4. Denton County, TX 490 people · 2.8% of arrivals
  5. Collin County, TX 437 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Dallas County, TX 2,795 people · 25% of departures
  2. Tarrant County, TX 1,456 people · 13% of departures
  3. Johnson County, TX 677 people · 6.0% of departures
  4. Navarro County, TX 549 people · 4.9% of departures
  5. Denton County, TX 362 people · 3.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Ellis County, TX. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025871458
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2020 (−3%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.7 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DALLAS REDBIRD AP, 19.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals96°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
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. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

85 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 51% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 84% of measured US cities.

HailElevated
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate
WildfireModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, inland flooding, ice storm, hurricane, earthquake, strong wind, drought, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
180
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,023
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Waxahachie's police department reported 180 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,023.

Ellis County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 6.3 per 100,000 residents in Ellis County.

Homicide
4.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
6.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Waxahachie’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Waxahachie (Ellis County) rather than Waxahachie itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dallas Love Fld at 31 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.6%Top 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle31 miBottom 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.8%Top 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dallas Love FldDAL31 mi8,800 ft
Dallas-Fort Worth IntlDFW36 mi13,401 ft
Perot Fld/Fort Worth AllianceAFW49 mi11,125 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
73
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Other cities in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
DallasDallas County1,307,93060Dallas vs Waxahachie
Fort WorthTarrant County963,19462Fort Worth vs Waxahachie
ArlingtonTarrant County397,74261Arlington vs Waxahachie
PlanoCollin County290,59470
IrvingDallas County256,49259
GarlandDallas County246,84458
FriscoCollin County219,30475
McKinneyCollin County210,60072
Grand PrairieDallas County201,88362
DentonDenton County152,86667
MesquiteDallas County149,29956
CarrolltonDenton County133,74065

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Waxahachie side by side with a similar place.

Waxahachie vs LowellWaxahachie vs Gardner

Moving to Waxahachie from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Waxahachie

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Waxahachie with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Waxahachie closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
7516553,513$86,391$341,600—
7516713,904$117,714$411,20073