Waco, TX — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Texas·Waco

McLennan County · Waco · population 146,608

Affordability
Waco, TX
Image: Wikipedia · Waco, Texas
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
58
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Waco stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $196,465
1-year -2.2%
5-yr CAGR +4.3%
vs 5-yr peak -5.6%
Population +1.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-06$196k$88k$131k$174k$216k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
35/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
98/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,333/mo$959$1,194$1,429202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent124131100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 12.3
Buy

At a 12.3 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Waco on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 12.3 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
39 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
61 · w22%
Distance from peak
58 · w18%
Population growth
72 · w16%
Rent YoY
52 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
79 · w10%
Long thesis

Waco offers a $196,465 median home with +4.3% annualized 5-year appreciation. Affordability + positive trend is one of the better risk/reward setups in US residential — small downside, room to compound.

Short thesis

Waco's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Waco

Waco is a city in McLennan County, Texas, with an estimated population of 146,608. The population grew 1.4% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Waco is $196,465 as of 2026-04, down 2.2% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.3% annual growth (-5.6% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Waco average $1,333 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.0%). The composite momentum score is 58 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Net positive migration: population up 1.4% per year — demand fundamentals are intact.
●Cheap entry point: $196,465 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.

▼ Bear case

●Cooling: -2.2% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Waco (Wikipedia)

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2025 population of 147,788, making it the 24th-most populous city in the state. The Waco metropolitan statistical area consists of McLennan, Falls, and Bosque Counties, which had a 2020 population of 295,782. Bosque County was added to the Waco MSA in 2023. The 2025 U.S. census population estimate for the Waco metropolitan area was 308,807 residents.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

Area101.15 sq mi
Elevation522 ft
Established1856
Density1569.16/sq mi
Named forThe Waco people

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Waco(Attractions)

  • The Magnolia Market in Waco
  • Hawaiian Falls
  • Grand Lodge of Texas
  • Grand Lodge
  • Waco Suspension Bridge
  • Brazos River
  • Doris Miller
  • Waco Tribune-Herald
  • Waco Mammoth National Monument
  • National Park Service
  • Columbian mammoth
  • Magnolia Market

+2 more on Wikipedia.

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for McLennan County right now.

NWS active alerts (TX)Texas Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. McLennan County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Waco

22 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Austin Avenue$357,052-1.8%
2North Lake Waco$296,987-1.0%
3Mountainview$291,195+0.3%
4Landon Branch$267,352-2.5%
5Oakwood$253,666-0.6%
6Timbercrest$244,633-0.1%
7Parkdale Viking Hills$231,385-0.0%
8Baylor$230,638-0.6%
9Richland Hills$222,078-2.6%
10Downtown$219,412-2.5%
11Cedar Ridge$207,200-7.8%
12Brookview$175,043+0.2%
13Alta Vista$163,927+2.2%
14Kendrick$160,749-6.7%
15Dean Highland$155,457-6.5%
16Sanger Heights$150,910-7.4%
17Heart of Texas$149,214-4.9%
18University$131,370-0.1%
19North Waco$130,616-1.7%
20Brook Oaks$130,167-8.5%
21Carver$125,362-6.8%
22East Riverside$104,645-1.8%

Cities like Waco

Grand Prairie, TX56 · StableMissouri City, TX57 · StableArlington, TX53 · StableIrving, TX54 · Stable

Run the numbers for Waco

ToolCan I afford Waco?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Waco rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Waco to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolWaco cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 39°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
95° / 73°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
232
~64% of year
Annual precip
29″ rain
1″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
High
Tornado
Very high
Wildfire
Moderate
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Very high

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Waco listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Waco area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
64%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$73,000
Texas state median
Top industries (state-level)
Energy/Oil & GasTech (Austin)Healthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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