Living in Waco, TX

McLennan County

Waco is a real college town first: Baylor University enrolls 20,626 students (14,915 undergraduate, 5,711 graduate) inside a city of roughly 146,000-149,000 residents -- a large enough share to genuinely shape the city's age profile (median age 29.7, with just 13.18% of residents 65 or older against a 16.84% national figure), economy, and identity, not just its skyline. Alongside Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center and Ascension Providence Hospital, both nationally recognized for specific high-performing service lines, Baylor anchors much of the local job base. The second defining fact about modern Waco is Magnolia Market at the Silos, the retail complex Chip and Joanna Gaines built on the fame of HGTV's "Fixer Upper" -- a real, sustained tourism boom that has pulled well over two million visitors a year into Waco's attractions since 2015-2016 (2018 alone drew an estimated 2.7 million), turning a previously overlooked downtown into a genuine destination with real hotel-occupancy and downtown-revitalization effects. Housing runs meaningfully affordable relative to the national median -- a $275,000 citywide median sale price as of late 2025/early 2026, up a modest 3.1% year over year -- consistent with Texas's no-state-income-tax, property-tax-carries-the-load structure (Waco's own effective property tax rate runs 2.09%, well above the national median). Waco's most serious, well-documented hazard is not coastal at all -- it's severe thunderstorm, hail, and tornado risk. The city sits inside the Tornado Alley/Dixie Alley overlap, and its own history includes one of the deadliest tornadoes in American history: the May 11, 1953 tornado, the first ever officially rated F5, struck downtown Waco directly and killed 114 people. Crime data (CrimeGrade) shows Waco running meaningfully above the national average across the board -- 74% higher overall, 66% higher for violent crime, 76% higher for property crime -- a real, disclosed concern rather than a minor caveat. School quality varies sharply by district within the metro: Waco ISD, serving the city core, had eight schools receive a failing grade in Texas's August 2026 accountability ratings, while Midway ISD, serving adjacent Woodway/Hewitt/Robinson, ranks in the top 3% of all Texas school districts -- a genuine, disclosed unevenness rather than a single citywide grade.

Explore Waco in depth

• Moving to Waco: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Waco
• Housing in Waco
• Taxes & Insurance in Waco
• Climate in Waco
• Schools & Families in Waco
• Healthcare & Safety in Waco
• Pros and Cons of Living in Waco
• Best Areas to Live in Waco

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Affordability-focused buyers and first-time homebuyers who want a genuinely distinct college-town identity and a below-national-median cost of living, plus anyone drawn to Baylor University itself (students' families, staff, alumni) or to the Magnolia/Silo District tourism economy specifically.

Maybe not for you if: Families who need a strong school district should confirm the specific ISD (Waco ISD vs. Midway ISD) for any address under consideration rather than assuming citywide quality -- eight Waco ISD schools failed the state's most recent accountability rating, while Midway ISD ranks in the state's top 3%. Buyers highly averse to crime risk or severe-weather risk should weigh Waco's currently elevated CrimeGrade figures and its real, historically catastrophic tornado exposure seriously rather than assuming a small Texas city is automatically lower-risk than a big metro.