Midland composite
48.5 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Midland vs Waco
Midland, TX and Waco, TX side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 48.5
- Midland Life Score
- C+
- Midland grade
- 58.2
- Waco Life Score
- B+
- Waco grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Midland scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Waco on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Midland vs Waco across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Midland Waco ◗
cost of living
39
59
wages
81
34
rent
16
95
safety
32
30
schools
40
43
childcare
74
72
environment
59
94
Midland and Waco differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Midland has a cost-of-living index of 95.8 vs Waco's 92.5 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $70,012 in Midland and $60,744 in Waco. A 2-bedroom averages $1,772/mo vs $973/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Midland vs Waco Comparison
Midland (TX) and Waco (TX) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 95.8 for Midland against 92.5 for Waco, a 3.2-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,772/mo in Midland and $973/mo in Waco, a $799/mo difference that compounds to $9,588 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $70,012 across 113,700 jobs in Midland against $60,744 across 117,690 jobs in Waco. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Midland carries the same local purchasing power as $96,625 in Waco - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 394.7 per 100,000 residents in TX vs 394.7 in TX, with property-crime rates of 2058.2 and 2058.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: TX lists 9,061 public schools at a 14.7:1 student-teacher ratio, while TX lists 9,061 schools at 14.7:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,566/yr in the Midland area versus $7,566/yr in Waco - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Midland and Waco are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Waco composite
58.2 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
3.2 pts
Midland vs Waco BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$799 /mo
Midland priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Midland
Midland composite (Grade C+)
Waco
Waco composite (Grade B+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Midland | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 95.8 | 92.5 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 93.8 |
| Services | 83.2 | 81.0 |
| Rents | 101.5 | 83.5 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Waco gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Midland?
$
Equivalent in Waco:
$96,625
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Midland: 95.8, Waco: 92.5, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Midland | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,422/mo | $671/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,441/mo | $742/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,772/mo | $973/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,215/mo | $1,283/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,722/mo | $1,288/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Midland | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $70,012 | $60,744 |
| Total Employment | 113,700 | 117,690 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Midland (TX) | Waco (TX) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 394.7 | 394.7 |
| Property Crime | 2058.2 | 2058.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 9,061 | 9,061 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.7:1 | 14.7:1 |
| Charter Schools | 11.4% | 11.4% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,566/yr | $7,566/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,109/yr | $7,109/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $6,926/yr | $6,926/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 2,342 | 2,342 |
| Water Systems | 4,587 | 4,587 |
| Superfund Sites | 70 | 70 |
| Water Violations | 33,822 | 33,822 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Midland | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.2 | 53.0 |
| Good Air Days | 65.5% | 34.5% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 5 days |
Midland air quality shown at state level. Waco has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 13/100 | 13/100 |
| Total Violations | 746,210 | 746,210 |
| Health-Based Violations | 162,945 | 162,945 |
| Systems with Violations | 90.2% | 90.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 912 | 912 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | TX | TX |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 64/100 | 64/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 49.0 | 49.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 44.7 | 44.7 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Midland more expensive than Waco? ▼
Midland has a cost of living index of 95.8 compared to Waco's 92.5 (national average = 100). Midland is 3.2 points above Waco on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Midland and Waco? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,772/mo in Midland vs $973/mo in Waco, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,422/mo to $671/mo.
How do salaries compare between Midland and Waco? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $70,012 in Midland and $60,744 in Waco, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Midland has the same purchasing power as $96,625 in Waco.
Is Midland or Waco safer? ▼
At the state level, TX has a violent crime rate of 394.7 per 100,000 residents compared to TX's 394.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2058.2 vs 2058.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Midland and Waco? ▼
TX has 9,061 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.7:1, while TX has 9,061 schools at 14.7:1. Charter schools make up 11.4% of TX schools vs 11.4% in TX. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial