PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Waco, TX

58.2
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#80
of 387 metros
79%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Waco ranks #80 of 387 US metros, ahead of 79% - carried by its rent (95/100) and held back most by safety (30/100).

95
strongest: Rent
94
then: Environment
30
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Waco sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

58 Top 21% higher than 79% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Waco Life Score

Waco's composite score of 58.2 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #80 of 387, ahead of 79% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (95/100) and Environment (94/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (30/100) and Wages (34/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 92.5 (rent-RPP 83.5). BLS median salary $60,744, 117,690 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $973/mo (studio $671).

FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #77-#83 below.

Dimension detail

How Waco scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 59/100 (20%)
Wages 34/100 (20%)
Rent 95/100 (15%)
Safety 30/100 (15%)
Schools 43/100 (10%)
Childcare 72/100 (10%)
Environment 94/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

92.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$60,744
Avg Median Salary
$973
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
117,690
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Waco With...

Waco vs Texarkana Compare → Waco vs San Antonio Compare → Waco vs McAllen Compare → Waco vs Wildwood Compare → Waco vs Waterloo Compare → Waco vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Waco outranks 79% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#77 Idaho Falls, ID 58.4 B+
#78 Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC 58.5 B+
#79 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC 58.6 B+
#80 Waco, TX 58.2 B+
#81 Cleveland, OH 58.2 B+
#82 Bowling Green, KY 58.0 B+
#83 Fayetteville, NC 58.0 B+

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9 Eagle Pass, TX B 53.4

Using Waco's Life Score

Waco is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is rent (95/100) and its weakest is safety (30/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Waco head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Waco lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Waco's biggest strengths? ▼
Waco's strongest dimensions are Rent (95/100), Environment (94/100), Childcare (72/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Waco's weakest areas? ▼
Waco's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (30/100), Wages (34/100), Schools (43/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Waco compared to the national average? ▼
Waco's Regional Price Parity is 92.5 (7.5% less than national); rent RPP 83.5.
What is the average salary in Waco? ▼
Waco median salary: $60,744, 117,690 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Waco's 58.2/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.