Forsgard Homestead · Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Waco has lower household incomes than 82% of U.S. towns
Waco grades C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 23.1%, against 13.8% across Texas. About half stay in Waco for work; outside it, Austin is the main destination (4%, 93 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Waco apart
Commutes from Waco are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Waco
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waco is better than 31% of U.S. towns, #420 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Waco’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waco could be anywhere from C to C+.
From Waco, about 19 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waco workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 60,192 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Waco
About 34% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
A workday in Waco: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 28,543 residents head out to work, 27,168 work right here, and 56,006 people come in from elsewhere.
About 175,000 people are in Waco on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.49 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Waco goes to work
Where Waco clocks in
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What the 83,174 jobs in Waco are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waco, 2013 → 2023: 67,375 → 83,174. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waco’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waco is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waco is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #94 of 642 in Texas. Both inputs place Waco near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 66,671 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.8% of Waco households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Waco’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
206th of 240: where Waco ranks among U.S. towns of 103,000 to 200,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| 4 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Allen TX | 113,447 | $131K | 6.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 10 | Sugar Land TX | 107,726 | $136K | 5.5% | 4.1% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 204 | Springfield IL | 112,989 | $66K | 16.8% | 6.8% | 64% | C |
| 205 | Capital Township IL | 111,143 | $66K | 16.9% | 6.8% | 62% | C |
| 206 | Waco TX | 147,788 | $54K | 23.1% | 4.6% | 49% | C |
| 207 | Paradise NV | 185,913 | $59K | 17.6% | 9.8% | 37% | C |
| 208 | Eugene OR | 178,618 | $67K | 19.0% | 7.6% | 56% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 240 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Waco, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Waco and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Woodway (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waco workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waco | – | C | B+ | 19 min | $54,365 |
| Woodway | 3% | A | C | 19 min | $115,108 |
| Bellmead | 1% | C+ | C | 23 min | $52,075 |
| Robinson | under 2% | B+ | C | 19 min | $99,289 |
| Hewitt | 1% | B+ | C | 20 min | $83,511 |
| McGregor | under 2% | C | C | 21 min | $72,750 |
| Lacy-Lakeview | under 2% | C | C− | 28 min | $56,924 |
| China Spring | under 2% | B− | D | 17 min | $70,792 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waco’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Waco: questions
What is the median household income in Waco?
$54,365 (±$2,349) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waco?
23.1%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waco?
19 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waco work?
49% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Austin (4%, 93 mi), Dallas (4%, 89 mi), Woodway (3%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waco walkable?
Waco is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waco without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waco, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waco
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.