Forsgard Homestead · Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Waco reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Waco’s police in 2023–2025, it grades C− for safety: #401 of 471 graded towns in Texas, and #167 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of TX” is every other Texas city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Waco
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 7 Texas towns on Waco’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Robinson (B+), Hewitt (B), Lacy-Lakeview (C), Bellmead (D). Woodway reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. McGregor has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. China Spring is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Waco’s police reported 8 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 6.4 per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the rest of Texas (6.0) and above all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: below the rest of Texas
57.0 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (69 reported in 2025), below the rest of Texas (75.3) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Waco reports less crime per resident than 49% (#167). Places like it ↓
A college town
Waco is home to Baylor University, with 17,651 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 15% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Waco’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Texas.
Show as a table
| Year | Waco property | Rest of Texas property | Waco violent | Rest of Texas violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 32.3 | 27.3 | 6.4 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 26.5 | 26.3 | 5.1 | 4.7 |
| 2024 | 21.3 | 23.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
| 2025 | 17.8 | 20.6 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 18 property crimes reported
And about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
Homicides and robberies
Waco’s police reported 8 homicides, 69 robberies and 610 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Texas and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Waco | Rest of Texas | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.9 | 8.0 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 8.2 | 7.0 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Waco | Rest of Texas | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 75.2 | 89.5 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 67.2 | 84.5 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 57.4 | 78.5 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 46.6 | 63.2 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
3,254 crimes reported in 2025
610 violent and 2,644 property, as reported to the FBI by Waco’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
74 people died in crashes on Waco’s roads in 2019–2023
Waco had 71 fatal crashes in five years, in which 74 people died; 15 were pedestrians and 4 were cyclists. 5 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 10.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Texas towns of 100,000+ people (8.4, 43 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Waco and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waco | C− | 4.5 | 21.8 |
| Woodway | — | — | — |
| Bellmead | D | 3.6 | 29.6 |
| Robinson | B+ | 1.2 | 6.5 |
| Hewitt | B | 1.4 | 11.2 |
| McGregor | — | — | — |
| Lacy-Lakeview | C | 4.3 | 14.6 |
| China Spring | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Woodway reported to the FBI for 2024 and 2025 but not 2023. McGregor has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. China Spring is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Waco. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Waco’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (148,165 in 2025); our figure for Waco is 147,788 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Waco
Is Waco, TX safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Waco reports more crime per resident than 84% of U.S. towns, a C− Safety Grade and #401 of 471 in Texas. Its police reported 4.5 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.3 in the rest of Texas and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Waco?
4.5 violent and 21.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Texas reports 4.3 and 23.6; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Waco?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Waco in 2025?
Waco’s police reported 8 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 5.4 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Waco safer than Bellmead?
Bellmead reports more crime per resident than Waco: Bellmead grades D for safety and Waco C−. Bellmead’s police reported 3.6 violent and 29.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Waco?
Waco’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Waco”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Waco.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.