Overall
92.5
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Waco, TX
Cost-of-living indicators for Waco, TX, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 92.5
- Overall RPP
- #229
- of 387 metros
- 83.5
- Rents RPP
- $108K
- $100K national buys
Waco ranks #229 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Kansas City
The verdict
Waco costs less than 59% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 92.5, 7.5% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 81.0.
- bottom 41%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.8
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 81.0
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $108,050 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $92,550.
Service-cost relief profile
How Waco's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Waco: their index is 81.0, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 92.5 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Corpus Christi, TX, San Angelo, TX, Iowa City, IA. They resemble Waco across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Waco's overall index has stayed within 1.0 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Waco vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
93 Bottom 41% higher than 41% of 387 US metros
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 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Waco cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
83.5 RPP
- Services
Services
81 RPP
- Overall
Overall
92.6 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.8 RPP
What this shows Waco's strongest departure is services at 81.0; rents follows at 83.5. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Waco's cost comes from
Metros near Waco's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Waco (Waco, this metro): goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 83.5
- Kansas City: goods RPP 94.1, rents RPP 86.6
- Knoxville: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 82.8
- Fort Wayne: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 72.3
- Muskegon: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 74.2
- New Orleans: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 86
- Sebring: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 73.5
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.8
Below avg
Services
81.0
Cheap
Rents
83.5
Cheap
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.0 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2023, when the index dropped 1.7 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Waco overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.5 |
| 2009 | 91.9 |
| 2010 | 93.0 |
| 2011 | 93.4 |
| 2012 | 94.7 |
| 2013 | 93.1 |
| 2014 | 94.2 |
| 2015 | 94.6 |
| 2016 | 94.2 |
| 2017 | 93.2 |
| 2018 | 91.8 |
| 2019 | 92.3 |
| 2020 | 93.4 |
| 2021 | 94.1 |
| 2022 | 92.9 |
| 2023 | 91.1 |
| 2024 | 92.5 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Waco's overall RPP rose +1.4 points, from 91.1 in 2023 to 92.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 88.6 to 81.0. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$92,550
in Waco, TX purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$46,275
$75,000 nationally
$69,413
$125,000 nationally
$115,688
$150,000 nationally
$138,825
$200,000 nationally
$185,100
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
44/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
44th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Waco's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Corpus Christi, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.0 · Rents 84.9 San Angelo, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 81.6 · Rents 81.4 Iowa City, IA
Goods 93.7 · Services 83.7 · Rents 84.0 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Goods 93.7 · Services 84.6 · Rents 84.7 Tyler, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 82.9 · Rents 79.9 Lincoln, NE
Goods 94.1 · Services 76.8 · Rents 84.2
TX-relative analysis
Goods prices places Waco, TX near the bottom of TX's metros
Among the 26 TX metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Waco, TX ranks #3 - the 4th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Waco, TX only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 26
4th percentile in TX
Services prices
#24 of 26
8th percentile in TX
Rent prices
#9 of 26
65th percentile in TX
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within TX only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Waco, TX: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (92.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (83.5 here).
Other TX Metros
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 103.1 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 98.6 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 98.1 Midland, TX 95.8 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 94.7 Odessa, TX 93.9
View all TX metros → Cheapest in TX → Most expensive in TX →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Waco, TX's index of 92.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Waco
How to read Waco's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $108,050 in Waco. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 81.0, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Waco head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Waco, TX?
Waco, TX has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 92.5, meaning it is 7.5% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.8, services at 81.0, and rents at 83.5. It ranks #229 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Waco, TX to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $92,550 in Waco, TX. Conversely, $100K earned in Waco, TX has the purchasing power of $108,050 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Waco, TX?
Rents in Waco, TX are indexed at 83.5, which is 16.5% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Waco, TX getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Waco, TX's overall cost index changed by -1.0 points (from 93.5 to 92.5). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Waco, TX?
The priciest category in Waco, TX is goods at 93.8, 6.2% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 81.0, 19.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Waco, TX?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Kansas City, Knoxville, Fort Wayne. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Waco, TX's 92.5.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.