How serious are America’s mayors? · Incorporated city
Waco, TX
146,608 people, 2024 · Census GEOID 4876000 · Census profile · mayors: being verified
Overall in 2023, Waco ranked #221 of 340 cities and 5th of 14 in its peer group, on 9 of 9 measures. Weigh the measures yourself · how ranks are made
Its peer group is Waco and the 13 cities most like it in 2005 (size, income, poverty, industry, growth, density, place), fixed since: Las Cruces NM, Beaumont TX, Savannah GA, Tuscaloosa AL, Shreveport LA, Knoxville TN, Jackson MS, Pueblo CO, Mobile AL, Abilene TX, Tyler TX, Baton Rouge LA, South Bend IN · on the map, and why
| Topline | 2005–2024 | Latest rank | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rankamong all cities with a score that year | #221 of 340 cities · 5th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | #202 | #169 | #285 | #305 | #293 | #133 | #271 | #250 | #175 | #193 | #255 | #64 | #127 | #96 | #115 | #209 | #182 | #258 | #221 | #168 | |
| people · size, not ranked | 118,875 | 119,479 | 120,813 | 122,029 | 123,250 | 125,377 | 126,443 | 127,494 | 129,011 | 129,860 | 131,801 | 133,421 | 136,939 | 137,886 | 139,236 | 140,543 | 142,357 | 143,293 | 144,943 | 146,608 | ||
| net movers per 100 residents · estimate · higher is better | #136 of 340 cities · 7th of 14 in its peer group | -0.1 | -0.0 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.3 | — | +0.1 | -0.1 | +0.3 | -0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.4 | -0.1 | |
| new homes per 1,000 residents · higher is better | #97 of 271 cities with data · 3rd of 9 in its peer group with data | 6.7 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 11.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 6.7 | 9.7 | 4.8 | |
| rent as % of income · lower is better | #247 of 340 cities · 10th of 14 in its peer group | 24.7% | 27.8% | 27.1% | 29.9% | 27.8% | 27.9% | 25.3% | 27.2% | 27.3% | 27.7% | 25.5% | 25.5% | 25.7% | 26.1% | 25.4% | — | 24.4% | 26.0% | 25.5% | 26.6% | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #151 of 304 cities with data · 2nd of 12 in its peer group with data | 10.1 | 7.5 | 5.0 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 4.0 | 8.7 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 16.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 7.9 | 10.0 | 10.5 | 9.8 | 8.3 | 5.5 | |
| per 100,000 residents · lower is better | #166 of 295 cities with data · 2nd of 12 in its peer group with data | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 71.8 | 112.0 | 172.2 | 216.4 | 181.4 | 114.5 | 73.0 | |
| jobs · size, not ranked | 71,829 | 76,918 | 73,807 | 72,737 | 69,334 | 72,129 | 71,690 | 70,091 | 71,696 | 72,701 | 74,671 | 77,917 | 80,639 | 82,833 | 83,410 | 80,587 | 86,447 | 89,032 | 89,032 | — | ||
| points ahead of the metro · higher is better | #273 of 329 cities with data · 11th of 14 in its peer group · 2023 | +1.9 | +7.0 | -4.0 | -1.8 | -2.8 | +3.0 | -1.9 | -1.5 | -0.2 | -0.8 | +0.1 | +1.7 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +1.2 | -0.9 | +1.5 | -0.3 | -1.9 | — | |
| people · size, not ranked | — | — | — | — | — | — | 52,196 | 52,442 | 56,071 | 54,400 | 56,404 | 61,321 | 60,498 | 60,227 | 63,504 | — | 64,326 | 68,478 | 68,987 | 70,986 | ||
| % of workforce · lower is better | #62 of 340 cities · 3rd of 14 in its peer group | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9.1% | 9.3% | 7.7% | 6.3% | 6.5% | 3.3% | 6.6% | 4.9% | 3.0% | — | 5.5% | 4.4% | 4.4% | 3.6% | |
| % of promises funded · not ranked: 38 cities report | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| surplus as % of revenue · higher is better | #204 of 314 cities with data · 12th of 14 in its peer group | 30% | 29% | 3% | -4% | 5% | 16% | 12% | 17% | 26% | 23% | 19% | 20% | 46% | 48% | 47% | 27% | 24% | 2% | 18% | 16% | |
| dollars per resident · lower is better | #305 of 314 cities with data · 14th of 14 in its peer group | $79,498 | $109,469 | $127,414 | $117,498 | $109,433 | $97,893 | $100,094 | $90,158 | $78,583 | $69,009 | $32,745 | $2,808 | $22,162 | $3,472 | $3,760 | $16,951 | $12,793 | $13,998 | $12,299 | $12,160 |
Click a row for its source and its rank in every year. 1st is best whichever way the measure points. A rank is out of all 340 cities, or out of its peer group of 14; where some had no value that year it says “with data” and counts only those. An em dash is a year the source does not hold for Waco. A greyed homicide figure is a year the FBI holds as a transition year for this department. What each row is, and is not, is on the main page, with a link to every source in Sources.