county

McLennan County, TX

Demographic and economic profile of McLennan County, TX, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

McLennan County, TX (home to Waco) has a population of 270,358 that grew 6.1% over five years, supported by a relatively young median age of 34.0 and a labor force participation rate of 61.9%. Median household income stands at $66,643 against a median home value of $219,200 and median gross rent of $1,106/month, reflecting below-national-average housing costs. At 27.8% bachelor's degree attainment and a 4.5% unemployment rate, the workforce skews toward mid-skill occupations, with a poverty rate of 17.1% indicating a notable share of lower-wage employment in the local economy.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

270,358

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$66,643

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

34.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+6.1% since 2018

McLennan County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone156,288 (58.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race47,672 (17.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone37,090 (13.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone10,429 (3.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races8,767 (3.3%)
  • Asian Alone4,595 (1.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish41,221
  2. 2.Other Indo-European1,198
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic812
  4. 4.Vietnamese698
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island598

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

60.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

15.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

14,566

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$51,778

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,019

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance32,070
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)15,730
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)13,014
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services11,722
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services10,827

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations45,914
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations26,741
  3. 3.Service Occupations21,100
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations19,549
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations12,423

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.14×)8,131
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.12×)3,147
  3. 3.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.11×)31,766
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.11×)14,703
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.10×)9,339

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$219,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,106/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

61.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9998,661 (14.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9998,481 (14.1%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9997,390 (12.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9995,646 (9.4%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9994,825 (8.0%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9994,182 (7.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

27.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

61.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,956

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone95,770 (77.5%)
  • Worked At Home12,159 (9.8%)
  • Carpooled11,757 (9.5%)
  • Walked2,246 (1.8%)
  • Other748 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit464 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.