Best PlacesMcLennan County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McLennan County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McLennan County ranks 987th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on cell coverage and low disaster risk. The weaker spots are civic engagement, thin health care access, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in McLennan County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in McLennan County
The parts of McLennan County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
China Spring
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and it is quieter.
Woodway, Hewitt & McGregor
Crime runs lower and more adults hold degrees.
Robinson
More households have young kids and heat risk is lower.
Bellmead, Lacy-Lakeview & West
Prices have run up less, though schools score lower.
Mart
Fewer residents vote and health care is harder to reach.
Waco
Streets are more walkable, though more homes sit empty.
McLennan County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
McLennan County's strengths and weaknesses
McLennan County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Cell coverage, low disaster risk, and low taxes carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Civic engagement, thin health care access, and property taxes hold the score down. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where McLennan County ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 141 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of counties
Where McLennan County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McLennan County
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McLennan County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,013, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses McLennan County's effective rate of 1.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McLennan County
McLennan County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McLennan County.
Who works in McLennan County, and how
Work in McLennan County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in McLennan County
McLennan County has more late-night spots per resident than 71% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of McLennan County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McLennan County growing, and who is moving in?
McLennan County has grown about 11% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Dallas, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McLennan County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McLennan County, month by month
McLennan County sees roughly 141 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 47° | 35° |
| April | 80° | 66° | 53° |
| July | 98° | 86° | 75° |
| October | 85° | 69° | 56° |
Flying in and out of McLennan County
The nearest airport, Waco Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around McLennan County
Schools across McLennan County average a C+, better than 48% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- South Bosque ElA+ · 76% proficient
- Crawford ElA− · 58% proficient
- Lorena ElB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Midway MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Lorena MiddleA · 60% proficient
- China Spring MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Lorena HighA · 73% proficient
- Midway H SA · 70% proficient
- China Spring H SA · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McLennan County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McLennan County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare McLennan County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who McLennan County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in McLennan County
Is McLennan County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McLennan County ranks 987th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cell coverage, low disaster risk, and low taxes, and lowest on civic engagement and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McLennan County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $245,706. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $74,013 median income, cost of living beats 68% of counties.
Is McLennan County safe?
McLennan County is safer than 42% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $468 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McLennan County?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 35. That works out to about 141 pleasant days a year, more than 88% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in McLennan County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are China Spring, Woodway, Hewitt & McGregor, and Robinson. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is McLennan County good for families?
Schools beat 48% of counties, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $619 a month.
Is McLennan County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 68% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 82% of counties. About 11% of workers already work from home.
Compare McLennan County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McLennan County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McLennan County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
McLennan County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McLennan County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McLennan County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McLennan County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McLennan County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McLennan County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.