Best PlacesOakwood, Waco, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Oakwood, Waco, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Oakwood, Waco ranks 5,059th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Oakwood, Waco
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.
Oakwood, Waco's strengths and weaknesses
Where Oakwood, Waco ranks high
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Short commute14.6 minutes each way, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Oakwood, Waco ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Household income$23,772 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Oakwood, Waco
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oakwood, Waco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $23,772, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Oakwood, Waco's effective rate of 1.45%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Oakwood, Waco
Oakwood, Waco runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Oakwood, Waco.
Who works in Oakwood, Waco, and how
Work in Oakwood, Waco centers on retail trade and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Oakwood, Waco
Oakwood, Waco has more parkland per resident than 94% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Oakwood, Waco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Oakwood, Waco, month by month
Oakwood, Waco sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 69° | 57° |
| July | 96° | 88° | 75° |
| October | 82° | 71° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Oakwood, Waco
The nearest airport, Waco Regional, is about 9 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 Oakwood, Waco
Schools across Oakwood, Waco average a D+, better than 20% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- South Waco ElD− · 11% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cesar Chavez MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- University H SC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oakwood, Waco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oakwood, Waco 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 Oakwood, Waco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Oakwood, Waco
Is Oakwood, Waco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oakwood, Waco ranks 5,059th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oakwood, Waco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,405. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $23,772 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Oakwood, Waco safe?
Yes, Oakwood, Waco is safer than 58% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $482 per resident a year.
Compare Oakwood, Waco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oakwood, Waco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oakwood, Waco 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.
Oakwood, Waco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oakwood, Waco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oakwood, Waco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oakwood, Waco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oakwood, Waco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oakwood, Waco 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.
- 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.