Best PlacesParkdale Viking Hills, Waco, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco, 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.
Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco ranks 2,846th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Parkdale Viking Hills, 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.
Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco's strengths and weaknesses
Where Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco ranks high
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.3 minutes each way, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,830, 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 Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco's effective rate of 1.44%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco
Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco.
Who works in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco, and how
Work in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco
Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco, month by month
Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco sees roughly 134 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 Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco
The nearest airport, Waco Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco
Schools across Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco average a C, better than 39% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Woodway ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Speegleville ElB · 48% proficient
- Mountainview ElD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Midway MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Tennyson MiddleC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Midway H SA · 70% proficient
- Waco H SD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Parkdale Viking Hills, 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 Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco
Is Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco ranks 2,846th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and state finances, and lowest on biking and transit. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $277,642. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $82,830 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco safe?
Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco is safer than 47% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $561 per resident a year.
Compare Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Parkdale Viking Hills, 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.
Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Parkdale Viking Hills, Waco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Parkdale Viking Hills, 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.