Best PlacesRichland Hills, Waco, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Richland Hills, 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.
Richland Hills, Waco ranks 4,674th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and transit ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Richland 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.
Richland Hills, Waco's strengths and weaknesses
Where Richland Hills, Waco ranks high
- Cheap childcare$619 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Richland Hills, Waco ranks low
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Richland Hills, Waco
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Richland Hills, Waco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,591, 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 Richland Hills, Waco's effective rate of 1.34%, 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 Richland Hills, Waco
Richland Hills, Waco runs younger 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 Richland Hills, Waco.
Who works in Richland Hills, Waco, and how
Work in Richland Hills, Waco centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Richland Hills, Waco
Richland Hills, Waco has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Richland Hills, Waco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Richland Hills, Waco, month by month
Richland Hills, Waco sees roughly 126 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 Richland 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 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around Richland Hills, Waco
Schools across Richland Hills, Waco average a D+, better than 21% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Woodway ElB+ · 55% proficient
- Speegleville ElB · 48% proficient
- Kendrick ElD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Midway MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Tennyson MiddleC · 34% proficient
- Cesar Chavez MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Midway H SA · 70% proficient
- University H SC+ · 36% proficient
- Waco H SD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Richland Hills, Waco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Richland 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 Richland Hills, Waco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Richland Hills, Waco
Is Richland Hills, Waco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Richland Hills, Waco ranks 4,674th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, cell coverage, and short commutes, and lowest on transit and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Richland Hills, Waco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,300. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $44,591 median income, cost of living beats 20% of neighborhoods.
Is Richland Hills, Waco safe?
Richland Hills, Waco is safer than 12% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,361 per resident a year.
Compare Richland Hills, Waco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Richland Hills, Waco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Richland 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.
Richland Hills, Waco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Richland Hills, Waco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Richland Hills, Waco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Richland Hills, Waco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Richland Hills, Waco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Richland 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.