Orlando, FL vs Waco, TX
Moving from Orlando to Waco? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($387,733 → $256,772 median home) and taxes.
Orlando vs Waco at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Orlando, FL, you'd need about $89,709 in Waco, TX (−$10,291).
Livability — Orlando, FL: 66 · Waco, TX: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,385 sqft in Orlando vs 4,088 sqft in Waco ($210 vs $122 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Orlando, FL | Waco, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,724 | $16,848 | −$6,876 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,647 | −$167 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,675 | −$1,125 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,836 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $3,600 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $4,915 | $5,779 | +$864 |
| Total | $44,108 | $36,385 | −$7,724 |
Side by side
| Metric | Orlando, FL | Waco, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.6 | 91.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.26% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 12.1% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $387,733 | $256,772 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.1% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $210 | $122 |
| Median rent | $1,977 | $1,404 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 1.53% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.5 | 36.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 64% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |
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