Waco, TX vs Riverside, CA
Moving from Waco to Riverside? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,772 → $585,378 median home) and taxes.
Waco vs Riverside 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 Waco, TX, you'd need about $117,782 in Riverside, CA (+$17,782).
Livability — Waco, TX: 73 · Riverside, CA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,088 sqft in Waco vs 1,281 sqft in Riverside ($122 vs $390 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Waco, TX | Riverside, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,848 | $30,228 | +$13,380 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $5,098 | +$451 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $5,125 | +$1,450 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $3,804 | +$1,968 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,500 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $5,779 | $19,978 | +$14,199 |
| Total | $36,385 | $65,733 | +$29,348 |
Side by side
| Metric | Waco, TX | Riverside, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.1 | 107.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.56% | 6.95% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.19 | $6.11 |
| Median home price | $256,772 | $585,378 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 7.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.8% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $122 | $390 |
| Median rent | $1,404 | $2,519 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.53% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 33 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 36.4 | 9.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 64% | 78% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |