Tyler vs Waco
Metro-area medians — Tyler, TX Metro Area vs Waco, TX Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Tyler comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Tyler and Waco cost about the same to live in, but Tyler households earn about 12% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Tyler.
Their widest everyday difference: Waco has the tighter job market — 3% unemployment versus 4.9%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Tyler leaves you about $283/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Tyler for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Tyler and Waco on cost, income, size, and education.
Tyler vs Waco — frequently asked
- Is Tyler cheaper than Waco?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Tyler and Waco metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Tyler or Waco?
- Tyler has the higher median household income — $76,087 versus $67,792 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 12% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Tyler or Waco?
- A paycheck stretches further in Tyler. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $82,563 there versus $73,249 in Waco.
- Which has cheaper rent, Tyler or Waco?
- Waco has cheaper rent — a median of $1,238/mo versus $1,272/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).