Research / Rent vs. buy / Texas / Waco

Rent or buy in Waco?
Renting is $360 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Waco costs $360 less a month than owning it. Counting equity, price growth and what a renter could earn by investing the difference, buying comes out ahead in year 10.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 46 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$1,723typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,363Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 103.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$45,524$197,932 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$68,937vs. $54,520 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Waco home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $129 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Waco is $54,365 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 38% of it; renting would take 30%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Waco, TX HUD Metro FMR Area area is $1,693 a month, still $30 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,057
  • Property tax $263
  • Home insurance $239
  • Maintenance $165

How long you would need to stay.

Net worth of a buyer compared with a renter who invests the down payment, closing costs and any monthly savings at 6% a year. Home values and rents grow 3.5% a year; selling costs 6%.

Change the assumptions

Buying vs. renting in Waco, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $14,616
5 yearsRenting ahead by $11,293
7 yearsRenting ahead by $6,812
10 yearsBuying ahead by $2,536
15 yearsBuying ahead by $27,276
20 yearsBuying ahead by $68,037
30 yearsBuying ahead by $229,371

Rent or buy elsewhere in Texas.

Other large Texas cities in the study.

All cities
HoustonRenting $642/mo cheaperSan AntonioRenting $741/mo cheaperDallasRenting $938/mo cheaperAustinRenting $2,322/mo cheaperFort WorthRenting $872/mo cheaperEl PasoRenting $597/mo cheaperArlingtonRenting $1,089/mo cheaperCorpus ChristiRenting $491/mo cheaper

More on Waco

See the full Waco rental market profile with Census medians, or check how a typical rental performs for an investor in our cash-flow ranking.

How we calculated this

Price is the Zillow Home Value Index and rent the Zillow Observed Rent Index for Waco. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 1.60% effective rate (Census ACS), the Texas average homeowners premium (NAIC 2023) and 1% yearly maintenance. It leaves out income-tax effects, HOA dues and utilities. The typical rental may be smaller than the typical home for sale. Full methodology. This is a citywide estimate, not advice about a specific home.