ZIP Code 76706

Waco is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the state. The 2021 U.S. Census population estimate for the city was 139,594. Waco's leading citizens embarked on an ambitious project to build the first bridge to span the wide Brazos river. In the late 19th century, a red-light district called the "Reservation" grew up in Waco, and prostitution was regulated by the city. In 1885, the soft drink Dr Pepper was invented at Morrison's Drug Store. It moved to Waco in 1886 and became an integral part of Waco University, becoming part of the city in 1902. The university's Strecker Museum was also the oldest continuously operating museum in Texas until it moved to the new museum Complex in May 2003. WACO is the home of the Texas Christian University Women's Center, which was founded in 1873. The college moved to Add-R Christian University in 1895, taking up residence in the empty buildings of the Female College of Texas. The main building burned down in 1910 and the school was offered a 50,000-acre (200,000 m2) site, but it was offered to the university instead. It closed in the mid-1980s and is now a museum complex. The Waco area was once home to the Wichita Indian tribe known as the "Waco" (Spanish: Hueco or Huaco).

History

Waco is the primary city name, but also Bellmead are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Waco. In 1824, Thomas M. Duke was sent to explore the area after violence erupted between the Waco people and the European settlers. In 1866, Waco's leading citizens embarked on an ambitious project to build the first bridge to span the wide Brazos River. In the late 19th century, a red-light district called the "Reservation" grew up in Waco, and prostitution was regulated by the city. The soft drink Dr Pepper was invented in 1885 at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store. Waco is home to Baylor University, which moved to Waco in 1886 and merged with Waco University, becoming an integral part of the city in the early 20th century. The Waco Suspension Bridge was completed in 1870. Since 1971, the bridge has been open only to pedestrian traffic and is in the National Register of Historic Places. The city's main building burned down in 1910 and the main campus of TCU was offered a 50-acre (200,000 m2) campus and moved to Fort Worth. In 1902, the city became official US citizens and received allotments of land and became part of Baylor University. In 2010, Baylor University was founded in Independence, Texas, and later merged with the city of Waco to form Waco-Baylor University. The university's Strecker Museum was also the oldest continuously operating museum in the state until it closed in 2003, and the collections moved to the new Mayborn Museum Complex. It is still open to the public.

Geography

Waco is located at 31°33'5" North, 97°9'21" West (31.551516, 97.155930). It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), characterized by hot summers and generally mild winters. The 22-story ALICO Building, completed in 1910, is the tallest building in Waco. Waco is relatively small when compared to other larger Texas cities, such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, or even Fort Worth, El Paso, or Austin. The city has an area of 95.5 square miles (247 km²) of land and 11.3 square miles of water. The total area is 11.85% water, with 84.2 sq mi (218 km) of it covered by land. The record low temperature is 5 °F (21 °C), set on January 31, 1949; the record high temperature is 114°F (46 °C) set on July 23, 2018. Some 90 °F temperatures have been observed in every month of the year. The Cityscape of Waco was published in the book "Waco: The City That Never Was" by John Sutter, published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. in 1998. The book is available in hardback and is available on Kindle and Nook, with prices starting at $3.99. It is also available in paperback and hardback, with a print run of 1,000 copies at $24.99 each.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 138,486 people, 50,108 households, and 29,014 families residing in the city. In 2000, the census recorded 42,279 households, of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them. Non-Hispanic Whites were 45.8% of the population in 2010, down from 66.6% in 1980. The median income for a household in theCity was $26,264, and for a family was $33,919. The per capita income for the city was $14,584. Of the total population, 30.9% of those under the Age of 18 and 13.0% of people 65 and older lived below the poverty line. The average household size was calculated as 2.49 and the average family size was 3.19. In 2010, the city had a population of 124,805 people, organized into 51,452 households and 27,115 families. The population density was recorded as 1,350.6 people per square mile (521.5/km²), with 45,819 housing units at an average density of 544.2 per squaremile (210.1/ km²). The 2000 racial makeup of the city is 60.8%. The city has a population density of 1,300.7 people per sq mile (500.5 per km²) The city's population is 60% White, 22.7% African American, 1.4% Asian, 0.5%. Native American, 0,1% Pacific Islander, 12.4%. About 23.6%. of the residents are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Government

Waco has a council-manager form of government. Citizens are represented on the City Council by six elected members; five from single-member districts and a mayor who is elected at-large. The city offers a full line of city services typical of an American city this size, including: police, fire, Waco Transit buses, electric utilities, water and wastewater, solid waste, and the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Heart of Texas Council of Governments is headquartered in Waco on South New Road. The Texas Tenth Court of Appeals is in the McLennan County Courthouse. The U.S. Postal Service operates Waco Main Post Office along Texas State Highway 6. The Waco Fire Department operates 13 fire stations throughout the city. In addition, it operates other post offices throughout Waco.The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the W Baylor Parole Office in W Baylor. The United States Army Corps of Engineers operates the Texas Army National Guard Post Office in the city, along with several other locations in the area. The City of Waco is a member of the Texas Association of Counties, which is a voluntary association of cities, counties, and special districts in the Central Texas area. W Baylor University is located in the town of W Baylor, Texas. The University of Texas at Laredo is located on the campus of Texas Southern University. The town is home to the Texas Institute of Technology, which was founded in 1883. Waco has one of the nation's largest public high schools, with more than 4,000 students.

Economy

According to the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, the top employers in the city as of July 2015 are: Waco University, Waco High School, and Waco Community College. Waco is home to the University of Texas at Waco and the Texas Tech University of Waco. The city is also home to Texas Christian University, which was founded in 1883. The Waco River runs through the city, and the city's downtown is known as the "Waco River" It is also known as "The River" because it was once the source of the town's water supply. The town has a reputation for being a hotbed of crime and drug activity. It has also been known to be a popular destination for college students and recent graduates of Texas Tech and Texas A&M University. In July 2015, more than 1,000 people were arrested in Waco for drug-related offenses, according to a report by the Waco Police Department. The crime rate is at an all-time high of more than 10.5 per cent in the town. In 2013, the city was home to more than 2,000 drug arrests. In 2014, the crime rate was at a record-high of 10.7 per cent. The highest rate of drug arrests was in 2013, with more than 100 per cent occurring in the first three months of the year. In 2012, the town had the highest crime rate in the state of Texas. In 2011, the rate was 10.8 per cent, with most of the city’s drug arrests coming in the second and third months.

Culture

Waco is served by the Waco-McLennan County Library system. The Waco Mammoth National Monument is a paleontological site and museum. Cameron Park is a 416-acre urban park featuring playgrounds, picnic areas, a cross-country running track, and a disc golf course. The Magnolia Market, operated by Chip and Joanna Gaines of the HGTV TV series Fixer Upper, saw 1.2 million visitors in 2016. Waco is home to the Grand Lodge of Texas, one of the largest Grand Lodges in the world. It is also home to Waco's 52-acre (21 ha) zoo, the Cameron Park Zoo, and Indian Spring Park, which marks the location of the origin of the town of Waco, where the Huaco Indians had settled on the bank of the Brazos River. The city is also the home of the Dr Pepper Museum, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Ranger Hall Of Fame and Museum, and the Mayborn Museum Complex. It was the site of the Battle of the Bulge, in which the U.S. Army was forced to retreat from Waco in World War I. It also hosted the opening of the Texas Museum of Natural History, which is now the Texas State Museum of History and Science, which was founded in 1881. It has been home to Texas Rangers and Texas Rangers football and basketball teams, as well as the Texas Rangers women's and men's basketball teams.

Education

Waco Independent School District serves most of the city of Waco. Three large public high schools are in the Waco city limits: Waco High School, University High School and Midway High School. Local private and parochial schools include Live Oak Classical School, Parkview Christian Academy, Reicher Catholic high School, Texas Christian Academy. The three institutions of higher learning in Waco are: Baylor University,McLennan Community College, and Texas State Technical College. In the past, several other higher education institutions were in the city: A&M College (relocated to Fort Worth), Central Texas College (HBCU) and Toby's Practical Business College. Waco Business College is a private business college. The city is home to Waco University, a private liberal arts college, and Waco State College, a state technical college. It is also home to Texas Christian University and Texas Southern University. The Waco River runs through the city, and runs through Waco's downtown area. It also runs through Midway and China Spring, which are part of the Midway ISD boundaries. It runs through La Vega and Bosqueville ISD, which lie in the boundaries of China Spring and Connally ISD. The town has a population of 2.2 million people (as of the 2010 census). Waco is located in the Central Plains region of Texas, which is the largest region of the U.S. east of the Rio Grande Valley.

Local media

The major daily newspaper is the Waco Tribune-Herald. Other publications include The Waco Citizen, The Anchor News, The Baylor Lariat, Tiempo, Wacoan, and Waco Today Magazine.The Waco television market is the 89th-largest television market in the US and includes these stations: KCEN 6 (NBC), KWTX 10 (CBS), KAMU 12 (PBS), KXXV 25 (ABC) and KWKO 38 (Univision) The radio market is 200th in size and includes the following stations: KRMX, KWRA, WACO, KXZY, KBRQ, KIXT, KWPW, KRZI, and WPW-FM. It is shared with the Killeen/Temple and Bryan/College Station areas of the U.S. and is one of the largest radio markets in the world. It has a population of 1.2 million people, the third-largest in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city is home to the University of Texas at Waco, which has an enrollment of more than 100,000 people. It also has the nation's second-largest prison population, with more than 3,000 inmates. The town's population is 1.3 million, the fourth-highest in the country, and it is the largest city in the Texas census state. It was founded in 1836.

Sports

The Baylor Bears athletics teams compete in Waco. The Waco BlueCats, an independent minor league baseball team, planned to play in the inaugural season of the Southwest League of Professional Baseball in 2019. The American Basketball Association had a franchise for part of the 2006 season, the Waco Wranglers. The Southern Indoor Football League announced that Waco was an expansion market for the 2010 season. The last year Waco had a team in the Texas League was 1930, but fielded some strong semipro teams in the 1930s and early 1940s. During the World War II years of 1943-1945, the powerful Waco Army Air Field team was probably the best in the state. In 2018, Bicycle World Texas IRONMAN 70.3 Waco held its inaugural event in the city on October 26. The team relocated to Longview to finish the season and finished a respectable third with a 7768 record. When the tornado struck in 1953, it destroyed the park. Waco has many golf clubs and courses, including Cottonwood Creek Golf Course. In 1947, the Class B Big State League was organized with Waco as a member called theWaco Dons. In 1948, A.H. Kirksey, owner of Katy Park, persuaded the Pittsburgh Pirates club to take over the WACO operation. The Pirates vaulted into third place in 1948. They dropped a notch to fourth in 1949, but prevailed in the playoffs to win the league championship. In 1952, the Pirates tumbled into the second division, bottoming out with a dreadful 29118, 0.197 club in 1952.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Waco, McLennan County, Texas = 80.3. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 76. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 100. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Waco = 5.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 138,486 individuals with a median age of 29.7 age the population grows by 7.08% in Waco, McLennan County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,569.16 residents per square mile of area (605.86/km²). There are average 2.51 people per household in the 45,055 households with an average household income of $30,459 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.40% of the available work force and has dropped -1.52% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 29.56%. The number of physicians in Waco per 100,000 population = 180.9.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Waco = 36 inches and the annual snowfall = 0.3 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 82. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 230. 95 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 33.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 23, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Waco, McLennan County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 41.90%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 40 years with median home cost = $91,480 and home appreciation of 0.29%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $12.53 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,517 per student. There are 14.1 students for each teacher in the school, 872 students for each Librarian and 393 students for each Counselor. 5.92% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 11.71% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.76% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).