Prosper Waco report: Waco sees income gains but persistent poverty and child-poverty gaps

Jessica Addis and Dr. Jeremy Rhodes of Prosper Waco presented the 2024 Waco Snapshot to council on Dec. 17, emphasizing context and neighborhood- and race-based breakdowns alongside city-level averages. Rhodes said, "Data doesn't mean anything without context," and showed maps and trend charts comparing Waco to peer cities and the state.

Key findings summarized for council included a median household income around $47,421, a citywide poverty rate near 24.8% (2022), and a child-poverty rate close to 29%, with sharper declines for Hispanic children and worsening rates for Black children in recent years. Rhodes noted that removing undergraduate students from the analysis reduced Waco's measured poverty rate but did not close the gap with peer cities, saying the college population only partly explains the difference.

The report also documents worsening housing affordability (median home price about 5.2 times median income in 2022), rent variability across neighborhoods (range cited roughly $600 to $1,700), food insecurity affecting roughly 17% of city residents, and rising indicators of mental-health distress and crisis calls. Addis said Prosper Waco plans to publish this Snapshot biannually and invited council and community feedback on additional metrics for future reports.

Council members thanked the presenters and suggested future comparisons with county-level data and contextual breakdowns by destinations within McLennan County. Prosper Waco highlighted ongoing initiatives to address teacher pipeline, workforce credentials, SNAP enrollment barriers and behavioral-health coordination; staff and council agreed the data should guide priority investments rather than serve as a standalone diagnosis.