Waco is a city in and 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 U.S. census estimated 2022 population of 143,984, making it the 24th-most populous city in the state. The Waco metropolitan statistical area consists of McLennan, Falls and Bosque counties, which had a 2020 population of 295,782. Bosque County was added to the Waco MSA in 2023. The 2023 U.S. census population estimate for the Waco metropolitan area was 304,865 residents.
From left to right, top to bottom: Downtown, McLennan County Courthouse, Waco Suspension Bridge, Dr. Pepper Museum, Waco Mammoth National Monument, Baylor University, Waco Hippodrome, Cameron Park, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, and Austin Avenue in Downtown
Suspension Bridge, Waco, Texas
The Dr Pepper Museum is one of Waco's tourist attractions.
Washington Avenue Bridge (postcard, c. 1908), built in 1902, it was the longest single-span steel bridge in the world.
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 260,579. Its county seat and largest city is Waco. The U.S. census 2023 county population estimate is 268,583. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early Scottish settler who worked to evict the Native Americans in frontier Texas. McLennan County is included in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The McLennan County Courthouse in Waco
Aerial view of downtown Waco in 2009; Brazos River to the left and campus of Baylor University in the upper right
