Retiring in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

About Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

This region covers two Central Texas markets that share the Brazos River basin and a common set of hazards. The first is the I-35 corridor from Waco through Temple to Salado, in McLennan and Bell counties, where the places profiled here are Woodway, Waco, Temple and Salado. The second is the Bryan-College Station market in Brazos County, represented by College Station and the 55+ community Lakeside at Millican Reserve. Bell County's own website lists Belton, Fort Hood, Harker Heights, Killeen, Little River-Academy, Moody, Morgans Point Resort, Nolanville, Rogers, Salado, Temple and Troy among its local cities, which shows how many separate municipalities share the corridor.

This is not a region of large age-restricted resort communities. Older residents are concentrated in a few smaller places: the American Community Survey 2019-2023 five-year profiles estimate that 25.7 percent of Salado's residents and 23.1 percent of Woodway's are aged 65 or older, compared with 15.1 percent in Temple, 13.2 percent in Waco and 6.7 percent in College Station. The region's case for retirement rests on hospitals, lower prices, a regional airport and ordinary suburban living, not on a developer-built lifestyle. Readers who want that should compare the Austin & Central Texas region.

Who Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley fits

• Households that want hospital access in a mid-sized city and are comfortable in a conventional all-age suburb or small town, such as Woodway or Salado, where the survey shows owner-occupancy of 91.3 percent and 88.5 percent.
• Buyers who prefer lower home values than the Austin corridor: the 2019-2023 survey estimates median owner-occupied values of $199,600 in Waco and $220,300 in Temple.
• Veterans who want proximity to VA Central Texas health care, whose main location is in Temple and which also lists locations in Waco and College Station.
• Households that value a university-town calendar and a commercial airport with daily American Airlines service, and who are considering the College Station market.

Who may prefer somewhere else

• Buyers who want a large, amenity-rich age-restricted community with golf and clubs. The only age-restricted community profiled here is Lakeside at Millican Reserve, and the Austin & Central Texas region contains larger established examples.
• Households that rely on frequent airline service. Easterwood Airport lists one airline and a nonstop route to Dallas/Fort Worth, and larger airports elsewhere in Texas offer more choices; households that want a Dallas-Fort Worth setting should look at that part of Texas instead.
• Anyone who wants to avoid a summer with many days above 90 degrees. The NOAA normals for Waco and College Station show more than 100 such days in a typical year.
• Households that do not want to plan for tornado and hail season or check flood maps, which matter across the corridor.

Major tradeoffs in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

• Lower prices than the Austin corridor come with fewer age-restricted options and, in College Station, a housing market oriented toward students and younger households.
• Healthcare is concentrated in Waco, Temple and Bryan-College Station. Smaller places such as Salado have no hospital of their own, so travel time to care is a consideration.
• Property tax rates stack up: for tax year 2025, school district rates range from 0.9369 per $100 in Midway ISD to 1.1669 in Salado ISD, and city rates range from 0.363836 in Woodway to 0.755 in Waco, so the combined rate depends heavily on the address.

Places in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

• BeltonA Bell County city with a university, a county museum and expo center, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake, relatively high school-district tax rates, a surface-water supply drawn from the Brazos River Authority system and no hospital listed on the city's own pages.
• College StationA Brazos County university city that is home to Texas A&M, with a median age of 22.9, a renter-majority housing market, two hospital systems, a commercial airport and a 55+ community that describes itself as the first of its kind in the area.
• HewittA McLennan County suburb south of Waco with a median household income of $83,798, 17.8 percent of residents aged 65 or older, Midway ISD schools, hospitals in Waco, hail and tornado exposure, and a municipal water system whose regional-plan need rises from 16 percent of demand in 2020 to 47 percent in 2070.
• SaladoA small Bell County village on the I-35 corridor with one of the highest older-resident shares in the region, higher home values than nearby Temple, its own school district and cultural arts district, and hospital care in Temple.
• TempleA Bell County city on the I-35 corridor anchored by Baylor Scott & White's Temple hospital campuses and a Veterans Affairs medical center, with a larger and younger population than a typical retirement town and a city tax rate near 0.70 per $100.
• WacoThe McLennan County seat on the Waco side of the I-35 corridor, with two full-service hospitals, a regional airport, Lake Waco, a median age under 30, home values well below Woodway's and a rental-heavy housing market.
• WoodwayA McLennan County city of about 9,500 residents on the west side of Lake Waco, adjoining Waco, with a high share of older residents, mostly owner-occupied housing, city parks and an arboretum, and two Waco hospitals close by.

See every place in both states

Housing in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

Housing differs sharply by place. The 2019-2023 survey estimates median owner-occupied home values of $395,400 in Salado, $336,100 in Woodway, $326,500 in College Station, $220,300 in Temple and $199,600 in Waco. It estimates that owners occupy 91.3 percent of occupied homes in Woodway, 88.5 percent in Salado, 52.9 percent in Temple, 48.9 percent in Waco and 35.9 percent in College Station. Median household income ranges from $51,468 in Waco and $51,776 in College Station to $115,729 in Woodway. These are five-year survey estimates with margins of error, and they lag current sales, so use current listings for individual decisions.

Property tax is levied by several units on the value an appraisal district sets. McLennan Central Appraisal District, the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County and the Brazos Central Appraisal District each appraise property in their counties, and the Texas Comptroller's county directories list the taxing units. For tax year 2025, the Comptroller's published rate tables (versions dated January 28, 2026) show county rates per $100 of taxable value of 0.334805 in McLennan, 0.3317 in Bell and 0.423059 in Brazos, and city rates of 0.363836 in Woodway, 0.4231 in Salado, 0.511872 in College Station, 0.6999 in Temple and 0.755 in Waco. School district rates are 0.9369 for Midway ISD, 0.9753 for College Station ISD, 1.0266 for Waco ISD, 1.1372 for Temple ISD and 1.1669 for Salado ISD. Rates change each budget year and apply only to addresses inside each unit. Texas has no state personal income tax; see Texas retirement taxes.

The state requires school districts to provide a $140,000 residence homestead exemption and an additional $60,000 exemption for homeowners age 65 or older or disabled, according to the Comptroller, and taxing units may adopt local option exemptions. Exemptions reduce taxable value; they are not cash payments. The Bell appraisal district's exemption information adds that the age-65 exemption comes with a school-tax ceiling, that the assessed value of a homestead can rise by no more than 10 percent per year until it reaches market value, and that eligible homeowners can defer taxes with 5 percent annual interest. The ceiling does not freeze every tax; see homestead and age-65 exemptions and property taxes and appraisal districts.

Healthcare in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

Waco has two large hospital campuses. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Hillcrest describes a 260-bed hospital with trauma and acute care, a Level III neonatal intensive care unit and a cancer center, and Ascension Providence Hospital describes a full-service hospital with 24/7 emergency care, a Primary Stroke Center designation by The Joint Commission and a Level II Stroke Center designation by the State of Texas. In Temple, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Temple operates a main hospital campus, a pediatric campus and a long-term care campus, and is open 24 hours. In College Station, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - College Station is a 142-bed hospital that lists a Level III Trauma Center, and St. Joseph Health, headquartered in Bryan/College Station, lists 61 locations in 9 counties.

Bell County's website lists these hospitals among others: Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, AdventHealth Central Texas, Seton Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White Health and Olin E. Teague Veterans' Medical Center. VA Central Texas lists its main location at 1901 Veterans Memorial Drive in Temple, a Waco location at 4800 Memorial Drive and a College Station clinic at 1651 Rock Prairie Road. Hospital and physician choice depends on Medicare or private plan networks that change each year; see the guide to Texas healthcare geography and Medicare for the framework.

Getting around and airports: Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

Interstate 35 runs through the corridor, and Bell County posts I-35 construction updates on its home page. Waco Regional Airport says it has served Central Texas for more than 75 years and is near Interstate 35. Temple's Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport covers 922 acres with two paved runways and is described by the city as meeting the business transportation needs of the region. Bell County's website also lists the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport and the Hill Country Transit District, and the Waco city website lists a transit system with bus routes.

In the Brazos Valley, Easterwood Airport in College Station lists American Airlines service to Dallas/Fort Worth and describes daily nonstop flights. Airline schedules change, so check each airport's own flight pages. No drive times are given here; test a trip at the hours you would travel.

Insurance and risk in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

Severe thunderstorms are the hazard that most often drives insurance decisions. The National Weather Service describes tornadoes as capable of destroying well-made structures and says they can occur at any time of day or night and at any time of the year. The Texas Department of Insurance advises homeowners to file hail claims promptly, to document damage with pictures and video, to get more than one estimate and to avoid contractors who offer to waive a deductible, which is illegal under state law. It explains that some policies pay replacement cost on a roof while others pay actual cash value, so roof age and material matter when buying. Premiums depend on the insurer, roof, claims history and address and are not quoted here.

Flood risk is address-specific. FEMA says any place with a 1 percent or higher chance of flooding each year is considered high risk, that floods do not follow city limits or property lines, and that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. Flood insurance is a separate policy and is required for homes in high-risk areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders. Lake Waco is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir whose stated mission includes water supply for the city of Waco and flood control for the Waco area. Wildfire and drought are seasonal concerns; the Texas A&M Forest Service describes itself as the lead agency in Texas for fighting wildfires, and Bell County posts burn-ban status on its home page.

Heat is a daily-life factor. The NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Waco Regional Airport show a normal July daily high of 96.7 degrees Fahrenheit and about 114.8 days at or above 90 degrees in a typical year by our arithmetic from the monthly values; the College Station normals show a July high of 95.4 and about 116.7 such days by the same arithmetic. No single risk label describes the region. Check the flood map and roof condition of any property, and see the guide to Texas summer heat, humidity and climate by region.

Recreation and lifestyle in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

Recreation is mostly municipal and lake-based. Woodway maintains four public parks, a 16-acre arboretum and over 6 miles of nature trails beside Lake Waco. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages Waco Lake and describes fishing, camping and boating. Temple's parks department lists a family water park, an indoor pool, a golf course, a bark park and trails, and the city's outdoor recreation page points to Belton Lake, the Miller Springs Nature Center and Mother Neff State Park. Waco's website lists Cameron Park, Cameron Park Zoo, the Lake Waco Wetlands and the Waco Mammoth National Monument. Salado's website describes a cultural arts district and Pace Park. In the Brazos Valley, Millican Reserve describes trails, a boathouse, a farm and stables, and Texas A&M events shape the College Station calendar.

55+ and active-adult communities in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

Lakeside at Millican Reserve in College Station is the only age-restricted community profiled in this region. Its builder, Kept Classic Homes, markets it as a 55+ active adult community, and the builder's materials describe a private clubhouse, a homeowners association and service by a municipal utility district. The occupancy rules are set in deed restrictions that buyers should obtain and review. Elsewhere in the region, older households mostly buy in all-age neighborhoods. For the distinction between age-restricted and all-age communities, see the guide to 55-plus communities versus all-age master plans.

New construction in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

New construction in the profiled places is concentrated at Lakeside, where Epcon lists single-family homes from the upper $400,000s, and the builder says a new home typically takes six to eight months from groundbreaking. Buyers of new homes should request the contract, the declaration, the association budget and the district's tax rate in writing.

Communities in Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

• Lakeside at Millican ReserveA 55+ active adult community of single-family homes by Kept Classic Homes inside the Millican Reserve master plan in south College Station, with a planned clubhouse and MUD-served infrastructure.

Comparisons and guides for Waco, Temple & Brazos Valley

• Waco vs Temple: retirement compared
• Texas healthcare geography and Medicare network considerations
• 55-plus communities versus all-age master plans in Texas