Elevation of Waco
471ft
above sea level · 144 m
Waco is a city in Texas with 147,788 people, the 24th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 124th lowest.
By the All Map Tools Team
Loading the map…
Place facts
- Coordinates
- 31.55° N · 97.15° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 31° 32′ 58″ N · 97° 8′ 48″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 14R · 675,922 E · 3,491,973 N
- Zone 14 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 147,788 people
- 91.0 sq mi of land · 1,624 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 3 m grid
- Data from June 2011: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Waco had 147,788 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 5.5% more than in April 2020, when it had 140,113. Its 91.0 sq mi of land work out to 1,624 people/sq mi; the state average is 121 people/sq mi.
It’s the 24th most populous of the 1,862 places the Census counts in Texas (cities, towns and CDPs), after Houston (2,397,315), and holds 0.5% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within McLennan County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 2.6 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Waco sits at 471 ft (144 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Waco is 391 ft below it.
The state capital, Austin, is 95 mi away in a straight line and 16 ft higher than Waco.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Fort Worth, 82 mi away in a straight line and 182 ft higher.
Of the 44 cities in Texas with a page, Waco is the 15th lowest: the highest is El Paso (3,713 ft) and the lowest is Corpus Christi (7 ft).
The highest point in Texas is Guadalupe Peak, at 8,749 ft according to the USGS: 8,278 ft above Waco, 454 mi away in a straight line.
- 126 Waco 471 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Step-by-step guide How to find the elevation of any place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Waco.
What is the elevation of Waco?
Waco is 471 feet (144 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Waco?
Latitude 31.54933 and longitude -97.14667, in decimal degrees (31° 32′ 58″ N · 97° 8′ 48″ W). In UTM, zone 14: 675,922 E and 3,491,973 N, on NAD83.
How does Waco rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 124th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Waco in?
McLennan County, Texas.
Which is higher, Waco or Austin?
Austin. Waco sits at 471 ft and Austin at 487 ft: a difference of 16 ft, 95 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know