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 2024 population of 146,608, 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 …