City comparison
Lakewood, OH is about 1,100 miles (1,800 km) from Waco, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,400 miles, or about 23 hours (about 2 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Lakewood, OH to Waco, TX takes about 2 h 11 min, covering roughly 1,100 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Lakewood, OH is on Eastern Time and Waco, TX is on Central Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Lakewood, it's 11 a.m. in Waco, which puts Lakewood 1 hours ahead.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Waco has a population of 140,545, vs 50,605 in Lakewood — about 2.8× larger by population. By land area, Waco covers about 91 sq mi vs 5.5 sq mi for Lakewood.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Lakewood | Waco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $941/mo | $1,038/mo | 10.3% higher in Waco |
| Median home value | $221,100 | $174,100 | 27.0% higher in Lakewood |
| Median household income | $63,299 | $47,421 | 33.5% higher in Lakewood |
| Groceries index | 93.9 | 94.2 | ≈ equal (Waco slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 95.6 | 82.2 | 16.3% higher in Lakewood |
| Transportation index | 98.8 | 96.6 | 2.2% higher in Lakewood |
| Healthcare index | 99.0 | 96.1 | 3.0% higher in Lakewood |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Lakewood, you'd need $99,966 in Waco to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Lakewood and Waco have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 6% higher in Waco than in Lakewood. If you earn $80,000 in Lakewood, you'd need about $79,973 in Waco to keep the same standard of living.