What it's like to live in Bellmead
Bellmead is a small city in Texas with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Bellmead deals with household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, college degree attainment below the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High poverty rate
- High rent burden for renters
- Hot summers
How Bellmead compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Bellmead
Based on Bellmead's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,214
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $44,280 a year
- 62% of Bellmead renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$31,020
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $15,510
- Homes cost 3.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 22% below US
$1,107/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,107 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $155,100. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $155,100 · 62% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in McLennan County is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
McLennan County (county-wide)
SafetyNear US average
348 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 2793/100k · Bellmead Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 12% below US
23 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. Nearly all workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 93°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 38°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 63% below US
13% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Waco Mammoth National Monument (5 miles away).
Bottom line
Bellmead's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,107/mo) equals 26% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget.
Other places near Bellmead
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