Is Waxahachie, TX a Good Place to Live?

Short answer: yes, for most people Waxahachie is a good place to live – it’s the county seat of Ellis County, it’s grown into one of the more solid mid-sized towns south of Dallas, and it manages to keep genuine small-town character while still having real infrastructure behind it. That said, it’s a different animal than nearby Ennis, and worth understanding on its own terms before you commit.

We’re a moving company headquartered in Ellis County, so we’re not guessing at any of this from a spreadsheet. Here’s what we’d actually tell a friend asking whether Waxahachie is worth the move.

Quick Answer: Is Waxahachie a Good Place to Live?

If you’re short on time, here’s the honest version:

• Good fit if: you want a bigger town than Ennis with more retail and dining, a stronger school district on paper, and a historic downtown worth walking around.
• Maybe not for you if: you want ultra-low cost of living, minimal traffic growth, or you’re allergic to “small-town-turned-boomtown” energy.
• Cost of living: close to the national average, with housing running noticeably below the DFW inner suburbs.
• Commute: roughly 30 miles south of downtown Dallas via I-35E – workable for a hybrid schedule, a real commute for a daily downtown job.

Waxahachie, TX at a Glance

Waxahachie is the county seat of Ellis County and, by the city’s own current figures, sits at around 53,000 residents spread across roughly 51 square miles, with an annual growth rate near 4.4%. That’s a meaningful jump from the 2020 Census count of just over 41,000 – this is one of the faster-growing small cities in North Texas, driven largely by Dallas-area residents pushing south for more space and lower prices.

Median household income runs above $85,000, noticeably higher than many of its Ellis County neighbors, and the town supports real employers of its own – Baylor Scott & White’s local medical center, a community college campus, a private university, and a manufacturing and distribution base that includes names like Georgia-Pacific and Owens Corning.

What Is Waxahachie, Texas Known For?

Two things come up constantly: the courthouse and the movies. The Ellis County Courthouse, completed in 1897 in Romanesque Revival style with turrets, hand-carved stone faces, and a working clock tower, dominates the downtown square and has made Waxahachie one of the most filmed small towns in the state. Local and national write-ups have called it the “Best Little Hollywood in Texas” and the “Movie Capital of Texas,” with nearly ninety film and TV productions shot here over the decades, including Bonnie and Clyde, Tender Mercies, the Oscar-winning Places in the Heart, and more recently Taylor Sheridan’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Beyond the film history, Waxahachie carries a few other nicknames: the Gingerbread City, for its ornate Victorian homes, and the Crape Myrtle Capital of Texas, celebrated every July with the Crape Myrtle Festival. The city also has an unusual footnote in science history – in 1988 it was chosen as the site of the Superconducting Super Collider, a massive particle accelerator project that was partially built before Congress cancelled it in 1993, leaving miles of tunnel underground.

Curious how Waxahachie stacks up against a smaller neighbor? We covered how it stacks up against nearby Ennis if you’re deciding between the two.

Is Waxahachie, TX Safe? Crime Rate Breakdown

As with most cities, the answer depends on which data source you check, so it’s worth understanding the range rather than a single number.

Several FBI-based trackers place Waxahachie’s overall crime rate below both the state and national averages, particularly for violent crime, which runs noticeably lower here than the U.S. average. Other per-capita ranking tools, which adjust for city size, place Waxahachie closer to the middle of the pack nationally, with property crime – not violent crime – as the bigger driver of the overall number.

Local resident surveys tend to split: on community platforms, a majority describe the city as safe or very safe, though a meaningful minority raise concerns about traffic and occasional property crime downtown. Safety also varies by neighborhood – some crime-mapping tools rate specific residential areas, like those near Spring Creek, as some of the safest in the region, while the immediate downtown core (which also sees the most foot traffic and tourism) scores slightly higher on crime density.

Cost of Living and Housing in Waxahachie

Waxahachie runs close to the national average for overall cost of living – a few percentage points above by some estimates, a few below by others – with housing costs landing meaningfully below both the state average and the DFW inner suburbs. Median home prices have been trending in the high $300,000s to low $400,000s through 2026, which sounds like a lot until you compare it to equivalent square footage closer to Dallas.

If you’re relocating from a pricier market, it’s worth deciding what actually makes the cut before the truck arrives – a bigger, cheaper house doesn’t always mean you need more stuff to fill it.

Schools in Waxahachie, TX

This is one of the clearer differentiators for Waxahachie: Waxahachie ISD serves roughly 11,000 students across about 19 campuses and reports a graduation rate near 94%, above the state average. The district runs some notable specialty programs, including a STEAM-focused magnet elementary and Waxahachie Global High School, which offers an early-college track where students can graduate with an associate degree alongside their diploma. Ratings and parent reviews are generally solid, though – as with any growing district – specific schools and even specific classrooms can vary quite a bit, so it’s worth checking campus-level data for your actual attendance zone before you buy.

Getting Around: Commute and Location

Waxahachie sits roughly 30 miles south of downtown Dallas via I-35E, with an average commute time for residents right around 26 minutes – a bit better than you’d expect given the drive to Dallas proper, largely because a good share of the workforce here is employed locally rather than commuting into the metro every day. For a hybrid schedule, it’s an easy trade-off. For a five-day downtown commute, it’s a real daily investment.

Is Waxahachie Right for You?

Pulling it together, Waxahachie tends to make sense for:

• Families who want a stronger school district than some nearby small towns, without paying inner-suburb prices
• People who like genuine historic character – a walkable downtown square, festivals, and real architecture, not a manufactured “town center”
• Buyers who want more house and land for the money than DFW’s northern suburbs offer
• Remote or hybrid workers who don’t need to be in downtown Dallas five days a week

It’s a tougher sell if you want the lowest possible cost of living in the region, or if a daily downtown Dallas commute is non-negotiable.

Planning the Actual Move to Waxahachie

Once you’ve decided Waxahachie is the move, the logistics matter as much as the decision itself. If you’ve got animals in the mix, getting pets settled into a new home without the stress is worth reading before moving week, not during it.

Packing is where most people underestimate the job – packing supplies people forget until moving day covers the stuff that isn’t obvious until you’re standing in an empty room realizing you’re short on it. And if the move itself has you more stressed than excited, that’s normal – handling the emotional side of a big move is worth a read, especially if this is a bigger life change than just a change of address.

Comparing Waxahachie to other nearby options? Our Red Oak, TX moving crew can help if that ends up being the better fit for your commute or budget instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Waxahachie, TX safe?

Generally yes, with some nuance depending on the data source. Violent crime tends to run below national averages, while property crime and per-capita rankings vary more by methodology. Most residents describe the city as safe, with some variation by neighborhood.

Is Waxahachie, Texas a good place to live?

For most people relocating from the DFW metro or out of state, yes – it offers a stronger school district than several nearby small towns, genuine historic character, and housing costs well below the inner suburbs, at the cost of a real commute into downtown Dallas.

What is Waxahachie, Texas known for?

Waxahachie is best known for the 1897 Ellis County Courthouse and its long history as a filming location for movies and TV – including Bonnie and Clyde and the Oscar-winning Places in the Heart – along with nicknames like the Gingerbread City and the Crape Myrtle Capital of Texas.

How far is Waxahachie, TX from Dallas?

About 30 miles south of downtown Dallas via I-35E, typically a 35-45 minute drive depending on traffic – workable for a hybrid schedule, more of a commitment for a daily downtown commute.

Thinking About Making the Move to Waxahachie?

We’re based right here in Ellis County, not guessing at what Waxahachie is like from an office three states away. Whether you’re moving across the county or across the country, our local moving team can handle the heavy lifting while you focus on the rest of the transition.

Ready to get moving? Get a quote from our Waxahachie, TX moving crew and let’s get it scheduled.

Sources: City of Waxahachie, Texas official website, Waxahachie Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Texas Highways Magazine.