Waco certainly won't be an Austin but on the plus side, it's still maintains a cheaper cost of living than Texas' major metro areas. Lot of semi-retired, retired and tele workers moving in due to the cost, low congestion and proximity to the major metro areas. This includes a lot of people from California cuz Chip and Jo. Real estate has the same frenzy as much of the state with houses going off market same day with multiple cash offers. These include homes well over 500K.
There is definitely young and more progressive leadership at the city level that is helping to drive innovation even if they drag the Waco blue hair racist crowd into the 21st century. There has been a flurry of new industrial and some higher tech facilities choosing Waco as an expansion area. At some point, new residents will reach a critical mass of the population that overcomes the Baylor insular, don't change my Waco, bubble people that have controlled the old money Waco. Those people have left Waco stagnant for decades.
And if Waco can keep from hosting some type of mass shooting event for more than a decade, then there are ingredients for Waco to be a successful small to mid-size metro area.