Riesel is a city in McLennan County, Texas, situated in the Blackland Prairie farming country of Central Texas, about 14 miles southeast of Waco. It is part of the Waco metropolitan statistical area, and its 2020 population was 1,062, a modest increase from 1,007 a decade earlier. The city sits at the intersection of State Highway 6 and Farm Road 1860, along the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which has shaped its layout and history. The community's origins are agricultural and railroad-centered. During the region's railroad expansion, the Houston and Texas Central Railway built a section-house known as Roddy on the site around 1880, and by the 1890s Riesel had grown up around a cotton gin beside the tracks—a pattern common to small Texas towns of the era. Farming and ranching have remained the backbone of the local economy ever since, with cotton, grain, and livestock defining the surrounding landscape. Riesel functions today as a compact, low-density community where most residents own their homes. The Riesel Independent School District, based in the city, operates two campuses and serves roughly 650 students, with a small portion of its territory extending into neighboring Falls County, making the schools a focal point of local life. The town's streets are quiet and residential, with the school, churches, and a small commercial core along State Highway 6 providing the community's anchors. The city's appeal is straightforward: a quiet, affordable small town with strong agricultural character and quick access to Waco's employment, shopping, education, and medical facilities via State Highway 6. Its position on the highway and rail corridor gives residents an easy connection to the wider metro while the surrounding prairie keeps the setting distinctly rural. Riesel suits those who want space, a close-knit community, and a slower pace within a short drive of a regional center.