The Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW), simply The Metroplex or simply North Texas, is the largest metropolitan agglomeration in the US state of Texas. The metropolitan area consists of the two primary cities of Dallas (1,288,000 inhabitants) and Fort Worth (936,000 inhabitants) surrounded by a vast area of suburbs, of which Arlington (393,000 inhabitants) is the largest. Its formal name is the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The entire agglomeration consists of 13 counties and has 7,760,000 inhabitants (2021). The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the fourth largest in the United States. Dallas is the 9th largest city in the country. The metropolitan region is numerically the fastest growing in the United States, with a population growth of 1,268,000 between 2010 and 2020.
Introduction
According to answermba, the metropolitan area consists of 13 counties in northern Texas, not far from the Oklahoma border. The wider region is also referred to as “North Texas.” The conurbation consists of the 2 large cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, surrounded by a large number of suburbs, some of which are very large in size. The name “Metroplex” comes from the fact that there is not one important city, but several, the agglomeration is polycentric in design. Dallas is by far the largest city with a population of 1,345,000. It is the third largest city in Texas after Houston and San Antonio.
The second city is Fort Worth, which has a population of 895,000. The agglomeration is much larger, measuring 100 kilometers from east to west, and 75 kilometers from north to south. There are a large number of suburbs with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Except for the centers of Fort Worth and Dallas, most of the metropolitan area is very suburban, with almost exclusively detached houses. The Dallas housing market is considered very affordable, especially given its rapid economic growth. Houses in the region are often large. Homes with a floor area of 300 to 400 square meters are no exception. Plot surfaces are usually larger than 800 square meters. There are still quite a few undeveloped areas within the agglomeration, which means that the population density is quite low.
The largest suburbs are located between and north of Dallas and Fort Worth. To the east, west and south of both cities, the agglomeration has grown less far, with usually one or two suburbs before the countryside begins. Some distant suburbs are quite far from Dallas, up to 50 to 60 kilometers away. The centers of Dallas and Fort Worth are about 30 miles apart. Most new developments still take place on the northern side of the conurbation.
Counties and cities
| City | Population (2021) |
| Dallas | 1,288,000 |
| Fort Worth | 936,000 |
| Arlington | 393,000 |
| plano | 288,000 |
| Irving | 254,000 |
| Garland | 242,000 |
Officially, the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area consists of 13 counties. The actual urbanized area includes 4 counties that form the core area, and the rest are counties that are within the DFW influence area, but are not fully urbanized.
Dallas County includes the city of Dallas, and its most immediate western, northern, and eastern suburbs such as Grand Prairie, Irving, parts of Carrollton and Richardson, Garland, Rowlett, and Mesquite. Dallas County had a population of 2,586,000 in 2021
Tarrant County includes the city of Fort Worth, and its eastern and northern suburbs, such as Keller, Grapevine, Euless, Arlington, and Mansfield. There are no major suburban areas west and south of Fort Worth. Tarrant County had a population of 2,126,000 in 2021.
Collin County includes the northern suburban area of Dallas, which primarily includes the cities of Plano, Allen, Frisco, and McKinney. Collin County had a population of 1,109,000 in 2021.
Denton County includes the northwest sector of the conurbation around the city of Denton and a number of smaller suburbs. In 2021 Denton County had a population of 942,000.
Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton County together have a population of 6,763,000. The other surrounding counties account for another 1 million inhabitants. The other counties are non-urbanized areas with often only one town that is still strongly focused on DFW. Most have between 50,000 and 150,000 inhabitants. The 13 counties together account for an area of 24,059 km², but the 4 urbanized counties together account for 9,453 km² with a population density of 577 inhabitants per square kilometer. It should be noted that the area includes many large lakes and parts of Collin and Denton County are still undeveloped. The typical suburbs have a population density of about 1,500 inhabitants per square kilometer. Typically, the agglomeration has no real periphery. All suburbs are relatively densely built,
Population growth
Population development of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
Rounded population numbers by county of the conurbation. The list below only includes the counties that form the core of the agglomeration with continuously built-up areas. The official agglomeration includes 13 counties, but outside the ones mentioned below these are mainly counties with one or two cores that are located in the vicinity of Dallas-Fort Worth, and are not (yet) part of the continuously built-up area.
| Year | Dallas | Tarrant | Collin | Denton | Others* | total | grow |
| 1920 | 211,000 | 153,000 | 50,000 | 35,000 | 252,000 | 701,000 | |
| 1930 | 326,000 | 198,000 | 46,000 | 33,000 | 233,000 | 836,000 | +135,000 |
| 1940 | 399,000 | 226,000 | 47,000 | 34,000 | 219,000 | 925,000 | +89,000 |
| 1950 | 615,000 | 361,000 | 42,000 | 41,000 | 203,000 | 1,262,000 | +337,000 |
| 1960 | 952,000 | 538,000 | 41,000 | 47,000 | 201,000 | 1,779,000 | +517,000 |
| 1970 | 1,327,000 | 716,000 | 67,000 | 76,000 | 243,000 | 2,429,000 | +650,000 |
| 1980 | 1,556,000 | 861,000 | 145,000 | 143,000 | 329.000 | 3,034,000 | +605,000 |
| 1990 | 1,853,000 | 1,170,000 | 264,000 | 274,000 | 458,000 | 4,019,000 | +985,000 |
| 2000 | 2,219,000 | 1,446,000 | 492,000 | 433,000 | 614,000 | 5,204,000 | +1,185,000 |
| 2010 | 2,368,000 | 1,809,000 | 782,000 | 663,000 | 804,000 | 6.426,000 | +1,222,000 |
| 2020 | 2,611,000 | 2,115,000 | 1,073,000 | 914,000 | 944,000 | 7,662,000 | +1,236,000 |
| 2021 | 2,586,000 | 2,126,000 | 1,109,000 | 942,000 | 997,000 | 7,760,000 | +98,000 |
* Other counties: Ellis County, Hood County, Hunt County, Johnson County, Kaufman County, Parker County, Rockwall County, Somervell County, Wise County.
The population growth in the outlying area is striking, because it shrank until the 1970s. Between 1920 and 1960 the rural area lost about a fifth of the population. It wasn’t until 1960 that this area began to grow strongly, as Dallas and Tarrant County filled up. Between 2000 and 2020 the population increased by 2.5 million inhabitants. In 2018, Collin County passed the 1 million population mark.
