The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern U.S., encompassing 11 counties. Its historically dominant core cities are Dallas and Fort Worth. It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. Residents of the area also refer to it as DFW (the code for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport) or the Metroplex. The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area's population was 7,637,387 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and the tenth-largest in the Americas. In 2016, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex had the highest annual population growth in the United States. In 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area's population had increased to 8,344,032.
The metropolitan region's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, insurance, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, medical research, transportation, manufacturing, and logistics. As of 2022, Dallas–Fort Worth is home to 23 Fortune 500 companies, the fourth-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States behind New York City (62), Chicago (35), and Houston (24). In 2016, the metropolitan economy surpassed that of Houston, the second-largest metro area in Texas, to become the fourth-largest in the U.S. The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex boasted a GDP of just over $620.6 billion in 2020 (although both metropolitan regions have switched places multiple times since GDP began recording). If the Metroplex were a sovereign state, it would have the 22nd largest economy in the world as of 2026. In 2015, the conurbated metropolitan area would rank the ninth-largest economy if it were a U.S. state.
The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex comprises the highest concentration of colleges and universities in Texas. The UT Southwestern Medical Center is home to six Nobel Laureates and was ranked No. 1 in the world among healthcare institutions in biomedical sciences. The Metroplex is also the second most popular metropolis for megachurches in Texas (trailing the Greater Houston metropolitan area), ranked the largest Christian metropolitan statistical area in the U.S., and has one of the largest LGBT communities in Texas since 2005.
Etymology A portmanteau of metropolis and complex, the term metroplex is credited to Harve Chapman, an executive vice president with Dallas-based Tracy-Locke, one of three advertising agencies that worked with the North Texas Commission on strategies to market the region. The NTC copyrighted the term "Southwest Metroplex" in 1972 as a replacement for the previously ubiquitous "North Texas", which studies had shown lacked identifiability outside the state. In fact, only 38 percent of a survey group identified Dallas and Fort Worth as part of "North Texas", with the Texas Panhandle also a perceived correct answer, being the northernmost region of Texas.
Geography
The United States Census Bureau determined the Metroplex encompasses of total area; is land, and is covered by water. The conurbated metropolitan area is larger in area than the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined, and larger than New Jersey. If the metropolitan area were a sovereign state, it would rank the 162nd largest state by total area after Lebanon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget combines the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex with the Sherman–Denison metropolitan area and seven micropolitan statistical areas to form the Dallas–Fort Worth TX–OK combined statistical area.
The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex overlooks mostly prairie land with rolling hills dotted by human-made lakes cut by streams, creeks and rivers surrounded by forested land. The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex is situated in the Texas blackland prairies region, so named for its fertile black soil found especially in the rural areas of Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties.
Many areas of Denton, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties are located in the Fort Worth Prairie region of North Texas, which has less fertile and more rocky soil than that of the Texas blackland prairie; most of the rural land on the Fort Worth Prairie is ranch land. A large onshore natural gas field, the Barnett Shale, lies underneath this area; Denton, Tarrant and Wise counties feature many natural gas wells. Continuing land use change results in scattered crop fields surrounded by residential or commercial development. South of Dallas/Fort Worth is a line of rugged hills that goes north to south about that looks similar to the Texas Hill Country to the south.
Metropolitan divisions and counties
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area is formed by a combination of two separate metropolitan statistical divisions. The Dallas–Plano–Irving MDA and Fort Worth–Arlington–Grapevine MDA come together to form one full metropolitan area or conurbation.
Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division Collin Dallas Denton Ellis Hunt Kaufman Rockwall
Fort Worth–Arlington–Grapevine metropolitan division Johnson Parker Tarrant Wise
Climate Dallas–Fort Worth has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa).
It is also continental, characterized by a relatively wide annual temperature range for the latitude. The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex is located at the lower end of Tornado Alley, and can experience extreme weather.
In the Metroplex, summers are very hot and humid, although low humidity characteristics of desert locations can appear at any time of the year. July and August are typically the hottest months, with an average high of and an average low of . Heat indexes regularly surpass at the height of summer. The all-time record high is , set on June 26 and 27, 1980 during the Heat Wave of 1980 at nearby Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Winters in the area are cool to mild, with occasional cold spells. The average date of first frost is November 12, and the average date of last frost is March 12."DFW – Freeze Summary". National Weather Service. Retrieved November 2, 2018. January is typically the coldest month, with an average daytime high of and an average nighttime low of . The normal daily average temperature in January is but sharp swings in temperature can occur, as strong cold fronts known as "Blue Northers" pass through the Metroplex, forcing daytime highs below the mark for several days at a time and often between days with high temperatures above . Snow accumulation is seen in the city in about 70% of winter seasons, and snowfall generally occurs 1–2 days out of the year for a seasonal average of . Some areas in the region, however, receive more than that, while other areas receive negligible snowfall or none at all.DFW Climate. Retrieved on March 26, 2006. The all-time record low temperature within the city is , set on January 18, 1930, however the temperature at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reached on February 16, 2021, during Winter Storm Uri.
Principal communities
The following are cities and towns categorized based on the latest population estimates from the United States Census Bureau (as of July 1, 2025). No population estimates are released for census-designated places (CDPs), which are marked with an asterisk (*). These places are categorized based on their 2020 census population.
Places with more than 100,000 inhabitants
Places designated "principal cities" by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget are italicized.
1,000,000+ Dallas (1,329,491) Fort Worth (1,028,117)
200,000–499,999 Arlington (402,134) Plano (293,028) Irving (257,076) Garland (249,625) Frisco (236,955) McKinney (236,001) Grand Prairie (209,434)
100,000–199,999 Denton (169,431) Mesquite (150,693) Lewisville (139,006) Carrollton (134,562) Richardson (118,542) Allen (113,447)
Places with 10,000 to 99,999 inhabitants
Addison Anna Azle Balch Springs Bedford Benbrook Burleson Cedar Hill Celina Cleburne Colleyville Coppell Corinth Crowley DeSoto Duncanville Ennis Euless Fairview Farmers Branch Fate Flower Mound Forest Hill Forney Glenn Heights Granbury Grapevine Greenville Haltom City Heath Highland Village Hurst Josephine Kaufman Keller Kennedale Lancaster Lavon Little Elm Mansfield Melissa Midlothian Mineral Wells (partial) Murphy North Richland Hills Northlake Princeton Prosper Providence Village Red Oak Rendon* Roanoke Rockwall Rowlett Royse City Sachse Saginaw Sanger Seagoville Southlake Terrell The Colony Trophy Club University Park Watauga Waxahachie Weatherford White Settlement Wylie
Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants
Aledo Alma Alvarado Alvord Annetta North Annetta South Annetta Argyle Aubrey Aurora Bardwell Bartonville Blue Mound Blue Ridge Boyd Briar* Briaroaks Bridgeport Caddo Mills Campbell Celeste Chico Cockrell Hill Combine Commerce Cool Cooper Copper Canyon Corral City Cottonwood Covington Crandall Cresson (partial) Cross Roads Cross Timber Dalworthington Gardens Decatur DeCordova Dennis DISH Double Oak Eagle Mountain* Edgecliff Village Everman Farmersville Ferris Garrett Glen Rose Godley Grandview Grays Prairie Gun Barrel City Hackberry Haslet Hawk Cove Hebron Hickory Creek Highland Park Hudson Oaks Hutchins Italy Itasca Joshua Justin Keene Kemp Knollwood Krugerville Krum Lake Bridgeport Lake Dallas Lake Worth Lakeside Lakewood Village Leonard Lone Oak Lowry Crossing Lucas Mabank (partial) Maypearl McLendon-Chisholm Milford Millsap Mobile City Nevada New Fairview New Hope Newark Neylandville Oak Grove Oak Leaf Oak Point Oak Ridge Ovilla Palmer Pantego Paradise Parker Pecan Acres* Pecan Hill Pelican Bay Pilot Point Ponder Post Oak Bend Quinlan Reno Rhome Richland Hills Rio Vista River Oaks Rosser Runaway Bay Saint Paul Sanctuary Sansom Park Scurry Shady Shores Springtown Sunnyvale Talty Union Valley Van Alstyne (partial) Venus West Tawakoni Westlake Weston Westover Hills Westworth Village Willow Park Wilmer Wolfe City
Unincorporated places
Ables Springs Acton Avalon Avondale Bolivar Brock Cash Copeville Elizabethtown Elmo Floyd Forreston Garner Greenwood Heartland Ike Lantana Lillian Merit Paloma Creek Peaster Poetry Poolville Rockett Sand Branch Savannah Slidell Telico Trumbull Westminster Whitt
Demographics
County2025 estimate2020 censusChangeAreaDensityDallas Tarrant Collin Denton Ellis Johnson Kaufman Parker Rockwall Hunt Wise Total
Numerically, the Metroplex is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the U.S. At the 2020 U.S. census 7,637,387 people lived in the area, up from 6,371,773 in 2010, and 2,974,805 in 1970. In 2020, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex's racial composition was 42% non-Hispanic white, 16% Black or African American, 8% Asian, 3–4% two or more races, and 29% Hispanic or Latino American of any race. According to information gathered from the North Texas Commission, the Metroplex's racial and ethnic makeup was 46% non-Hispanic white, 15% Black or African American, 7% Asian American, and 3% from other races in 2017. Ethnically, Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 29% of the metropolitan population. From 2010 to 2017, Hispanics and Latinos increased an estimated 38.9% followed by Blacks and African Americans.