Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Metro Area Profile

7,985,590 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 7% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 11 sources
OpportunityTop 19% of 835 metro and micro areas measured68
SchoolsTop 14% of 695 metro and micro areas measured78
GrowthTop 9% of 834 metro and micro areas measured78
Housing affordability560th of 835 metro and micro areas measured70
ClimateTop 43% of 835 metro and micro areas measured68
Physical resilienceTop 45% of 835 metro and micro areas measured58
AccessTop 2% of 835 metro and micro areas measured99
Economic stabilityTop 18% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
The quick read

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranks in the top 19% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.6% and median household income of $90,275.

Public schools test above most of the state: 53% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 14% of published profiles for schools.

62,553 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 11% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
7,985,590
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$90,275
Top 7% nationally
Density
920/sq mi
8,676 sq mi of land
Median age
35.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Texas
Nearest major airport
DFW
5 mi · Dallas-Fort Worth Intl
Median home value
$359,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% — higher than in all but 34% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment held steady over the past year, at 4,382,554 employed residents.

39% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US metro and micro areas.

Median household income of $90,275 is higher than in 93% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4912024 ACS 5-Year$90,275Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2642024 ACS 5-Year$45,949Top 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.0%Top 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.1 minBottom 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year39.4%Top 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.2%10th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20264,382,554Top 1%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+3.6%Top 12%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Top 37%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20264,592,46299th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.9%Top 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$70,630Top 14%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$51,440Top 21%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS4,049,80099th percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%71st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Bottom 19%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.6%Bottom 34%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.8%94th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.23.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Largest occupations — Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers128,380$28,070
General and Operations Managers125,090$111,010
Stockers and Order Fillers111,100$37,590
Retail Salespersons100,340$33,400
Customer Service Representatives96,930$44,990
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand81,940$38,510

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 2,088 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
2,172
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across 2,088 of them
Math proficiency
53.3%
Top 19% in Texas
Reading proficiency
50.6%
Top 6% in Texas
The 12 largest of 2,172 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Allen H SALLEN ISD5,20619.912%12%
Duncanville H SDUNCANVILLE ISD4,39918.237%37%
Coppell H SCOPPELL ISD4,06815.368%84%
Lewisville H SLEWISVILLE ISD4,00113.362%46%
Skyline H SDALLAS ISD3,83716.945%40%
Prosper H SPROSPER ISD3,75316.179%80%
Hebron H SLEWISVILLE ISD3,66816.862%71%
Martin H SARLINGTON ISD3,53518.148%63%
Flower Mound H SLEWISVILLE ISD3,42616.188%87%
V R Eaton H SNORTHWEST ISD3,28818.064%66%
South Grand Prairie H SGRAND PRAIRIE ISD3,23916.357%41%
Sam Houston H SARLINGTON ISD3,20816.241%32%

57.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Texas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,737 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.60% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,931, some 20% above the $1,614 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,931 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $77,200 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $90,275.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,614 a month.

A median home at $359,500 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $118,445, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
102.5

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
31.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,931
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,614
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$359,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington’s median household income of $90,275, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index2023102.5Bottom 14%of 3862023
Home price to income ±0.02024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year60.1%8th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1,1582024 ACS 5-Year3,096,73199th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,648Bottom 5%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,431Bottom 6%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,931Bottom 5%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$62024 ACS 5-Year$1,614Bottom 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$1,1982024 ACS 5-Year$359,50084th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$292024 ACS 5-Year$5,73797th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7822024 ACS 5-Year$118,445Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.01%2024 ACS 5-Year1.60%90th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.2%Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±9242024 ACS 5-Year10,83893rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%4th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%33rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4,6102024 ACS 5-Year205,00699th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

78/ 100
Top 9% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 9% since 2020, reaching 8,344,032 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 8,344,032 residents in 2024, up 2.2% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

At 7.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
63K
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.8
Top 10% nationally
Year over year
−11%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
36.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

202020212022202320248344k7668k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.0 inches, including 1.6 inches of snow.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DALLAS FT WORTH AP, 4.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals1.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals96°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

58 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 33% of it. Inland flooding and heat wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HailHigh
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, inland flooding, ice storm, winter weather, strong wind, wildfire, earthquake, hurricane, landslide, drought, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Dallas-Fort Worth Intl at 5 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year93.6%Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle5 miTop 5%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 15%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.3%Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dallas-Fort Worth IntlDFW5 mi13,401 ft
Dallas Love FldDAL7 mi8,800 ft
Perot Fld/Fort Worth AllianceAFW22 mi11,125 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
71
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in this metro

Dallas
1,307,930 residents
Fort Worth
963,194 residents
Arlington
397,742 residents
Plano
290,594 residents
Irving
256,492 residents
Garland
246,844 residents
Frisco
219,304 residents
McKinney
210,600 residents
Grand Prairie
201,883 residents
Denton
152,866 residents
Mesquite
149,299 residents
Carrollton
133,740 residents
Lewisville
131,080 residents
Richardson
118,731 residents
Allen
110,265 residents
Flower Mound
78,389 residents
Mansfield
77,510 residents
North Richland Hills
70,780 residents
Rowlett
65,463 residents
Euless
60,421 residents
Wylie
60,334 residents
DeSoto
56,211 residents
Little Elm
54,820 residents
Burleson
52,918 residents
Rockwall
51,168 residents
Grapevine
51,139 residents
Bedford
49,085 residents
Cedar Hill
48,879 residents
Keller
45,976 residents
Haltom City
45,767 residents
The Colony
45,454 residents
Waxahachie
45,347 residents
Coppell
42,154 residents
Lancaster
40,820 residents
Hurst
39,861 residents
Duncanville
39,683 residents
Midlothian
39,356 residents
Prosper
37,869 residents
Farmers Branch
36,645 residents
Weatherford
35,788 residents
Cleburne
34,344 residents
Celina
34,268 residents
Forney
31,532 residents
Greenville
31,222 residents
Southlake
31,137 residents
Sachse
30,491 residents
Balch Springs
27,255 residents
Colleyville
26,012 residents
Princeton
25,229 residents
University Park
25,155 residents
Saginaw
24,970 residents
Benbrook
24,557 residents
Anna
24,330 residents
Corinth
23,385 residents
Watauga
23,233 residents
Fate
22,884 residents
Ennis
22,588 residents
Murphy
21,188 residents
Terrell
20,366 residents
Melissa
20,136 residents
Royse City
20,037 residents
Crowley
19,532 residents
Seagoville
19,352 residents
White Settlement
18,150 residents
Glenn Heights
18,096 residents
Addison
17,290 residents
Red Oak
17,077 residents
Highland Village
16,101 residents
Rendon
14,632 residents
Azle
14,126 residents
Forest Hill
14,062 residents
Trophy Club
13,733 residents
Lantana
12,766 residents
Fairview
10,783 residents
Heath
10,777 residents
Heartland
10,607 residents
Roanoke
10,286 residents