By Jessica Heer, Executive Vice President
Recently released population data illustrates that Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing cities in America and headed toward the million mark. Today, only nine U.S. cities can tout a seven-figure population.
A Regional Look at Population
Let’s start with the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan statistical area. DFW is soaring—hitting a new record of 8.1 million residents according to the most recent estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. With a 152,598 added to the DFW headcount between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023, the DFW metroplex is the largest-gaining metroplex in the United States and the location-of-choice for many new Texans. Although DFW makes up 26.6% of Texas’ total population, the growth in DFW made up 32.2% of the total increase in Texas’ population in 2023.
The overall population growth is staggering in DFW, but the increase in headcount broken down to a daily figure might be even more so—418 people were added per day in 2023. The number of people “added” reflects the net headcount, including births, deaths, immigration into, and emigration out of the MSA. The increase in Tarrant County alone topped 13,000—ranking Tarrant as #5 amongst counties with the greatest increase in 2023. The U.S. Census Bureau divides the metroplex into two divisions, and the Fort Worth-Arlington division in the west includes four of the eleven DFW counties—Tarrant, Johnson, Parker, and Wise counties—and makes up 33% of DFW’s population, to the tune of 2.6 million people. That’s larger than the populations of fourteen states!
Fort Worth by the Numbers
City population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau for 2023 show 978,468 people reside in the city of Fort Worth, which now ranks as the 12th largest city in the United States ahead of Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. Among the top 25 largest cities in America, Fort Worth experienced an impressive 5.9% growth, adding 54,866 people, from 2020 to 2023, earning it the top spot in percentage growth.
In the past five years, population growth in Fort Worth, Austin, and Jacksonville, Florida, has been a close race, with each city separated by only a few thousand people and all nearing one million residents. If Fort Worth’s growth rate continues, it’s likely to move up the list of largest cities and cross the threshold of one million people sometime in the next year or two. Today, only nine U.S. cities can tout a seven-figure population.
Why This Matters for Fort Worth Economic Development
The process of economic development focuses on growing and improving the economy of a specific area by attracting new businesses and investment, creating jobs, and supporting local businesses. When a community’s population is growing it expands the workforce, helps attract new businesses looking to hire talent, and generates new customers for local businesses, which drives overall economic prosperity in Fort Worth.
Discover the most recent facts and figures on our Why Fort Worth page, and stay up to date with the Fort Worth EDP to follow economic development news and activities in Fort Worth.
The Briefing is a regular publication from the Fort Worth EDP highlighting the latest economic development news and information in the greater Fort Worth area.
