Origin of the term

According to the North Texas Commission (NTC), the term originated from an ad agency's combination of the terms "metropolitan" and "complex". The NTC copyrighted the term "Dallas/Fort Worth 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.

Metroplex counties

US Government Designated Counties in the DFW metroplex Collin County Dallas County Delta County Denton County Ellis County Hunt County Johnson County Kaufman County Parker County Rockwall County Tarrant County Wise County

Metroplex cities, towns, and CDPs

Downtown Dallas, Texas in March 2009. Dallas is the 9th largest city in the United States. Downtown Fort Worth, Texas in June 2010. Fort Worth is the 17th largest city in the United States.

Note: Cities and towns are categorized based on the latest population estimates from the North Central Texas Council of Governments (as of January 1, 2012). No population estimates are released for Census-designated places (CDPs), which are marked with an asterisk (*). These places are categorized based on their 2010 census population.

Places with more than 100,000 inhabitants Dallas Metropolitan Area at Night. Astronaut photo courtesy NASA, 2012.

Places designated "principal cities" by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are italicized in bold.

+1,000,000

Dallas (1,207,420)

500,000 — 999,999

Fort Worth (757,810)

200,000 — 499,999

Arlington (365,860) Plano (261,900) Garland (228,060) Irving (218,850)

100,000 — 199,999

Grand Prairie (176,980) Mesquite (139,950) McKinney (136,180) Frisco (125,500) Carrollton (121,150) Denton (115,810) Richardson (100,450) Places with 10,000 to 99,999 inhabitants Addison Allen Azle Balch Springs Bedford Benbrook Burleson Cedar Hill Cleburne Colleyville Coppell Corinth Crowley DeSoto Duncanville Ennis Euless Farmers Branch Flower Mound Forest Hill Forney Glenn Heights Grapevine Greenville Haltom City Highland Village Hurst Keller Lancaster Lewisville Little Elm Mansfield Midlothian Mineral Wells (partial) Murphy North Richland Hills Prosper Rockwall Rowlett Saginaw Sachse Seagoville Southlake Terrell The Colony University Park Watauga Waxahachie Weatherford White Settlement Wylie Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants Aledo Alma Alvarado Alvord Anna Annetta North Annetta South Annetta Argyle Aubrey Aurora Bardwell Bartonville Blue Mound Blue Ridge Boyd Briar* Briaroaks Bridgeport Caddo Mills Campbell Celeste Celina Chico Cockrell Hill Combine Commerce Cool Cooper Copper Canyon Corral City Cottonwood Crandall Cresson (partial) Cross Roads Cross Timber Dalworthington Gardens Decatur DISH Double Oak Eagle Mountain* Edgecliff Village Everman Fairview Farmersville Fate Ferris Garrett Godley Grandview Grays Prairie Gun Barrel City Hackberry Haslet Hawk Cove Heath Hebron Hickory Creek Highland Park Hudson Oaks Hutchins Italy Josephine Joshua Justin Kaufman Keene Kemp Kennedale Knollwood Krugerville Krum Lake Bridgeport Lake Dallas Lake Worth Lakeside Lakewood Village Lavon Lincoln Park Lone Oak Lowry Crossing Lucas Mabank (partial) Maypearl McLendon-Chisholm Melissa Milford Millsap Mobile City Nevada New Fairview New Hope Newark Neylandville Northlake 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 City Princeton Providence Village Quinlan Red Oak Rendon* Reno Rhome Richland Hills Rio Vista River Oaks Roanoke Rosser Royse City Runaway Bay Saint Paul Sanctuary Sanger Sansom Park Scurry Shady Shores Springtown Sunnyvale Talty Trophy Club Union Valley Van Alstyne (partial) Venus West Tawakoni Westlake Westminster Weston Westover Hills Westworth Village Willow Park Wilmer Wolfe City Unincorporated places Ables Springs Avalon Bolivar Brock Cash Copeville Dennis Elizabethtown Elmo Floyd Forreston Garner Greenwood Heartland Ike Lantana Lillian Merit Paloma Creek Peaster Poetry Poolville Rockett Sand Branch Savannah Slidell Telico Whitt

Demographics

Historical populations Census Pop. %± 2000 5,161,544 — 2010 6,371,773 23.4%

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 5,161,544 people, 1,881,056 households, and 1,301,993 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 69.3% White, 13.9% African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 10.0% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.7% of the population.

The median income for a household in the MSA was $48,062, and the median income for a family was $55,263. Males had a median income of $39,581 versus $27,446 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $21,839.

Combined Statistical Area

The Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK Combined Statistical Area is made up of 19 counties in north central Texas and one county in southern Oklahoma. The statistical area includes two metropolitan areas and six micropolitan areas. As of the 2010 Census, the CSA had a population of 6,817,483 (though a July 1, 2012 estimate placed the population at 7,095,411). The CSA definition encompasses 14,628 sq mi (37,890 km2) of area, of which 14,126 sq mi (36,590 km2) is land and 502 sq mi (1,300 km2) is water.

Components Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington (Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, and Wise counties) Sherman-Denison (Grayson County) Micropolitan Statistical Areas Athens (Henderson County) Bonham (Fannin County) Durant, OK (Bryan County) Gainesville (Cooke County) Granbury (Hood and Somervell counties) Mineral Wells (Palo Pinto County) Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,487,956 people, 2,006,665 households, and 1,392,540 families residing within the CSA. The racial makeup of the CSA was 70.41% White, 13.34% African American, 0.59% Native American, 3.58% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 9.62% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.83% of the population.

The median income for a household in the CSA was $43,836, and the median income for a family was $50,898. Males had a median income of $37,002 versus $25,553 for females. The per capita income for the CSA was $20,460.

Geography

The Metroplex overlooks mostly prairie land with a few rolling hills dotted by man-made lakes cut by streams, creeks and rivers surrounded by forest land. The 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 and Fort Worth is a line of rugged hills that goes north to south about 15 miles (24 km) that looks similar to the Texas Hill Country 200 miles (320 km) to the south.

Economy

See also: List of major companies in Dallas/Ft.Worth Headquarters of AMR Corporation and American Airlines

The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth are the two central cities of the Metroplex. Dallas and its suburbs have one of the highest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the United States. As such, one of the largest industries in the Metroplex is conducting business. The Metroplex also contains the largest Information Technology industry base in the state (often referred to as Silicon Prairie or the Telecom Corridor), owing to the large number of corporate IT projects and the presence of numerous electronics, computing and telecommunication firms such as Texas Instruments, HP Enterprise Services, Dell Services, i2, AT&T, Ericsson, CA and Verizon in and around Dallas. On the other end of the business spectrum, and on the other side of the Metroplex, the Texas farming and ranching industry is based in Fort Worth. According to the Dallas Business Journal's 2006 Book of Lists, American Airlines is the largest employer in the Metroplex. Several major defense manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter Textron, and Raytheon, maintain significant operations in the Metroplex. ExxonMobil, the #1 corporation on the Fortune 500 listings, is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Changes in house prices for the Metroplex are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 20-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.