Dallas-Fort Worth no longer leads nation in population gain. Here’s where we rank
Dallas-Fort Worth no longer leads the country’s metro areas in population gain, according to numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau released March 13.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area, home to an estimated 8.3 million people as of July 2024, had held the growth title after it gained nearly 153,000 residents between July 2022 and July 2023. DFW gained more new people the following year — almost 178,000 between July 2023 and July 2024 — but the region lagged behind the New York and Houston metropolitan areas in numeric growth.
Take a deeper look at the growth in North Texas and how it compares to other parts of Texas and the U.S.
New residents in North Texas, Tarrant County
The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area gained the most people between July 2023 and July 2024: just over 213,000. The Houston area added the second most — 198,000.
No other Texas metro areas ranked in the top 10.
Dallas-Fort Worth has grown from 7.6 million in 2020 to 8.3 million in July 2024.
Tarrant County added just under 33,000 people between July 2023 and July 2024, the population gain ranking 10th among U.S. counties. Harris County gained the most new people: just under 106,000. Collin County added the fourth most, 47,000 and Montgomery County near Houston gained just over 34,000, the ninth most.
Growth slows in DFW metro area
Dallas-Fort Worth grew 2.18% between July 2023 and July 2024, down from 2.41% between July 2022 and July 2023.
Two metro areas in Texas ranked among the 10 fastest growing in the country: Midland and Odessa, neighboring areas that each grew by 2.8%, according to the new census estimates.
But even as growth slows, Dallas-Fort Worth, the nation’s fourth largest metro, is gaining on Chicago, the third largest metro, with a population of 9.4 million. In the past two years, DFW has added 231,000 more residents than Chicago, which grew by 71,000 in 2024 and 28,000 in 2023.
Looking at individual counties, Kaufman County outside Dallas saw the second fastest growth, jumping by 6%, lagging behind only Dawson County in Georgia, which saw 6.4% growth. Liberty County outside Houston grew the sixth fastest (5.4%), Montgomery County in the Houston suburbs grew the seventh fastest (4.8%) and Caldwell County south of Austin grew the ninth fastest (4.6%).
How much have Texas cities grown?
The U.S. Census Bureau does not release its population estimates for cities and towns until May 2025, but the new numbers for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area do break down a bit further into the Dallas-Plano-Irving division and the Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine division, offering a bit more information on North Texas population changes.
The Dallas-Plano-Irving area gained 128,412 people — a 2.33% increase — between July 2023 and July 2024. The Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine area gained 49,510 people, a 1.87% increase.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 11:01 PM.
