Immigrants drive Dallas-Fort Worth population boom
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More than 500,000 people have moved to Dallas-Fort Worth from another state or another country since 2020.
Why it matters: International migration is driving a nationwide population spike — a trend that's mirrored in North Texas.
- Most of the 127,252 people who moved to D-FW between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, are from another country, per U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday.
The big picture: The metro is now home to more than 8.3 million people, up from 7.6 million five years ago.
- There has been a natural increase in population — meaning births have outnumbered deaths — but most of the spike is due to people moving in.
🌎 Stunning stat: More than 263,000 people have moved to D-FW from another country since 2020, about 10,000 more people than have moved to the region from elsewhere in the U.S.
Zoom out: Population growth in U.S. metro areas as a whole outpaced growth nationwide.
- "Increasingly, population growth in metro areas is being shaped by international migration," said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau's Population Division.
Zoom in: Most of the region's growth is happening outside of the core city of Dallas.
- Collin County, for example, ranked fourth nationally in numeric population growth between 2023 and 2024, adding nearly 47,000 residents. The county has added almost 200,000 people since 2020 and is now home to more than 1.2 million people.
By the numbers: The D-FW metro ranked third nationwide behind New York City and Houston in numeric population growth between 2023 and 2024, adding 177,922 people.
- Tarrant County ranked 10th last year in numeric growth with 32,793 new residents, per the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program.
- Kaufman County's population increased 6% between 2023 and last year — the second largest percentage growth of U.S. counties with more than 20,000 residents.