Homestate Glory

Texas takes gold, silver and bronze for growth in powerful new rankings

Dallas is the third fastest growing city in the U.S. according to Forbes. Houston and Austin are first and second.

Photo by Justin Terveen

Texas continues to fill up with people, and according to one national authority, it's doing so faster than any other state. On Forbes' 2015 list of fastest-growing cities, Lone Star cities took five of the top 10 spots — including first, second and third.

Houston is the fastest growing city in the U.S., followed by Austin and Dallas, thanks to high job- and population-growth rates and unemployment rates under 5 percent. Fort Worth is No. 8 and San Antonio No. 10.

Houston had the highest job-growth percentage at 4.5 in 2014, while Austin's 4.13 percent unemployment rate was the lowest among the five cities and highest population growth rate at 2.52 percent.

The metropolitan statistical area of Dallas-Plano-Irving had the second-highest job-growth rate at 4.1 percent and the second-highest median pay of $67,500.

To arrive at its rankings, Forbes looked at the top 100 MSAs in the country and examined six factors, including job growth, population growth, projected population growth, unemployment rates, gross metro production growth and median pay.

Forbes credits the fact that Texas' oil production has doubled in the last three years as a major boost, but it cautions that Houston might not be long for the top spot as falling oil prices are expected to slow the city's growth in the next year. Still, the city's economy is diverse enough that it will keep pace with the rest of the country, Forbes says.

California had three cities on the list, good for second most, though only San Francisco made the top 10 at No. 7.

Forbes' 20 fastest-growing cities in the 2015 report are as follows:

1. Houston
2. Austin
3. Dallas
4. Raleigh, North Carolina
5. Seattle
6. Denver
7. San Francisco
8. Fort Worth
9. Charlotte
10. San Antonio
11. Phoenix
12. Salt Lake City
13. Orlando
14. Cambridge, Massachusetts
15. Oklahoma City
16. San Diego
17. San Jose, California
18. Las Vegas
19. West Palm Beach, Florida
20. Nashville

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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