Looking to the Future

Here's what North Texas will look like in the next 15 years

Bank of America Plaza in Downtown Dallas

North Texas will gain 3 million residents by 2030.

Photo courtesy of Bank of America Plaza

North Texas comprises 30 counties, and it seems to live up to the "Big D" nickname, especially when you consider how many people are moving here each year.

LawnStarter says that from 2015 to 2030, the population is predicted to grow by nearly 3 million people — that's more than the current population of the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida, metro area. The study uses the population projections from Texas' state demographer, which say that in the next 15 years North Texas will swell 38 percent, giving us 10,592,387 residents. To put it in perspective, Chicago, Illinois currently has a population of 9.5 million.

All the big cities — Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, and Denton — contribute to these staggering numbers, but Collin County is leading the charge with a projected 80.3 percent population increase by 2030. Rockwall County follows at 75.8 percent, then Denton County at 74.5 percent and Kaufman County at 73.4 percent. Just two counties in North Texas, Cottle and Foard, are projected to lose residents from 2015 to 2030.

An influx of jobs, along with top-notch schools, a solid tax base, and a well-educated workforce, are driving these predictions. According to Lloyd Potter, the state demographer for Texas, counties outside the urban cores and fast-growing suburban areas are seeing slower growth.

“Growth, especially in high-migration areas, is being driven by employment opportunity. Thus, growing economic activity is creating jobs that are attracting migrants,” Potter says.

reports urban-renewal

list news

Texas ranks among worst states to have a baby, new report says

Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash

The best places to have a baby are in the Midwest and the Northeast, not the South, according to the report.

Texas might be a family friendly state, but it certainly isn't baby friendly, according to a new WalletHub study.

Texas earned a dismal rank as No. 45 in WalletHub's 2026 report "Best and Worst States to Have a Baby," which compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 31 "baby friendliness" metrics, such as affordability, health care accessibility, infant care costs, and others.

The top five best states to have a baby, in order, are: Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Texas ranked 7th worst overall in the U.S. because of how expensive it is to have a child in the state, and because of its low prevalence of healthcare professionals for mothers and children relative to other states.

Across the four main categories in the report, Texas landed 47th nationally for its medical costs, 42nd in healthcare quality, and its baby- and family-friendliness both ranked 34th best in the country.

WalletHub says the average cost for a conventional delivery in the U.S. comes out to more than $15,700, and families with health insurance have an average out-of-pocket cost of about $2,600. The report doesn't break down state-by-state charges, but it ranked Texas 35th and 36th respectively in the national comparisons of states with the lowest costs for hospital cesarean and conventional deliveries.

The cost of childcare is another factor bringing down the state's overall performance, as WalletHub says Texas has the 23rd "best" annual cost of early childcare on average.

Here's how the report broke down the rest of Texas' ranking:

No. 27 – Parental leave policy score
No. 27 – Infant mortality rate
No. 28 – Rate of low-birth weight
No. 44 – Midwives and OB-GYNs per capita
No. 36 – Pediatricians and family medicine physicians per capita
No. 33 – Childcare centers per capita

According to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo, expecting families should consider living in the states that "minimize costs while providing top-notch care for both newborns and their mothers."

"[The best states] also continue to be good environments for parents even long after the birth, with high-quality pediatric care, affordable and accessible child care, and a strong economic environment that makes providing for a child easier,” Lupo said.

Mississippi (No. 51), Alabama (No. 50), Florida (No. 49), New Mexico (No. 48), Nevada (No. 47), and South Carolina (No. 46) all join Texas at the bottom of the list as the worst states to have a baby.

wallethub texas reports families