growth news

Dallas-Fort Worth was the 3rd fastest growing U.S. metro in 2024

Dallas County is now the 8th most populous U.S. county.

Photo by Bryan Dickerson on Unsplash

Newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau has some stunning statistics for Dallas-Fort Worth including the fact that it was one of the top 5 fast-growing metro areas in the U.S.

There's more: Dallas County became the eighth most populous county in the U.S. in 2024, while nearby Collin and Tarrant Counties have the top 10 highest year-over-year growth rates from 2023.

The new population report estimated year-over-year population data from 2023 to 2024 across all 3,144 U.S. counties, and 387 metro areas.

According to the report, Dallas County's population surpassed 2.656 million residents in 2024, earning Dallas a spot among the top 10 most populous counties in the country. That's up from 2023 when Dallas County boasted 2.636 million residents.

Los Angeles County, California is the No. 1 most populous county nationwide with a population of nearly 9.76 million in 2024.

Harris County, which encompasses Houston, became the third most populous U.S. county in 2024. It saw the highest year-over-year growth rate from 2023.

The top 10 most populous counties in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Los Angles County, California
No. 2 – Cook County, Illinois
No. 3 – Harris County, Texas
No. 4 – Maricopa County, Arizona
No. 5 – San Diego County, California
No. 6 – Orange County, California
No. 7 – Miami-Dade County, Florida
No. 8 – Dallas County, Texas
No. 9 – Kings County, New York
No. 10 – Riverside County, California

Counties with the highest growth rates
Collin County – comprised of popular Dallas suburbs like Plano, Frisco, McKInney, and Prosper – ranked No. 4 among the top 10 U.S. counties with the highest numeric growth rates. Collin gained 46,694 residents from 2023 to 2024, and the county's population has now staggered over 1.25 million residents.

Fort Worth's Tarrant County added 32,793 residents to its 2.23 million-plus population to round out the top 10 U.S. counties with the highest numerical growth rates in 2024.

In the report's national comparison of counties with the largest population growth by percentage, Kaufman County ranked No. 2 with a year-over-year growth rate of 6 percent. Kaufman County's population grew from 186,715 residents in 2023 to 197,829 in 2024.

Most populated U.S. metro areas
The U.S. Census Bureau additionally found Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington nearly led the nation as the third-fastest growing metro area in 2024.

From July 2023 to July 2024, the DFW metro added 177,922 residents to bring the total population to 8,344,032.

Kristie Wilder, a Census Bureau Population Division demographer, said in the report that the nation's population growth in its major metros was largely impacted by international migration, rather than changes in birth rates.

"While births continue to contribute to overall growth, rising net international migration is offsetting the ongoing net domestic outmigration we see in many of these areas," Wilder said.

New York-Newark-Jersey City (No. 1) and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands (No. 2) were the only two metros to outpace Dallas-Fort Worth's growth during the one-year period. The New York-New Jersey metro added 213,403 new residents, which brought the total population to over 19.94 million last year.

Meanwhile, Houston gained 198,171 new residents with the metro's population now standing at just under 7.80 million.

The top 10 U.S. metros with the highest numeric growth from 2023 to 2024 are:

No. 1 – New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York-New Jersey
No. 2 – Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas
No. 3 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
No. 4 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida
No. 5 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
No. 6 – Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, Arizona
No. 7 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
No. 8 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia
No. 9 – Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana
No. 10 – Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington

houston harris county montgomery county population growth census bureau

equality news

Texas ranks as 3rd worst state for women's equality in 2026, per report

Photo by DEAD GOOD LEGACIES on Unsplash

We expect better of Texas.

Texans have many reasons to brag on their state, but one study that annually ranks Texas near the bottom of the pack could use some forward momentum: WalletHub's annual report, "Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality," ranks the state as the third worst for women's equality in 2026.

Texas ranks No. 48 for the second year in a row, which is only one place better than its No. 49 place in 2024. A decade before that, in both 2014 and 2015, Texas ranked No. 47.

WalletHub's 2026 report determined where women receive the most equal treatment in the U.S. by comparing all 50 states using 17 key indicators for women's workplace environment, education and health, and political empowerment. For all metrics, analysts compared the differences between women and men, and certain states were treated as having gender equality in the metrics where women showed an advantage over men.

Only Utah (No. 50) and Oklahoma (No. 49) rank lower than the Lone Star State in 2026.

Hawaii still leads as the No. 1 best state for women's rights nationwide, followed by Maryland (No. 2), Alaska (No. 3), Maine (No. 4), and Vermont (No. 5).

Texas ranked 37th in the report's "workplace environment" category, which compared gender disparities in income, unemployment rates, entrepreneurship rates, job security, economic security, and the share of men versus women in executive positions, among others.

In the "political empowerment" category — which compared the disparity in the share of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state legislature, and state-elected executives — Texas ranked 39th nationally.

House Republican Leadership Speaks To The Media After Conference Meeting Kay Granger, first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the House, died on August 2, 2026. Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Overall, Texas' worst performance was in the national "education and health" ranking, which examined gender disparities in math test scores, doctor-visit affordability, and advanced educational attainment — meaning the share of the population aged 25 and older with an advanced degree higher than a bachelor's. In this category, Texas ranked 49th.

Here's how the Lone Star State fared in other rankings in the study:

No. 19 – Entrepreneurship rate gap
No. 31 – Work hours gap
No. 34 – Earnings gap
No. 36 – Executive positions gap
No. 39 – Political representation ga

Texas hasn't been ranking particularly well in other recent WalletHub studies that measure various aspects of livability. In 2026, Texas has ranked as the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst state to have a baby. It was also named one of the worst states to live in general.

"Ensuring women’s equality requires more than simply giving men and women the same fundamental rights," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in a statement. "States also need to work to make sure that women receive equal treatment to men when it comes to financial opportunities, education, and politics. The best states for women’s equality have drastically reduced the disparities between men and women on multiple fronts."

texas wallethub reports women's equality women's rights