Population boom

Dallas-Fort Worth population headed toward jaw-dropping milestone by 2028

The Metroplex's population in the next five years could balloon to nearly 8.5 million people.

Dallas drivers, prepare to share the roads with nearly a million more people. A new analysis predicts Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington's population could cross the 8 million threshold in the next five years, swelling to nearly 8.5 million total residents.

According to a new study by Site Selection Group, the Metroplex is tracking as the fifth fastest-growing large metro area in the country by 2028. DFW's 2023 population adds up to 7.8 million people, and the area has a projected population growth rate of 8.64 percent.

To be precise, the analysis forecasts DFW's population as 8,479,851 in 2028.

The new report comes on the heels of a recent survey predicting DFW could become the biggest metro area by the year 2100. Another recent report declared Dallas has usurped Austin as the No. 1 destination for California movers.

A continued population boom seems inevitable.

"Most population growth is occurring across the Sun Belt," the Site Selection Group report's author says. "Specific to the large metro areas, eight of the top 10 growth markets are located within the Sun Belt [such as] Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas."

The report was used to determine the American metro areas that will have the most "favorable long-term labor conditions." Each metro area was categorized into one of three groups based on overall population size: large (over 1 million people), mid-size (between 500,000 and 999,999 people), and small (between 250,000 and 499,999 people).

"Although population growth does not guarantee success with hiring and retaining employees, it does provide validation that labor conditions could be trending in a more favorable direction," the report says.

Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land landed at the top of the list for the predicted fastest growing large metro areas. Austin's population could climb to over 2.7 million residents with a 13.55 percent growth rate, and Houston could expand 9.62 percent to over 8 million people by 2028.

The top 10 fastest-growing large metro areas by 2028 are:

No. 1 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown
No. 2 – Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
No. 3 – Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee
No. 4 – Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
No. 5 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
No. 6 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
No. 7 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 8 – Charlotte-Concord-Castonia, North Carolina-South Carolina
No. 9 – Jacksonville, Florida
No. 10 – Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington

texas population growth reports dallas fort worth arlington

better than last year

Texas struggles on new ranking of best states to live in 2026

Photo by Stuart Seeger Wikipedia

undefined

After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved couple of spots on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 spot in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

But the very worst states to live prove that life could be much worse. New Mexico ranks 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom of the list.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – Wisconsin
No. 4 – Massachusetts
No. 5 – New Hampshire
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Pennsylvania
No. 10 – Florida

wallethub texas reports