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Dallas booms as a top U.S. hot spot for startups, says new report

A new report finds both Dallas and Texas rank highly based on startup creation.

Photo by Sean Pavone/iStock

Dallas is a bustling hub for startup activity — and the numbers don't lie. A new ranking from real estate investment marketplace Roofstock places Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 5 among the major U.S. metro areas with the highest rates of startup formation.

Roofstock's ranking, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, puts the DFW's startup formation rate at 9.82 percent. The startup formation rate refers to the number of new businesses in a given year divided by the total number of businesses.

Here's some additional data for the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area:

Number of annual startup formations: 10,731
Number of annual new jobs created by startups: 69,696
Number of jobs created by startups as a share of all new jobs: 15.11 percent

As a matter of fact, the Dallas area's ratio of new business founders to total business founders stood at a healthy 20 percent as of December 2020, according to career website LinkedIn. Also in 2020 and 2019, Dallas-Fort Worth ranked t hird on a list published by residential real estate platform Clever of the most affordable U.S. metros for startups.

"The Texas State Data Center projects the metro to reach almost 8 million by 2025. That influx of residents, along with graduates from DFW’s 40+ colleges, could pave the way for a productive team at any company," Clever says.

Two other Texas metros appear on Roofstock's list — Austin at No. 3 (startup formation rate of 10.61 percent) and Houston at No. 10 (startup formation rate of 9.48 percent).

Here's the additional data for the Austin metro area:

Number of annual startup formations: 3,858
Number of annual new jobs created by startups: 21,357
Number of jobs created by startups as a share of all new jobs: 16.49 percent

Here's the other Houston startup data cited by Roofstock:

Annual number of startup formations: 9,214
Annual number of jobs created by startups: 55,475
Number of jobs created by startups as a share of all new jobs: 14.44 percent

"In the past years, Houston has seen a massive burst in its startup ecosystem. … Houston is one of the best places in the United States for entrepreneurs to launch and grow a business," Houston-based app developer Bixlabs says.

The Las Vegas metro area holds the No. 1 spot on the Roofstock list, with a startup formation rate of 11.44 percent.

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This story originally ran on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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Landing Soon

New air taxi network to land at major Dallas-Fort Worth airports in 2027

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Archer will launch air taxi networks across Texas in 2027.

California-based aerospace company Archer Aviation is bringing its air-taxi system to the “Texas triangle” of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin in 2027.

The zero-emission electric air taxi networks will use Archer’s Midnight air taxi to “turn 60- to 90-minute drives to major airports, business districts and major destinations into 10- to 20-minute flights,” the company said in a news release. Archer plans to begin flights in the Texas triangle next year.

The Midnight air taxi is an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It can carry four passengers and a pilot and is designed for consecutive flights of about 20 miles.

Archer cites the Texas triangle as one of the busiest and fastest-growing “megaregions” in the country, due to its proximity to coastal regions, major airports, and a number of business districts.

“Texas is setting the bar for America’s leadership in the next generation of aviation,” Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, said in the release. “Our planned networks will make the benefits of electric air taxis real for Texans — trading hours in traffic for minutes in the air, while connecting the biggest airports, business districts and sporting hubs in ways that America’s largest megaregion needs to grow.”

Archer Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goel described the air taxi experience to CW Houston as “100 times quieter than a helicopter for the price of an Uber Black.” He added that the air taxis are a combination of a helicopter, a small airplane, and a drone.

The Dallas-Fort Worth network is slated to include Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Addison Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, plus major business hubs like Frisco Station.

In Houston, Archer’s air taxi network will aim to connect George Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby, and Sugar Land Regional Airport with downtown destinations and Galveston.

In Austin, it plans to link Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Austin Executive Airport with the F1 Circuit Helipad at the Circuit of the Americas. Archer debuted its Midnight aircraft at the F1 Prix in the Fan Zone and the F1 Paddock at COTA.

Archer is working with state and local partners to develop charging infrastructure and plans to pursue Texas operations through the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. It recently completed its "No Roads" flight tour, which included multiple flights over the San Francisco Bay, and flew to seven cities over three days.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.com.

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