Living in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
On Locationistics's default family weighting, Dallas-Fort Worth ranks #18 of 103 US metros and #2 of 4 in Texas. Typical home $365k · median income $90k · 7,986k residents.
Live data: 103 of 103 metros refreshed — BLS unemployment 2026-07 · FBI crime 2025 · Census ACS ACS 2024 5-year · Zillow ZHVI 2026-07-31 · last refresh Sep 6, 2026. Sources and limits.
Strongest here
- Population diversity — 96/100
- School sports & recruiting — 91/100
- College pipeline — 84/100
Weakest here
- Property growth — 16/100
- Short commutes — 18/100
- Job market — 24/100
Who lives in Dallas-Fort Worth
Racial and ethnic composition of the metro, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 41.9%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 29.7%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 16%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 8.2%
- Other or two or more
- 4.2%
Diversity index 88/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
Schools in Dallas-Fort Worth
Measured grade-8 test results across every public school district in the metro, weighted by how many students sat the tests (2020 school year).
- Reading proficient
- —
- Math proficient
- 45.3%
- Combined
- 45.3%
Source: NCES EDFacts assessments via the Urban Institute Education Data API. A dash means the state withheld that subject for this year. States set their own proficiency bars, so compare within a state first.
Sports & college recruiting in Dallas-Fort Worth
How much college scholarship attention is within reach of local high schools — the four-year colleges and universities in the metro, how many of them are large programs, and how the state as a whole compares.
- Recruiting reach
- 73/100
- Colleges in metro
- 43
- Large universities
- 9
Source: NCES IPEDS four-year institution directory. This measures where scholarship programs are, not signings per high school — no recruiting-signings dataset is public. Large means 10,000+ students, the size at which a university fields a full slate of scholarship teams.
All 14 factor scores
- Temperate climate
- 37°F Jan low · 96°F Jul high
- 64
- School academics
- 54/100 · 45.3% proficient grade 8
- 52
- School sports & recruiting
- 73/100 · 43 colleges nearby, 9 large
- 91
- Safe neighbourhoods
- 37/100 safety index
- 37
- Home affordability
- $365k typical home · 4.1× income
- 75
- Property growth
- +13% over 5 years
- 16
- Faith community
- 590 adherents per 1,000
- 81
- College pipeline
- 74/100 college pipeline
- 84
- Job market
- 4.6% unemployment · 26/100 job market
- 24
- Income vs. cost
- $90k median · cost index 101
- 72
- Self-employment health
- 74/100 small-business index
- 83
- Short commutes
- 28 min mean commute
- 18
- Population diversity
- 88/100 diversity · 41.9% White · 29.7% Hispanic · 16% Black · 8.2% Asian
- 96
- Healthcare access
- 76/100 healthcare index
- 46
Common questions
Is Dallas-Fort Worth a good place to live?
It depends on your weighting, which is the whole point of this tool. On the default family weighting it sits at #18 nationally, carried by population diversity and held back by property growth. Re-weight the factors to see where it lands for you.
How much does a house cost in Dallas-Fort Worth?
The typical home value is about $365k, roughly 4.1× the median household income, and values are up 13% over five years.
What is the weather like?
Around 37°F for a typical January low and 96°F for a typical July high, using NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
Similar metros in the South
Thinking of moving to Dallas-Fort Worth?
The relocation guide covers what an interstate move costs, the licence, registration and tax paperwork with its deadlines, and how to line up work in a new metro before you arrive.
Want the whole picture in one place? The Dallas-Fort Worth relocation report is a full written analysis of this metro — ranks, every factor, affordability maths, schools, community and comparable metros — for $29.
Figures are compiled public-data estimates. Methodology and sources.