The 19-county Metroplex region covers about 15,000 square miles, stretching from Oklahoma south to the Brazos River and from the Cedar Creek Reservoir in the east to Possum Kingdom Lake in the west.
The region includes two metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): The Sherman-Denison MSA and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA, which, in turn, comprises two Metropolitan Divisions (MDs)—the Fort Worth-Arlington MD and the Dallas-Plano-Irving MD.
$709.0 Billion
Metroplex region
gross domestic product,
2022
About 29.5 percent of Texas’ GDP of $2.4 trillion.
REGION
19.3%
TEXAS
15.1%
U.S.
6.2%
Between 2012 and 2022, the region was one of the fastest growing in the nation, adding more than 1.3 million people, a nearly 20 percent increase. Several counties in the region exceeded 30 percent growth during this period — Kaufman (61.7%), Rockwall (48.9%), Collin (38.8%), and Denton (38.2%).
Nearly 4 million people were employed in the region in 2022. Industries related to communications and air transportation are among the most concentrated. These industries have a high location quotient or LQ (above 1.25), indicating they’re unique to the regional economy and enjoy a competitive advantage in the region. Jobs in the warehousing and storage industry led regional job growth, increasing by nearly 65,000 jobs, a more than 353 percent gain between 2012 and 2022.
The number of jobs in the Metroplex Region increased 29.4%, in Texas 23.5% and in the U.S. 13.9%.
Industry | Employment | Average Annual Wages | Location Quotient |
---|---|---|---|
Communications Equipment Manufacturing | 7,934 | $154,774 | 3.44 |
Scheduled Air Transportation | 39,886 | $153,888 | 3.27 |
Other Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing | 993 | $46,190 | 3.11 |
Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing | 932 | $41,474 | 2.71 |
Land Subdivision | 2,559 | $204,916 | 2.57 |
Industry | Employment Change, 2012 to 2022 | Percent Employment Change, 2012 to 2022 | Average Annual Wages |
---|---|---|---|
Warehousing and Storage | 64,776 | 353.7% | $45,216 |
Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 58,237 | 113.8% | $126,421 |
Management of Companies and Enterprises | 33,853 | 92.5% | $143,872 |
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | 32,440 | 86.6% | $121,255 |
Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities | 21,943 | 79.3% | $94,127 |
THE Metroplex REGION IS ONE OF THE COMPTROLLER’S 12 ECONOMIC REGIONS.
Sources: JobsEQ; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts