economic boomtown

Prosperous Fort Worth declared No. 2 best economic boomtown in America

Photo by benedek/Getty Images

Move over, Austin: Fort Worth's booming financial prosperity has earned the city an impressive ranking of No. 2 in a new list of best U.S. cities for economic growth. It outperformed all major cities in Texas.

The new study, "America's Boomtowns: Top Cities for Economic Growth," from flexible workspace listing provider CoworkingCafe, ranked America's boomtowns based on population growth, GDP, employment rates, and other economic factors. The top cities were divided into three categories: small cities (populations under 250,000); mid-sized cities (populations between 250,000 and 500,00); and large cities (populations over 500,000).

Fort Worth earned a score of 64 points in the large city category to claim the No. 2 spot. Cowtown trailed just two points behind Mesa, Arizona, which was ranked America's No. 1 boomtown. Rounding out the top five are Phoenix, Arizona (No. 3); Sacramento, California (No. 4); and Austin, Texas and Fresno, California in a two-way tie for No. 5.

According to the report, Fort Worth's economic successes can be attributed to population growth, a steady increase in housing, and an attraction of major businesses and employers across all industries, including technology, healthcare, and logistics. CoworkingCafe says the city's population grew 7 percent to 957,000 residents in 2022, and the housing sector has grown 11 percent since 2018, the second highest jump in housing across all major cities.

"The rise in housing has not only provided more living spaces but also spurred related economic activities, including construction and real estate development, further contributing to the city’s economic dynamism," the report said.

Here's how the study defined Fort Worth's economic "evolution" from 2018 to 2022:

60 percent growth in business applications
40 percent growth in trade-exports
33 percent growth in GDP
26 percent growth in median earnings
10 percent growth in educational attainment
6 percent growth in infrastructure
2 percent growth in employment rates

Elsewhere across North Texas
Neighboring Dallas ranked just outside the top 10 as the No. 12 large city for economic growth. The report's findings show Dallas struggled to improve its housing sector from 2018 to 2022, only growing by 3 percent. The employment rates during the five-year period stagnated, as did the city's growth in educational attainment.

However, Dallas did have a higher growth in GDP than Fort Worth, at 33 percent, and the city's median earnings saw a 30 percent evolution during the same time period. Dallas matched Fort Worth's growth in trade-exports and infrastructure.

In the category for the best mid-size cities for economic growth, three Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs ranked outside the top 10: Irving (No. 14), Arlington (No. 26), and Plano (No. 35).

Lewisville landed inside the top 10 in the nationwide category for cities with populations under 250,000, coming in at No. 9. Additional top small cities in the top 50 include Denton (No. 19), Frisco (No. 23), McKinney (No. 25), Mesquite (No. 35), and Garland (No. 48).

The top 10 best large cities for economic growth are:

No. 1 – Mesa, Arizona
No. 2 – Fort Worth, Texas
No. 3 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 4 – Sacramento, California
No. 5 – Austin, Texas and Fresno, California (tied)
No. 6 – Indianapolis, Indiana
No. 7 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 8 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. 9 – Kansas City, Missouri
No. 10 – Columbus, Ohio

The full report and its methodology can be found on coworkingcafe.com.

austin dallas economy fort worth population growth ranking rankings reports

Death Penalty

Tarrant County man gets death for murder of convenience store owner

Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

Christopher Turner

A man received the death penalty for his 2020 cold-blooded execution of a convenience store owner.

According to a release from the office of Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells, a Tarrant County jury sentenced Christopher Karon Turner, 48, to death on November 20 for executing convenience store owner Anwar Ali during a robbery. Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Charles Boulware and Allenna Bangs represented the state.

On March 27, 2020, at around 6:15 am, Turner, a convicted felon, wore a surgical mask and a glove and entered the Super Big Country Mart in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County south of Fort Worth. There, he held a gun to the back of Anwar Ali, the 62-year-old store owner, and walked him through the store.

Ali did everything Turner demanded, including opening the cash register to give him money. And yet Turner forced Ali into the bathroom and onto his knees, and shot him in the neck. Ali was discovered, dead in the bathroom, about an hour later.

Turner fled the store in Ali's Toyota minivan with the money from the register and Ali's wallet. In the van, he found more than $50,000 cash in a black bag. Over the next few days, Turner went on a shopping spree, buying cars, jewelry, drugs, clothes, and more. He and others used cash and a credit card that belonged to Ali.

Turner fled to Colorado where U.S. Marshals arrested him. On his body they found a firearm which was determined to be the murder weapon.

"This was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder," Boulware told the jury. "From the moment he was charged with this crime, he has tried to escape responsibility."

Bangs noted that before this trial began, Turner obtained the names of jurors and their telephone numbers, and gave them to an inmate charged with murder. At the trial on November 20, as Bangs addressed the jury, Turner tried to hold up a sign to the jury but was handcuffed by Sheriff's deputies who removed him from the courtroom, while he yelled out "she lied."

Ali came to the United States from Pakistan decades ago to pursue the American dream. Ali's son, Hussein, spoke in the courtroom after the death penalty was announced. "Thank you for giving us justice," Ali said. "I hope there are no more devils like this person."