POPULATION REPORT

Booming Fort Worth added more new people than any other U.S. city last year

Everyone wants to live here.

Photo by benedek/Getty Images

If it seems like rush hour is getting worse, it's not your imagination. Fort Worth saw the largest numeric population gain of any U.S. city in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest findings.

From July 2021 to July 2022, Fort Worth added 19,170 new residents, bringing its total population to 956,709.

Fort Worth is the 13th largest city in the country by population, the bureau says. By comparison, Dallas (population just under 1.3 million) is the ninth largest.

Together, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranked No. 4 in the list of the 10 most populous U.S. metro areas (as opposed to the cities, themselves). Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked No. 5.

Texas cities and towns dominated every list in the new Census Bureau report. "Texas was the only state that had more than three cities on both the 15 fastest-growing large cities and towns by numeric change and by percent change lists," the report says.

Fastest-growing cities
Six out of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the United States are in Texas, and with one Dallas suburb - Little Elm - zooming up to No. 5. Little Elm had an 8 percent population increase from July 2021 to July 2022, bringing the city's total population to more than 55,300 residents.

The north Austin suburb of Georgetown had the highest growth rate in the nation, at 14.4 percent, bringing the city's total population to more than 86,500 residents. Surrounding Austin suburbs Kyle and Leander landed in No. 3 and No. 4 with the same population growth rate of 10.9 percent. Two more Texas cities, Conroe and New Braunfels, landed in the top 15.

The top 10 fastest-growing large cities in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Georgetown, Texas
No. 2 – Santa Cruz, California
No. 3 – Kyle, Texas
No. 4 – Leander, Texas
No. 5 – Little Elm, Texas
No. 6 – Westfield, Indiana
No. 7 – Queen Creek, Arizona
No. 8 – North Port, Florida
No. 9 – Cape Coral, Florida
No. 10 – Port St. Lucie, Florida

Largest population increases
While Fort Worth landed on top of the 15 U.S. cities with the largest numeric population increases, two neighbors also made the list. Dallas and Frisco ranked No. 13 and No. 15, adding 8,833 and 8,506 new residents, respectively.

When it comes to most populous cities overall, Texas takes five of the 15 top spots. In addition to Dallas (No. 9) and Fort Worth (No. 13) Houston came in No. 4 with its population of over 2.3 million, San Antonio at No. 7 with over 1.47 million residents, and Austin, at No. 10 with 974,447 residents.

The top 15 most populous American cities are:

No. 1 – New York City, New York
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
No. 3 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 4 – Houston, Texas
No. 5 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 6 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. 7 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 8 – San Diego, California
No. 9 – Dallas, Texas
No. 10 – Austin, Texas
No. 11 - Jacksonville, Florida
No. 12 - San Jose, California
No. 13 - Fort Worth, Texas
No. 14 - Columbus, Ohio
No. 15 - Charlotte, North Carolina

The report also discovered that housing inventory skyrocketed by 1.6 million units between 2021 and 2022. Texas had the third fastest housing growth with a rate of 2.3 percent, versus Utah, which had the fastest growth at 3.3 percent. Two Texas counties had the highest numeric gains for housing units in the nation: Harris (No. 1) and Travis (No. 3).

The full report can be found on census.gov.

Fort Worth Largest Population Increases U.S. Census Bureau lists reports

school news

These 17 Dallas-Fort Worth K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

Overton Park Elementary School in Fort Worth

Fort Worth Independent School District

Congratulations are in order for the Overton Park Owls.

Several Dallas-Fort Worth elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

The standout in the Fort Worth area was Overton Park Elementary — coming in just outside the top 10 at No. 12.

Texas' best elementary schools for 2025
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary in Laredo in the Texas took the top ranking for best elementary and middle school in Texas for 2025.

William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted in Dallas ISD, ranked as the No. 2 According to U.S. News, this Dallas public school has a total enrollment of 502 students, with 94 percent of the student population scoring "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 100 percent proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 16:1, with 31 full-time teachers and 1 full-time school counselor.

Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy, also in Dallas, came in at No. 6 with a total enrollment of 429 students. 89 percent of Sudie students are proficient in math, and 95 are proficient in reading, U.S. News said. Sudie L. Williams also ranked No. 5 in the statewide rankings for the best middle schools for 2025.

Carroll ISD's Robert H. Rockenbaugh Elementary in Southlake ranked No. 9. This elementary school has 531 students, 92 percent of which are proficient in both math and reading. U.S. Newssays the school's student-teacher ratio is 12:1, which is better than the district-wide student-teacher ratio. Robert H. Rockenbaugh employs 42 full-time teachers and one full-time counselor.

Overton Park Elementary was the highest ranked Fort Worth elementary school, coming in just outside the top 10 as No. 12. The school's population is made up of 542 students and 34 full-time teachers, creating a student-teacher ratio of 16:1. Overton Park students scored 91 percent proficiency in math and reading, according to U.S. News.

"Compared with the district, the school did better in math and better in reading, according to this [test score] metric," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "In Fort Worth Independent School District, 40 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 28 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Five additional Dallas-Fort Worth schools ranked among the top 25 best elementary schools in Texas, including:

No. 11 – Lakewood Elementary, Dallas ISD
No. 14 – Old Union Elementary, Southlake, Carroll ISD
No. 17 – School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove, Dallas ISD
No. 21 – Carroll Elementary, Southlake, Carroll ISD
No. 24 – Bradfield Elementary, Dallas, Highland Park ISD

The best middle schools in Texas
Though the Austin campus of BASIS Texas Charter School was crowned the No. 1 middle school in Texas for 2025, five Dallas-Fort Worth middle schools dominated the top 10.

Following Dallas' William B. Travis Academy, Lawler Middle School in Frisco ISD ranked No. 3 statewide with 1,026 students, 61 full-time teachers, and two full-time school counselors. Lawler's student-teacher ratio is 17:1, and 93 percent of students are proficient in math, and 92 percent in reading. The school performed significantly better than the rest of Frisco ISD, U.S. News said.

"In Frisco Independent School District, 75 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 65 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in Lawler's profile. "Lawler Middle [also] did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state. In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Other Dallas-Fort Worth middle schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:

No. 4 – School for the Talented & Gifted in Pleasant Grove, Dallas ISD
No. 6 – George Dawson Middle School, Southlake, Carroll ISD
No. 7 – Willow Springs Middle School, Lucas, Lovejoy ISD
No. 12 – Carroll Middle School, Southlake, Carroll ISD
No. 13 – iUniversity Prep, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
No. 14 – Fowler Middle School, Plano, Frisco ISD
No. 16 – Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy, Dallas ISD
No. 20 – Nelson Middle School, Frisco ISD

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

dallas fort worth schools rankings us news & world report