U.S. Metro Economic Report Shows a “Booming” North Texas

Hundreds of people flock to Klyde Warren Park during the Dallas Arts District Block Party June 20.

We know that North Texas’ strong and growing job market keeps people flocking to our metro area, and that population increase, along with corporate relocations and an attractive business environment, is driving our local economy. It’s driving up housing demand and home prices, too.

So we’re not surprised to hear that the U.S. Metro Economies report ranks the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area as one of the fastest-growing economies in the nation. “Booming,” by their estimates. The North Texas area ranks No. 6 in the nation with a Gross Metropolitan Product of $440.1 billion in 2013. The news, which was announced at the U.S. Conference of Mayors by analysts IHS Global Insight, has everyone buzzing about our fair burg. And for good reason.

It shows that urban areas are the driving force behind the nation’s combined $16.8 trillion GDP, home to 84 percent of the country’s population, 86 percent of non-farm employment, 87 percent of real income, 90 percent of housing starts, and 90 percent of real GDP.

Whoa!

Of course, there’s a lot of cooperation going on between Dallas and Fort Worth that is driving a lot of this new growth. While at the New Cities Summit last week, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price joked about the two cities’ long-standing rivalry.

“We have a long history of the two cities feuding, but we still talk about the cities as a ‘supercity,’ and as a region,” Price said. “We have a gentleman’s agreement on jobs, that we don’t pirate from one another.”

It definitely speaks to the brave new world we’re entering, in which more and more economies are becoming interdependent, working together in a way that is complementary. Still, the Dallas-Plano-Irving metro area contributes the lion’s share of the North Texas economy, with $324.8 billion (73.8 percent) to Fort Worth-Arlington’s $115.3 billion (26.2 percent).

And while economists are confident in North Texas’ continued potential for growth, especially in real estate, the hurdle, though, is maintaining a steady and adequate supply of housing, which will help fuel a slower, though more sustainable, financial recovery. According to the report, real estate continues to fuel North Texas’ economic recovery, and may very well be a boon for the region in years to come.

What do you think?