Dallas-Fort Worth Housing Market
Dallas-Fort Worth, TXNorth Texas powerhouse balancing massive job growth with surging housing supply
Key Market Stats
Updated- Home Price Trend
- +0.5% YoY
- -0.3% QoQ · Q2 2026
- Building Permits
- 4,675
- -10.5% YoY
- Unemployment
- 4.6%
- Softening
- Population Growth
- +1.5%
- YoY (2025)
- 2BR Fair Market Rent
- $1,931
- HUD FMR (2026)
Sources: FHFA House Price Index (ATNHPIUS19124Q + ATNHPIUS23104Q), U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey and Population Estimates, BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 2BR Fair Market Rent from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. SunBeltPulse is independent and not affiliated with any of these agencies.
Key numbers
Sourced, dated figures for Dallas-Fort Worth — cite freely.
- 2BR Fair Market Rent
- $1,931/mo
- HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2026
- Home price change
- +0.5% YoY
- FHFA House Price Index, Q2 2026 · Dallas-Plano-Irving division
- Unemployment rate
- 4.6%
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Jul 2026 · not seasonally adjusted
- Building permits
- 4,675 units
- Census Building Permits Survey, Jul 2026 · -10.5% YoY
- Population growth
- +1.5% YoY
- Census Population Estimates, 2025
- Cost of living
- 103.1
- BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 · price level, US = 100
Side-by-side stats, charts & AI analysis
AI Market Analysis — Dallas-Fort Worth
Dallas-Fort Worth remains one of the largest and most diversified metros in the Sun Belt, anchored by corporate relocations in finance, logistics, and technology. After years of rapid appreciation, the market is digesting elevated inventory alongside continued in-migration from higher-cost coastal metros. Suburbs across Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties continue to absorb the bulk of new construction, keeping supply elevated while urban-core prices hold firmer.
Analysis grounded in FHFA House Price Index, U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits and Population Estimates, and BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), plus HUD Fair Market Rents. Refreshed periodically.
Dallas-Fort Worth Analysis
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Big D
Dallas-Fort Worth
Big D — where the West begins
Industries & employers in Dallas-Fort Worth
BLS / Census · 2026-Q3Total jobs
4.4M
Nonfarm employment, 2026-Q3
Unemployment
4.6%
BLS LAUS · Jul 2026
Job growth YoY
+1.3%
Year-over-year change
Median HH income
$93K
Census ACS estimate
Industry mix
Share of total nonfarm employment
Major employers
Metro-area headcount estimates
- 34K
Walmart
Retail - 30K
American Airlines
Logistics - 28K
Texas Health Resources
Healthcare - 28K
Baylor Scott & White Health
Healthcare - 28K
JPMorgan Chase
Finance - 21K
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Healthcare - 19K
Dallas ISD
Education - 18K
AT&T
Tech - 16K
Lockheed Martin
Manufacturing - 15K
Bank of America
Finance
What the job market looks like in Dallas-Fort Worth
The most genuinely diversified Sun Belt job base — if you can't find work in DFW, the problem is probably elsewhere.
If you're moving to Dallas-Fort Worth, the job market is the easiest in the Sun Belt to underwrite for a mover. Finance and insurance rival the Northeast at the mid-level tier — JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity all run large campuses in Plano, Irving, and Westlake. Logistics runs through DFW Airport. Healthcare anchors through Texas Health and Baylor Scott & White. Defense and aerospace (Lockheed's F-35 line in Fort Worth, Bell, L3Harris) adds a high-wage manufacturing layer. No single sector dominates — the diversification cushion is real.
Target finance, insurance, and healthcare — all three hire steadily across wage bands. Defense/aerospace in Fort Worth is a standout if you have clearance-eligible background. Weak spots are concentrated and specific: commercial real estate, parts of traditional banking (mortgage ops), and legacy telecom (AT&T has been cutting for years). Wages sit meaningfully above the Texas average, and housing — outside Highland Park and a few suburbs — stays within reach on a relocator's budget.
Timing: the Northeast-to-Texas corporate shift is ongoing, not a one-time pandemic event. Goldman's Dallas campus is rising toward a 2028 opening with room for roughly 5,000 employees, Wells Fargo's two-tower Irving campus opened in late 2025, Morgan Stanley just picked Uptown Dallas for a $1.3B hub, and CBRE's 2025 HQ move from LA anchors a growing commercial real estate cluster. The hiring pipeline looks deeper in Dallas than in almost any other metro on this list — the window to land before prices tighten further is now.
Recent corporate moves
- 2025
CBRE
RelocationCompleted formal relocation of its global headquarters to Dallas from Los Angeles, anchoring a growing commercial real estate cluster.
- 2024
Goldman Sachs
ExpansionBroke ground on a $500M, 800,000-square-foot Dallas campus expected to house roughly 5,000 employees by 2028.
- 2025
Wells Fargo
ExpansionOpened its two-tower, 850,000-square-foot Irving campus in October, the operating base for roughly 4,500 employees consolidated from older DFW offices.
- 2024
AT&T
LayoffsCut several thousand roles nationally with significant exposure in its Dallas headquarters as part of ongoing cost reductions.
- 2025
Southwest Airlines
LayoffsCut about 1,750 corporate jobs at its Dallas headquarters in February, roughly 15 percent of corporate staff and the first mass layoff in the company's history.
- 2025
KFC (Yum Brands)
RelocationYum Brands moved KFC's U.S. corporate headquarters from Louisville to its Plano campus, relocating about 100 corporate roles to North Texas.
- 2026
Morgan Stanley
ExpansionSelected Uptown Dallas for a planned $1.3B campus, with city incentives approved in August, projected to house roughly 1,500 employees by 2031 and up to 4,800 by 2039.
Climate in Dallas-Fort Worth
NOAA 1991-2020 normalsDays ≥ 100°F
20
Extreme-heat days per year
Days ≥ 90°F
98
Hot days per year
Days ≤ 32°F
33
Freezing days per year
Annual precip
39.1"
98 rainy days/year
Climate hazards
Cfa · Humid subtropical
Hazard levels are editorial ratings aggregated from FEMA, USDA wildfire risk, NOAA storm tracks, and NWS hail climatology. Not insurance or investment advice.
What movers should expect in Dallas-Fort Worth
Sharp seasonal swings, blistering summers, ice storms, and North Texas's signature peril — tornadoes.
Dallas-Fort Worth sits squarely in Tornado Alley's southern end, and its weather calendar is aggressive in both directions. Summers deliver 90-plus days of 90°F+ heat with high dewpoints that don't break at night; the record 2011 summer saw 71 days over 100°F. Winters are mostly mild but occasional Arctic fronts plunge temperatures below 20°F and coat the metro in ice — a DFW specialty that shuts down airports, schools, and freeways for days. Spring is the peak severe-weather window, with supercells producing large hail and EF2-plus tornadoes.
For movers, three things matter most. First, insurance: North Texas has one of the highest homeowners insurance rates in the country, driven largely by hail claims — some neighborhoods see roof replacements every 5–7 years. Second, the grid: ERCOT's winter vulnerability remains even after 2021's reforms, and Oncor customers saw major outages in the October 2019 tornadoes (242,000 without power) and subsequent ice events. Third, foundations: expansive clay soils crack slab foundations, and soaker hoses in drought summers are standard homeowner practice.
Climate patterns are intensifying the extremes. Summers are getting longer and hotter, winter storms are becoming more volatile as the polar vortex destabilizes, and tornado activity has trended eastward into more populated corridors. DFW is not going anywhere — it remains one of the most attractive labor markets in America — but residents accept the trade-off: great weather for roughly eight months, and four that require serious preparation.
Historical edge scenarios
- 2019
October EF3 tornado through North Dallas
On the night of October 20, 2019, an EF3 tornado with winds near 140 mph cut a 15.8-mile path through Dallas, destroying 118 structures and damaging thousands more. Damage totaled $1.55 billion, making it the costliest Texas tornado of 2019; 242,000 customers lost power.
- 2021
Winter Storm Uri
Uri dropped DFW temperatures to single digits and sub-zero wind chills in February 2021. ERCOT blackouts left millions without heat; statewide the storm killed at least 246 people and caused $80–130 billion in damage. Many Dallas homes suffered burst-pipe damage that insurers spent years litigating.
- 2011
71 days of 100°F+ heat
The summer of 2011 delivered DFW's then-record 71 non-consecutive days at 100°F or higher, including a 40-day streak. August 2011 was the hottest month in Texas state history; the region's average temperature ran 8°F above normal for three straight months.
Neighbourhoods
On the streets of Dallas-Fort Worth
Where people actually live — from historic bungalows to new-build cul-de-sacs.
Neighbourhoods in Dallas-Fort Worth
Dallas-Fort Worth's neighbourhood map is really two distinct metros sharing a freeway grid. On the Dallas side, Uptown and the Knox-Henderson corridor anchor the walkable urban tier — luxury condo towers, dense restaurant strips, and prices that reflect the premium for inner-loop land. Highland Park and University Park (the Park Cities) sit adjacent: among the most expensive ZIP codes in Texas, served by Highland Park ISD, with a resale market that holds value through cycles. Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District delivers the character-neighbourhood pick: independent retail, walkable blocks, Craftsman-era housing stock, and prices still well below the inner-loop average.
Fort Worth's urban core is genuinely underrated by Dallas-focused relocation guides. The Near Southside, Fairmount/Southside Historic District, and the blocks around Magnolia Avenue give buyers urban walkability, 1910s–1930s bungalows, and prices that remain $100K–$150K below comparable Dallas pockets. Sundance Square is the entertainment anchor but Fairmount is where residents actually live.
Southlake (served by Carroll ISD) and Colleyville are the northwest corridor prestige picks. Frisco and Prosper in Collin County are the master-planned volume play — new construction and the fastest-growing population in the metro. The value plays: Garland and Mesquite on the east side for entry-level SFH under $350K, Irving for DFW airport-corridor commuters who need under-$400K access, and McKinney for new construction with Collin County schools at slightly lower prices than Frisco.
Common questions about the Dallas-Fort Worth housing market
Are home prices in Dallas-Fort Worth rising or falling?
As of Q2 2026, home prices in Dallas-Fort Worth rose 0.5% over the past year and slipped 0.3% in the most recent quarter. Prices remain above year-ago levels, though the recent quarterly dip points to softening momentum. Figures reflect the Dallas-Plano-Irving metropolitan division; the metro page chart shows both divisions. Source: FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (ATNHPIUS19124Q), retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
What does it cost to rent in Dallas-Fort Worth?
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro is $1,931 per month (vintage 2026). HUD publishes Fair Market Rents annually as the benchmark for housing voucher payment standards — they reflect typical asking rents for modest, standard-quality units in the area. Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Is Dallas-Fort Worth growing or shrinking in population?
Dallas-Fort Worth is growing — population rose 1.48% year-over-year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
How tight is the Dallas-Fort Worth job market?
The Dallas-Fort Worth metro unemployment rate was 4.6% in July 2026 — a softening reading, roughly at the national average. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Is new home construction active in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Builders pulled permits for roughly 4,675 new private housing units in Dallas-Fort Worth in July 2026, running sharply lower than a year earlier (-10.5%). Source: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Explore other Sun Belt markets
Tracking a move beyond Dallas-Fort Worth? Every metro profile carries the same FHFA, Census, BLS, and HUD data refreshed monthly.
Data sources: FHFA House Price Index (ATNHPIUS19124Q, ATNHPIUS23104Q), U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey and Population Estimates, BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 2BR Fair Market Rent from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. SunBeltPulse is independent and not affiliated with any of these agencies. Statistics represent metro-area figures and are updated monthly. Not financial or investment advice.