Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,613,539, and was estimated to be 2,656,028 in 2024, making it the second-most populous county in Texas and the eighth-most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Dallas, the third-most populous city in Texas and the ninth-most populous city in the United States. The county was founded on March 30, 1846 and was possibly named for George M. Dallas, the 11th Vice President of the United States, whom served under President James K. Polk. Dallas County is included in the eleven-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, which is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States.
Municipal expansion within Dallas County has blurred the geographic lines between cities and between neighboring counties.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.91%) is water. It is the 177th largest county in Texas by total area. of the county are contained within 21 county-owned nature preserves, which were acquired through the county's Open Space Program.
Lakes Lake Ray Hubbard White Rock Lake
Adjacent counties Denton County (northwest) Collin County (northeast) Rockwall County (east) Kaufman County (southeast) Ellis County (south) Tarrant County (west)
Climate
Communities Cities (multiple counties)
Carrollton (partly in Denton County and a small part in Collin County) Cedar Hill (small part in Ellis County) Combine (partly in Kaufman County) Coppell (small part in Denton County) Dallas (county seat) (small parts in Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall counties) Ferris (mostly in Ellis County) Garland (small parts in Collin and Rockwall counties) Glenn Heights (partly in Ellis County) Grand Prairie (partly in Tarrant County and a small part in Ellis County) Grapevine (mostly in Tarrant County and a small part in Denton County) Lewisville (mostly in Denton County) Mesquite (small part in Kaufman County) Ovilla (mostly in Ellis County) Richardson (small part in Collin County) Rowlett (small part in Rockwall County) Sachse (small part in Collin County) Seagoville (small part in Kaufman County) Wylie (mostly in Collin County and a small part in Rockwall County)
Cities
Balch Springs Cockrell Hill DeSoto Duncanville Farmers Branch Hutchins Irving Lancaster University Park Wilmer
Towns Addison Highland Park Sunnyvale
Unincorporated areas Census-designated places Bear Creek Ranch
Other communities Sand Branch
Historical communities
Alpha (not incorporated) Buckingham (Annexed by Richardson in 1996) Cedar Springs (First settled in February 1841. In 1929 the community was annexed by the city of Dallas.) Duck Creek (merged into Garland in 1887) East Dallas (annexed by the city of Dallas in 1890 but was once a city of its own) Embree (merged into Garland in 1887) Fruitdale (annexed by Dallas in 1964) Hatterville (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953) Hord's Ridge (Merged into Oak Cliff in 1887) Kleberg (Absorbed by City of Dallas in 1978) La Reunion (Absorbed by City of Dallas in 1860) Letot (Northwest Dallas County, annexed by Dallas)Rose-Mary Rumbley, "LETOT, CLEMENT" Handbook of Texas Online, accessed December 26, 2010. Liberty Grove Lisbon (Absorbed by City of Dallas in 1929) Little Egypt"Little Egypt, TX" in the Handbook of Texas Online, by Lisa C. Maxwell; accessed December 5, 2015. Long Creek (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953) Meaders New Hope (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953 - not to be confused with the Collin County town of the same name) Noel Junction (not incorporated, Addison/Dallas) Oak Cliff (Annexed by Dallas in 1903) Penn Springs (Annexed by Duncanville in 1947) Pleasant Grove (Annexed by Dallas by 1962) Preston Hollow (Annexed by Dallas in 1945) Renner (annexed by Dallas in 1977) Rylie (annexed by Dallas in 1978) Scyene Trinity Mills (Annexed by Carrollton). By Matthew Hayes Nall. Retrieved on March 31, 2007. Tripp (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
Demographics
As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Dallas County was $325,980.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 971,690 estimated households in Dallas County with an average of 2.65 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $74,149. Approximately 13.8% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Dallas County has an estimated 68.9% employment rate, with 34.8% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 81.7% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (56.8%), Spanish (34.0%), Indo-European (3.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (4.3%), and Other (1.9%).
Racial and ethnic composition
+Dallas County, Texas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1970 Pop 1980 Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1970% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)1,096,2361,089,6551,115,096983,317784,693724,98782.59%70.01%60.18%44.32%33.14%27.74%Black or African American alone (NH)220,512285,787362,130445,716518,732564,74116.61%18.36%19.54%20.09%21.90%21.61%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4,6296,4877,6448,1067,3306,7430.35%0.42%0.41%0.37%0.31%0.26%Asian alone (NH)1,921 Only includes those who listed Chinese, Japanese, or Filipino identity. All other Asian groups included in other race category15,03449,92887,495117,797181,3140.14%0.97%2.69%3.94%4.97%6.94%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)xincluded in the Other Race category in the 1970 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census9268741,175xxx0.04%0.04%0.04%Other race alone (NH)4,0234,8662,3822,3883,3469,9900.30%0.31%0.13%0.11%0.14%0.38%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1970 Censusx not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census28,22229,42766,754xxx1.27%1.24%2.55%Hispanic or Latino (any race)x not an option in the 1970 Census. Persons who did not identify a race and instead listed Mexican, Puerto Rican or any other grouped deemed to be of Indo European origin were classified as white.154,561315,630662,729905,9401,057,835x9.93%17.04%29.87%38.26%40.48%Total1,327,3211,556,3901,852,8102,218,8992,368,1392,613,539 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2023 estimate
As of the 2023 estimate, there were 2,606,358 people and 971,690 households residing in the county. There were 1,079,120 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 65.2% White (692,400 or 26.6% NH White), 24.1% African American (600,055 or 23.0% NH Black), 1.1% Native American (7,089 or 0.3% NH Native), 7.4% Asian (186,730 or 7.2% NH Asian), 0.1% Pacific Islander (1,220 or 0.1% NH Pacific Islander), _% from some other races and 2.1% from two or more races (41,011 or 1.6% NH Multiracial). Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1,077,853 or 41.4% of the population.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 2,613,539 people, 965,537 households, and 616,554 families residing in the county. The median age was 34.2 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.5 males age 18 and over.
The population density was . There were 1,038,656 housing units at an average density of , of which 7.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 48.8% were owner-occupied and 51.2% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%.
The racial makeup of the county was 35.4% White, 22.0% Black or African American, 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 7.0% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 18.3% from some other race, and 16.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 40.5% of the population.
99.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.6% lived in rural areas.
Of those households, 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.3% were married-couple households, 21.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The increase among people of color reflected nationwide demographic trends of greater diversification.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 2,368,139 people, 856,290 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 943,622 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 53.55% White, 22.31% African American, 0.72% Native American, 5.04% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 15.53% from some other races and 2.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 38.26% of the population.
2000 census As of the 2000 census, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 58.35% White, 20.31% African American, 0.56% Native American, 3.98% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.04% from some other races and 2.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 29.87% of the population.
There were 807,621 households out of which 35.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.90% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 27.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the county, the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 10.70% from 18 to 24, 34.40% from 25 to 44, 18.90% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,324, and the median income for a family was $49,062. Males had a median income of $34,988 versus $29,539 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,603. About 10.60% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics Government
Dallas County, like all counties in Texas, is governed by a commissioners' court. This court consists of the county judge (the chairperson of the court), who is elected county-wide, and four commissioners who are elected by the voters in each of four precincts.
The Commissioners' Court is the policy-making body for the county; in addition, the county judge is the senior executive and administrative position in the county. The Commissioners' Court sets the county tax rate, adopts the budget, appoints boards and commissions, approves grants and personnel actions, and oversees the administration of county government. Each commissioner supervises a Road and Bridge District. The Commissioners' Court approves the budget and sets the tax rate for the hospital district, which is charged with the responsibility for providing acute medical care for citizens who otherwise would not receive adequate medical services.
Commissioners' Court