Dallas (/ˈdæləs/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, which is the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States. The city’s population ranks ninth in the U.S. and third in Texas after Houston and San Antonio.  The city’s prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position along numerous railroad lines.  The bulk of the city is in Dallas County, of which it is the county seat; however, sections of the city are located in Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties.   According to the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 1,197,816. The United States Census Bureau’s estimate for the city’s population increased to 1,317,929 as of July 1, 2016.

Dallas is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. From 2010 to 2016, Dallas recorded the highest net domestic migration in the country, in excess of 300,000.   Overall, the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area had the second largest population increase among metro areas in the U.S., which recorded a population of 7,233,323 as of July 1, 2016, an increase of 807,000 people since the 2010 census.  Located in North Texas, Dallas is the main core of the largest metropolitan area in the South and the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea.   Dallas and nearby Fort Worth were developed due to the construction of major railroad lines through the area allowing access to cotton, cattle, and later oil in North and East Texas. The construction of the Interstate Highway System reinforced Dallas’ prominence as a transportation hub with four major interstate highways converging in the city and a fifth interstate loop around it. Dallas developed as a strong industrial and financial center, and a major inland port, due to the convergence of major railroad lines, interstate highways, and the construction of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.

Friendly neighbors

People in Dallas pepper their sentences with “sir” and “ma’am” and say “Howdy” like it’s an obligatory greeting. You won’t be able to resist that sweet Texan drawl and soon enough you’ll be “ya’ll”-ing with the rest of us. It’s true what you’ve heard–Texans are a friendly bunch, and they love their cowboy hats and boots.

 

Better than New York

Dallas has more restaurants per capita than New York City, and the cuisine is international in flavor. Head to Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek for some of the best French-Continental fare you’ll ever experience. Seafood, barbecue, Italian, Japanese, Tex-Mex…whatever delights your palate, you can find it in Dallas, Texas.

Major League Professional Teams

Club Sport Founded League Venue (capacity)
Dallas Cowboys Football 1960 National Football League AT&T Stadium (80,000)
Dallas Mavericks Basketball 1980 National Basketball Association American Airlines Center (19,200)
Dallas Stars Ice hockey 1993 National Hockey League American Airlines Center (18,532)
Dallas Wings Basketball 2016 Women’s National Basketball Association College Park Center (7,000)
FC Dallas Soccer 1996 Major League Soccer Toyota Stadium (20,500)
Houston Astros Baseball 1962 Major League Baseball Minute Maid Park (41,168)
Houston Dynamo Soccer 2006 Major League Soccer BBVA Compass Stadium (22,039)
Houston Rockets Basketball 1971 National Basketball Association Toyota Center (18,055)
Houston Texans Football 2002 National Football League NRG Stadium (71,795)
San Antonio Spurs Basketball 1967 National Basketball Association AT&T Center (18,418)
Texas Rangers Baseball 1972 Major League Baseball Globe Life Park in Arlington (48,114)

The Best Cheerleaders In The World

The Dallas Cowboys are known as America’s team in part because it was the first to introduce sideline cheerleaders. The girls have their own reality TV show and have entertained more U.S. troops on foreign soil than any other entertainment act in the last 25 years. Move over, Bob Hope!

Dallas Has More Shops Than Usual

The city’s West End MarketPlace is a hot spot for tourists and locals alike, and just north of the city, in Plano, Shops at Legacy attract shoppers like flies at a barbecue. Headquartered in Dallas, Neiman Marcus is a hometown mainstay. The city is riddled with shopping malls, including North Dallas’s Galleria, and shopping centers, so you’ll never have trouble finding a place to buy your western clothes.

Dallas loves film

The list of movies and TV series filmed in Dallas is impressive:

  • “Bonnie and Clyde”
  • “Benji”
  • “RoboCop”
  • “JFK”
  • “Walker, Texas Ranger”
  • “Batman & Robin”

Plus “Dallas,” the hit TV series, claims the most watched TV episode of all time in the “Who Done It?” episode when millions of viewers tuned in to find out who shot J.R.

Tall Buildings

Not far from the farmers’ market is the site of the first skyscraper built west of the Mississippi. The Praetorian Building was 15 stories tall and constructed in 1909, and while the building was destroyed in 2013, the city still has 262 high-rise buildings. Twenty-eight of those are more than 400 feet tall, with the tallest being the Bank of America Plaza at 921 feet.

It’s A Jazz And Blues

Deep Ellum is well known for its diverse arts and entertainment culture–probably because it has more bars and nightclubs than any other district in the city. In the 1920s, however, it was a haven for jazz and blues artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter and Bessie Smith. The name is a derivative of what locals once called “deep Elm Street.”

Dallas Is A Major Hub for Industry

In the 19th century, railroad tracks made Dallas an industrial town to be reckoned with. As the city grew and automobiles became more popular, major interstates were built in and around the city, including the famed I-635.  Everything is bigger in Texas, they say. DFW Airport covers a land mass larger than Manhattan and hosts the largest parking lot in the world.  From its early roots as manufacturers of private goods to our status today as a major center for commerce, energy, computers and medical research, Dallas has always been a hub for industry.

Dallasites Love Country Clubs

Dallas has hundreds of country clubs. It’s most famous, Dallas Country Club, founded in 1896, was the first country club in Texas.

A Mecca Of Corporate Headquarters

With more locations worldwide than McDonald’s, the 7-Eleven convenient store chain is headquartered here. See if you recognize just some of the other chains that call Dallas home:

  • J.C. Penney
  • GameStop
  • Dr Pepper Snapple Group
  • Chili’s
  • Dave & Buster’s
  • Frito-Lay
  • Rolex

Animals

The Dallas Zoo was the very first zoo in the Southwest (started in 1888) and today has more than 2,000 animals. Almost one million people walked through the front gates in 2013, making it the largest zoo in Texas. Its most obscure bragging right: 20% of okapi in Japan and the United States were born or bred at the Dallas Zoo.