Cowtown earned a primetime starring role Thursday by landing a spot in the nation’s top 10 cities.
Fort Worth, which gained national attention through the popular Taylor Sheridan series “Landman,” rose from No. 11 last year to crack the U.S. Census Bureau’s new list with a population of 1,028,117.
Census data from 2025 shows that the city added more than 20,000 residents, landing it just behind No. 9 Dallas and its 1.3 million residents.
Fort Worth remains Texas’ fourth-largest city, following Houston, San Antonio and Dallas.
Mayor Mattie Parker announced the milestone at a United Way of Tarrant County luncheon on Thursday. She said the city continues to grow but retains its small-town charm.
“Growth like this doesn’t happen by accident,” Parker said in a statement. “It’s the result of smart planning, strategic investment, and a community committed to the future of this city. Fort Worth is booming for the right reasons, and we’re just getting started. Together, we’re building what comes next.”
Austin is the state’s fifth-largest city with a 2025 population of 1,002,632 and is the nation’s 12th-largest city. Jacksonville, Florida, is ahead with 1,017,689 residents.
In January, data from the Texas Demographic Center suggested that Austin pulled ahead of Fort Worth in 2025. The state office revised the 2025 census data to show that Austin reached 1,054,007 residents, while Fort Worth was listed with a population of 1,020,987.
Xiuhong “Helen” You, interim director of the Texas Demographic Center, said that Austin officials complained that the city was undercounted in the 2025 census data.
“We’re still showing higher growth for Austin,” she previously told the Fort Worth Report in January.
You said revisions could be made in the state’s next population estimate if the data shows errors.
“We’ll look at the data and determine if we missed something,” she said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on May 14 at 6:15 p.m. to include a statement from Mayor Mattie Parker.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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