Tarrant County

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 902 square miles (2,340 km2), of which 864 square miles (2,240 km2) is land and 39 square miles (100 km2), or 4.3%, is water.

Adjacent counties

Denton County (north)

Dallas County (east)

Ellis County (southeast)

Johnson County (south)

Parker County (west)

Wise County (northwest)

Communities

Census-designated places

Briar (partly in Wise and Parker counties)

Pecan Acres (small part in Wise County)

Rendon

Historical census-designated places

Eagle Mountain

Historical communities

Birdville

Bisbee

Bransford

Center Point

Ederville

Garden Acres

Handley

Johnsons Station

Ghost towns

Birds

Dido

Minters Chapel

Notes

Italics indicate that the city is a principal city of DFW or a county seat.

The term "town" is used only in reference to relative population. Under Texas law, all incorporated places are officially designated "cities".

Demographics

Population history

Since the 1850 United States census, Tarrant County has experienced population growth except for the 1870 census; in 1850, the county had a population of 664, growing to 1,170,103 at the 1990 census. By the 2020 census, the county's population grew to 2,110,640. Tarrant County is the second-most populous county in the Metroplex, behind Dallas County.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,110,640. The median age was 35.2 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 49.5% White, 17.4% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 6.1% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.9% from some other race, and 14.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 29.4% of the population.

Meanwhile, 42.87% of residents were non-Hispanic white, 29.42% were Hispanic or Latino American of any race, 16.99% were Black or African American, 6.05% were Asian alone, 0.33% were American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.20% were Pacific Islander, 0.39% were some other race, and 3.74% were multiracial.

Its increasing racial and ethnic diversity has reflected growing trends of diversification in Texas.

98.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 760,739 households in the county, of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.3% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 808,364 housing units, of which 5.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 58.7% were owner-occupied and 41.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.3%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were about 5.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.

2000 census

In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 71.2% White, 12.8% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 9.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races; 19.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, there were 533,864 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22.

In 2000, 28.1% of the county's population was under the age of 18, 10.0% was from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $46,179, and the median income for a family was $54,068. Males had a median income of $38,486 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,548. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. According to the 2021 census estimates, the median income for a household in the county was $71,346.

American Community Survey 2023 data

The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Tarrant County’s population was 2,182,947. It was also estimated that the county's population was 42.2% Non-Hispanic White, 30.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Non-Hispanic Black, 6.2% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 2.2% Multiracial.

Government, courts, and politics

Government

Tarrant County, like all Texas counties, is governed by a Commissioners Court. The court consists of the county judge, who is elected county-wide and presides over the full court, and four commissioners, who are elected in each of the county's four precincts.

In May 2025, when there were two Democrats and two Republicans on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, County Judge Tim O'Hare declared that the ongoing process of redistricting Tarrant County precincts was "purely 100% about partisan politics", as he detailed that "my plan and what I campaigned on openly and publicly, dating as far back as May 2021", is to "pass a map that guarantees, or comes as close as you can to guarantee, three Republican commissioners" in Tarrant County out of four, as O'Hare thought that "Tarrant County would be better served if we have strong Republican leadership".

The JPS Health Network (Tarrant County Hospital District) operates the John Peter Smith Hospital and health centers.

Countywide law enforcement is provided by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office and Tarrant County Constable's Office. All cities in the county provide their own police services, with three exceptions: Westlake contracts service from the Keller Police Department, and Haslet and Edgecliff Village contract service from the Sheriff's Office. DFW Airport, the Tarrant County Hospital District, and the Tarrant Regional Water District also provide their own police forces. Unincorporated parts of the county are served by Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.

All municipalities provide their own fire departments, the largest being Fort Worth Fire Department. Fire protection services for unincorporated areas are provided by Tarrant County ESD 1. The district initially operated as a funding and administrative agency after transitioning from the previous Tarrant County Rural Fire Protection District in 1996. Beginning in 2025, the ESD began to assume direct responsibility for Fire and EMS. Briar-Reno Fire Department was the first fire department to be absorbed, which dissolved and became Briar Station 370, along with a new fire station at the US 377 and FM 1187 corridor, locally known as Whiskey Flats Station 570.

On April 1, 2026, Tarrant County ESD absorbed Eagle Mountain Volunteer Fire Department and Rendon Fire Department, becoming Stations 170 and 770, respectively. This change left the ESD as a 4 station department covering 183 square miles of unincorporated Tarrant County and more than 50,000 persons. The ESD contracts with other Fire Departments for automatic aid for ambulance services in Briar (provided by Azle Fire Department) and Whiskey Flats (provided by Benbrook Fire Department). Eagle Mountain and Rendon maintain two staffed ambulances for each of their districts. All ambulances are staffed with a minimum of one paramedic.

Politics

Since the 1950s, Tarrant County has been very conservative for an urban county, and is one of the most populous Republican-leaning counties in the nation. However, it elected Democrat Jim Wright to 17 terms (1955–1989) as U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House (1987–1989), and Wright was succeeded by fellow Democrat Pete Geren (1989–1997). The county has become more competitive since the 2010s, and has voted to the left of Texas as a whole.

Beginning in 2016, the Democratic Party rebounded to represent a larger portion of the political profile and made huge gains in Tarrant County, concentrated in several areas throughout the county: eastern Euless, Grand Prairie and eastern and southern Arlington, northern and western areas of Mansfield, large portions of Fort Worth, particularly the area surrounding the Stockyards and Meacham Airport, southern and eastern Fort Worth, especially in dense metro areas and along I-35W, and Forest Hill.

Republicans are dominant in many of the rural areas of the county, downtown and western Fort Worth and north of Loop 820, and almost all suburban areas including Benbrook, rural Mansfield areas and western Arlington, Haltom City, Mid-Cities (Hurst, Euless, and Bedford), and the northern suburbs. Tarrant County has consistently voted Republican in gubernatorial elections since 1994.

The county has leaned Republican in United States Senate races since Democrat Lloyd Bentsen's 1988 victory, but in 2018 and 2024 Democratic U.S. Senate candidates carried Tarrant, though both lost statewide to incumbent Ted Cruz.

Joe Biden carried the county with 49.3% (to Donald Trump's 49.1%) in the 2020 presidential election, the first win for a Democratic presidential ticket in Tarrant County since Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and the closest such race in the county since at least 1912. Biden's margin over Trump was 1,826 votes; the next closest margin was in 1976, when Republican Gerald Ford carried Tarrant by 2,146 votes over Democrat Jimmy Carter. Many other suburban Texas counties, including Tarrant's immediate neighbors Denton and Collin, as well as those around Houston and Austin, showed similar trends between 2016 and 2020. However, in the 2024 election Tarrant County moved back in the Republican column, supporting Trump over Kamala Harris, 51.8% to 46.7%. This was still to the left of the state as a whole, which voted for Trump 56.1% to 42.4% in 2024.

Education

Colleges and universities

Under the Texas Education Code, Tarrant County is the entire official service area of Tarrant County College (formerly Tarrant County Junior College).

Universities in Tarrant County include:

University of Texas at Arlington

Texas Christian University (Fort Worth)

Texas A&M University School of Law (Fort Worth)

Texas Wesleyan University (Fort Worth)

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth)

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools in Texas are organized into independent school districts and charter schools. Tarrant County is also home to dozens of private high schools and nearly 100 lower-level private schools.

Those serving the county include:

Masonic Home Independent School District formerly served a part of the county. In 2005 it merged into FWISD.

Arlington Classics Academy

Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts

IDEA Public Schools

Harmony Public Schools

Newman International Academy

Texas School of the Arts

Treetops School International

Uplift Education (partial)

Westlake Academy

Great Hearts

Colleyville Covenant Christian Academy

Fort Worth Christian School

Fort Worth Country Day School

Lake Country Christian School

Nolan Catholic High School

The Oakridge School

Southwest Christian School

Temple Christian School

Transportation

Major highways

I-20

I-30

I-35W

I-635

I-820

US 81

US 287

Bus. US 287

US 377

SH 10

SH 26

SH 114

SH 121

FM 156

FM 157

SH 161

SH 170

SH 180

SH 183

SH 360

Loop 344

Spur 280

Spur 97

Spur 303

Spur 316

Spur 341

Spur 347

Spur 465

Spur 474

Spur 580

Airports

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is partially in the cities of Grapevine and Euless in Tarrant County and Irving in Dallas County.

Fort Worth Alliance Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located 14 miles (23 km) north of the central business district of Fort Worth on Interstate-35W. Billed as the world's first purely industrial airport, it was developed in a joint venture between the City of Fort Worth, the Federal Aviation Administration and Hillwood Development Company, a real estate development company owned by H. Ross Perot Jr. Alliance Airport has 9600' and 8200' runways.

Fort Worth Meacham International Airport is located at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, 5 miles from the downtown business district. Meacham International Airport has two parallel runways.

Fort Worth Spinks Airport is located 14 miles south of the downtown business district. The airport is located at the intersection of Interstate-35W and HWY 1187 and serves as a reliever airport for Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport.