Dallas Authority

Also known as: Dallas Metro Authority

Dallas is a middle-income large city of 1,307,930.

Dallas, Texas — City Reference

Dallas is, by most measures, one of the larger human settlements on the North American continent, and yet it manages to have a median age of 33.4 years, which means that statistically speaking, roughly half the city is younger than a standard mortgage term. That is not a coincidence. It is a city that has been, for some decades, attracting people at the beginning of things.

Population and Demographics

According to Census ACS 5-Year 2024 data, Dallas has a total population of 1,307,930. The city's demographic composition reflects the broader character of the Texas urban corridor: 544,576 residents identify as white, 308,576 as Black, 47,856 as Asian, and 545,002 as Hispanic or Latino. There are 528,038 total households, of which 287,552 are family households.

The age distribution, also drawn from Census ACS, shows 313,040 residents under 18, and 373,282 between 18 and 34. The Census ACS characterizes the overall profile as "young professional," which is a phrase that covers a great deal of ground but does at least accurately describe a city where the under-35 population constitutes a substantial plurality.

Housing Affordability

The price-to-income ratio in Dallas sits at 4.5, and rent consumes approximately 25.0 percent of median household income, according to figures calculated from Census median income and home value data. The affordability assessment is "not affordable," though the interpretation is characterized as "moderate," which is the kind of distinction that matters considerably depending on which side of the transaction one occupies. These figures are reference data; anyone making housing decisions should consult current market sources and, where appropriate, a qualified professional.

Air Quality

The EPA AQI Annual Summary for 2024 records 365 days of air quality monitoring in Dallas. Of those, 283 were classified as "good" days, 71 as "moderate," 8 as unhealthy for sensitive groups, and 3 as unhealthy. No days were recorded as very unhealthy or hazardous. The maximum AQI recorded was 161. The median AQI figure suggests that on most days the air is within ranges the EPA considers acceptable, though the eight days flagged for sensitive populations are worth noting for residents with respiratory conditions.

Climate

The nearest NOAA monitoring station, DALLAS FAA AP, located 5.1 miles from the city center, records an average temperature of 69.0 degrees Fahrenheit and annual precipitation of 44.5 inches, according to NOAA ACIS data. That precipitation figure is somewhat higher than many people expect from a Texas city, and it reflects the region's position at the edge of the humid subtropical zone, where Gulf moisture still reaches with some regularity.

Broadband Access

According to FCC Broadband Data Collection figures as of June 2025, broadband coverage at 25/3 Mbps and 100/20 Mbps reaches 100 percent of the city's 640,451 housing units. Coverage at 250/25 Mbps is also at 100 percent. At the 1,000/100 Mbps tier, coverage reaches 93.6 percent of units. The remaining fraction without gigabit-tier access represents a meaningful number of households in absolute terms, even if the percentage appears small.

Education

The NCES IPEDS 2022 data identifies 29 colleges and universities operating within Dallas. Among the more prominent institutions captured in the College Scorecard data is Dallas College, which enrolls 43,869 students, charges in-state tuition of $2,730 and out-of-state tuition of $6,900, and reports a completion rate of 0.34 and median earnings of approximately ten years post-enrollment. Dallas College does not report an average SAT score or a formal admission rate, consistent with its open-access community college model.

Civic and Religious Organizations

The IRS Exempt Organizations data, available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/eo_texas.csv, identifies 1,135 churches operating in Dallas. The same data source records 51 arts organizations and 60 civic service organizations. Among the arts organizations listed are the Premier Lone Star Wind Orchestra, the New Life Symphony Orchestra, and the Major Orchestra Librarians Association, which is a reminder that the infrastructure supporting live music includes a considerable amount of administrative and logistical work that rarely appears in the promotional materials.

There are 18 animal shelters and rescue organizations operating in the city, and 255 licensed childcare centers, according to state licensing data. The childcare figure is relevant context for a city whose under-18 population exceeds 313,000.

Banking

FDIC branch data records a substantial number of bank branches operating across Dallas, including institutions such as Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, with a branch at 9508 Garland Road, and Bank of America, National Association, among others. The FDIC Institutions and Branches dataset is the authoritative federal source for branch-level banking geography.

Municipal Governance and Code

Dallas operates under a municipal code maintained on Municode, accessible at https://library.municode.com/tx/dallas-city-texas. The city's zoning framework, drawn from the authoritative corpus, establishes a layered system of districts under Chapter 211 of the Texas Local Government Code. These include residential categories ranging from Agricultural-Homestead through several single-family and multi-family tiers, commercial categories from Neighborhood Commercial through General Commercial, industrial classifications, and overlay districts including an Old Town Mixed Use Overlay. The existence of a district designated "C-2R — Community Retail/Service — Restrictive Alcohol Sales" alongside a standard C-2 district is a small but telling detail: the zoning code encodes, at the district level, the community's ongoing negotiation between commerce and the particular complications that alcohol retail introduces.

The city's rights-of-way governance, per the corpus excerpt from municipal ordinance, is construed in accordance with city code to the extent not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of the United States or the State of Texas, with the city retaining ongoing authority to adopt reasonable regulations for public rights-of-way.

Attractions and Points of Interest

The ANA attractions data identifies 81 points of interest in and around Dallas. Among the nearby entries are the Nasher Sculpture Center, located approximately 1.0 mile from the city center, and Lee Harvey's Dive In, a water park variant, at 0.6 miles. The Trammell entry in the dataset is also noted, though the full name is truncated in the source data.

Further Reading

• U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates — https://data.census.gov
• EPA, AQI Annual Summary 2024 — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Data Mart
• FDIC, Institutions and Branches Database — Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• FCC, Broadband Data Collection — Federal Communications Commission
• NCES, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) — https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/