The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (officially designated the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area by the US Office of Management and Budget), encompasses 13 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the area also refer to it as the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, DFW, or the Metroplex. It is the economic and cultural hub of the region of North (North Central) Texas, and it is the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States.The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex's population is 7,399,662 according to the 2017 U.S. Census estimate, making it the largest metropolitan area in both Texas and the South, the fourth-largest in the US, and the seventh-largest in the Americas. In 2016, DFW ascended to the number one spot in the nation in year-over-year population growth. In 2016, the metropolitan economy surpassed Houston, Texas to become the fourth-largest in the nation, with a real GDP of just over $511 billion in 2016. As such, the metropolitan area's economy is ranked 11th largest in the world.
The region's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, and transportation and logistics. In 2017, Dallas–Fort Worth is home to 22 Fortune 500 companies, the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the nation, behind New York City (63) and Chicago (34). The metroplex encompasses 9,286 square miles (24,100 km2) of total area: 8,991 sq mi (23,290 km2) is land, while 295 sq mi (760 km2) is water, making it larger in area than the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.