Dallas County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,613,539, making it the ninth-most populous county in the country. Dallas County is included in the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth metropolitan statistical area—colloquially referred to as the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Municipal expansion within Dallas County has blurred the geographic lines between cities and between neighboring counties.
Its county seat is the city of Dallas, which is also Texas' third-largest city and the ninth-largest city in the United States. The county was founded in 1846 and was possibly named for George Mifflin Dallas, the 11th Vice President of the United States under U.S. President James K. Polk.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.0%) is water. 3,519 acres of the county is contained within 21 county-owned nature preserves, which were acquired through the county's Open Space Program.
Adjacent counties
Denton County (northwest) Collin County (northeast) Rockwall County (east) Kaufman County (southeast) Ellis County (south) Tarrant County (west)
Climate
Communities
Cities (multiple counties)
Carrollton (partly in Denton County and a small part in Collin County) Cedar Hill (small part in Ellis County) Combine (partly in Kaufman County) Coppell (small part in Denton County) Dallas (county seat) (small parts in Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall counties) Ferris (mostly in Ellis County) Garland (small parts in Collin and Rockwall counties) Glenn Heights (partly in Ellis County) Grand Prairie (partly in Tarrant County and a small part in Ellis County) Grapevine (mostly in Tarrant County and a small part in Denton County) Lewisville (mostly in Denton County) Mesquite (small part in Kaufman County) Ovilla (mostly in Ellis County) Richardson (small part in Collin County) Rowlett (small part in Rockwall County) Sachse (small part in Collin County) Seagoville (small part in Kaufman County) Wylie (mostly in Collin County and a small part in Rockwall County)
Cities
Balch Springs
Cockrell Hill
DeSoto
Duncanville
Farmers Branch
Hutchins
Irving
Lancaster
University Park
Wilmer
Towns
Addison
Highland Park
Sunnyvale
Census-designated places
Bear Creek Ranch
Other unincorporated communities
Sand Branch
Historical communities
Alpha (not incorporated) Buckingham (Annexed by Richardson in 1996) Cedar Springs (Annexed by Dallas First Settled in February 1841. In 1929 the community was annexed by the city of Dallas.) Duck Creek (merged into Garland in 1887) East Dallas (annexed by the city of Dallas in 1890 but was once a city of its own) Embree (merged into Garland in 1887) Fruitdale (annexed by Dallas in 1964) Hatterville (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953) Hord's Ridge (Merged by Oak Cliff in 1887 per The Handbook of Texas ) Kleberg (Absorbed by City of Dallas in 1978) La Reunion (Absorbed by City of Dallas in 1860) Letot (Northwest Dallas County, annexed by Dallas) Liberty Grove Lisbon (Absorbed by City of Dallas in 1929) Little Egypt Long Creek (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953) Meaders New Hope (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953 - not to be confused with the Collin County town of the same name) Noel Junction not incorporated, Addison/Dallas Oak Cliff (Annexed by Dallas in 1903) Penn Springs (Annexed by Duncanville in 1947) Pleasant Grove (Annexed by Dallas by 1962) Preston Hollow (Annexed by Dallas in 1945) Renner (annexed by Dallas in 1977) Rylie (annexed by Dallas in 1978) Scyene Trinity Mills (Annexed by Carrollton) Tripp (Merged into Sunnyvale in 1953)
Demographics
Note: the U.S. Census Bureau treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
Per the 2010 census, there were 2,368,139 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of . In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Dallas County to have a total of 2,637,772 residents, 1,027,930 housing units, and 917,276 households. By 2020, its population was 2,613,539.