Fort Worth's Economic Playbook Focuses on Talent and Quality Real Estate
A recent podcast detailed how Fort Worth, Texas, is driving economic growth by focusing on talent attraction and a 'flight to quality' in commercial real estate. The city's Economic Development Partnership is successfully drawing a young, educated workforce in STEM and management fields. As a result, premium, amenity-rich office buildings are commanding record rental rates, while older suburban office parks struggle.
- The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the top destination in the U.S. for corporate headquarters relocations, attracting 100 companies between 2018 and 2024. - A 2025 study ranked Fort Worth as the No. 5 best large "economic boomtown" in the U.S., citing its 36% GDP growth and 40% growth in exports between 2019 and 2023. - The privately funded Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership is led by President & CEO Robert Allen, with a board of directors that includes the CEOs of locally-based corporations like American Airlines, BNSF Railway, and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. - The Dallas-Fort Worth area leads all major U.S. metros in wage growth for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs, with a 32.7% increase over the past five years. - While demand for quality office space is high, Fort Worth's central business district has a very limited supply of large, contiguous Class A spaces of 40,000 square feet or more. - Reinforcing its business-friendly reputation, Fort Worth was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the speed and efficiency of its development permitting process. - To address labor needs, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce launched a new Talent Committee in 2025 to tackle identified skills gaps, particularly in the healthcare and technology sectors. - Major corporate investments in the area include Bell Textron's $632 million factory expansion and General Electric's $50 million expansion of its aerospace maintenance facility.
