Largest and Most Notable Cities in Texas

Texas has four of the ten largest cities in the United States. The state's combination of no income tax, warm climate, energy wealth, and land availability has made it the fastest-growing large state in the country.

Houston — 2.3 million (metro: 7.4 million)
The largest city in Texas and fourth-largest in the US. Houston is the global capital of the petroleum industry — home to more than 5,000 energy-related companies and the headquarters of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, and others. The Port of Houston is the largest in the US by foreign tonnage. Houston's cultural institutions are exceptional: the Museum of Fine Arts (one of the largest in the US), the Menil Collection (world-class modern art), the Houston Symphony, and the Houston Grand Opera. The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical complex in the world.

San Antonio — 1.5 million (metro: 2.6 million)
The second-largest city in Texas and an important military hub (Fort Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB, Brooks City-Base). Tourism centered on the Alamo and River Walk is a major industry. San Antonio has a majority Hispanic population and is culturally the most distinctly Tejano (Texas-Mexican) city in the state.

Dallas — 1.3 million (metro: 7.8 million, DFW combined)
The financial and commercial center of North Texas and the headquarters of AT&T, Texas Instruments, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and dozens of Fortune 500 companies. Dallas-Fort Worth is the fourth-largest metro area in the US. The Arts District in Uptown Dallas is one of the most concentrated collections of arts institutions in the country.

Austin — 980,000 (metro: 2.3 million)
Texas's capital and the fastest-growing large city in the US for much of the 2010s. Home to UT Austin, the Texas Legislature, and a tech sector that includes Dell, Apple's second campus, Tesla's Gigafactory, and dozens of major tech company expansions. Austin's live music scene — "Live Music Capital of the World" — and outdoor recreation (Barton Springs, Lake Travis) give it a quality of life that continues to attract migration.

Fort Worth — 960,000
The western part of the DFW metroplex, Fort Worth retains a distinct identity centered on cattle ranching heritage (the Stockyards National Historic District), Southwestern art (Kimbell Art Museum, Amon Carter Museum), and a vibrant downtown. Fort Worth and Dallas are 30 miles apart but culturally quite different.