The Texas Triangle is one of eleven megaregions of the United States, located entirely within Texas, containing the state's five largest cities (Dallas–Fort Worth, Greater Houston, San Antonio–Austin), and home to about two thirds of the state's population, being connected by Interstate 45, Interstate 10, and Interstate 35.
| Texas Triangle Megaregion | |
| Settlement Type: | Megaregion of the U.S. |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | ---- |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Texas |
| Area Metro Km2: | 160000 |
| Area Metro Sq Mi: | 60000 |
| Population Est: | 22550219 |
| Population Density Metro Km2: | 130 |
| Population Density Metro Sq Mi: | 348 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2025 |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Metro |
| Demographics2 Info1: | $2.7 trillion (2025) |
In 2004, the Texas Triangle contained five of the 20 largest cities in the U.S. and was home to over 70% of all Texans, with a population of 13.8 million.[2] In 2025, its population reached nearly 23 million, following rapid growth across much of Texas.[3] In 2009, Kent Butler and Fritz Steiner projected that, by the mid-21st century, its population was expected to increase by around two thirds,[4] or 10 million people, comprising nearly 80% of all Texans.
Additional metropolitan areas in the region include Bryan–College Station, Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood, and Waco. Twelve micropolitan statistical areas are within the Triangle, which includes 66 counties.[5] Beaumont, located east of Houston, has been considered part of the Texas Triangle by numerous studies dating from 2000.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Burleson County is the center of the Texas Triangle.
The megaregion is defined in work by America 2050 initiative and others. Dr. Robert Lang of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech characterized Dallas–Fort Worth as one of the earliest recognized megapolitans. Although each city is distinct, Dallas and Fort Worth developed closely enough to form the urban area widely known as the Metroplex.
The 60000sqmi region contains most of the state's largest cities and metropolitan areas, and in 2008 had a total of 17 million people and by 2020 had grown to nearly 21 million, nearly 75% of Texas's total population.[11] The region is comparable to Florida in population and comparable to Georgia in area, but the Texas Triangle comprises less than a quarter of Texas's total land area.
According to the University of Texas at Austin Center for Sustainable Development, "the Texas Triangle has three sides measuring 271, 198, and 241 miles in ground distance."[12]
The Texas Triangle contains 65 counties. They are Anderson,Atascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop,Bell,Bexar,Blanco,Bosque,Brazoria,Brazos,Burleson,Burnet, Caldwell,Chambers,Collin,Colorado,Comal,Coryell,Dallas,Denton,DeWitt, Ellis,Falls,Fayette,Fort Bend,Freestone,Galveston,Gonzales,Grimes,Guadalupe,Harris,Hays,Henderson,Hill,Hunt, Houston,Jackson,Johnson,Kaufman,Kendall,Lampasas,Lavaca,Lee,Leon,Liberty,Limestone,Madison,McLennan,Medina,Milam,Montgomery,Navarro,Rockwall,Robertson,San Jacinto,Tarrant,Travis,Trinity,Victoria,Walker,Waller,Washington,Wharton,Williamson, andWilson.
The Texas Triangle can be considered one of the more politically left-wing areas in Texas due to the anchoring cities of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth. All of these cities, and their respective counties of Harris, Bexar, Dallas, Travis, and Tarrant, moved towards Joe Biden in 2020, with Biden flipping Tarrant County, which had gone for Donald Trump in 2016. However in 2024, Trump flipped Tarrant county again, when he carried the state with a double-digit margin.
Prior to 2008, with the exception of Austin/Travis and San Antonio/Bexar (the latter a former bellwether/swing county and the former a liberal stronghold), all of these cities/counties were conservative strongholds, having voted for Republican presidential candidates from the 1960s through 2004.
This culminated with Barack Obama flipping Dallas, Harris, and Bexar counties to the Democratic party in 2008.[13] Despite the five biggest cities in Texas being within the Triangle, there are also a great number of rural, conservative counties in the Triangle. It is in these counties that Republicans poll their best.
See also: Texas Central Railway. The Texas triangle has also been the subject of rail feasibility studies in particular for high speed rail.[14] [15] [16]
