Dallas

Situated on the Trinity River northeast of Austin, Dallas is the third-most populous city in Texas, behind Houston and San Antonio. It was estimated as having a population of 1.3 million in 2015. The North Texan city rose to prominence with the help of its cotton and oil markets, coupled with its proximity to several railroad lines. Although it is the seat of Dallas County, it has parts extending into surrounding Rockwall, Collin, Kaufman and Denton counties.

Dallas is the focal point of the Dallas-Fort-Worth-Arlington (DFW) metropolitan area economy. Commerce, banking, technology, energy, telecommunications, medical research, and transportation play crucial roles in city economy. It is the foremost commercial, industrial and marketing center in the southwest. Dallas has the third-highest number of Fortune 500 companies in the United States, with this including AT&T, Texas Instruments, Dean Foods and Southwest Airlines. It is one of the leading employment creation centers in the country. Its metropolitan area, in 2014, eclipsed Washington, DC as the fifth-largest economy in the U.S.

Dallas has six major league sports teams, including the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), and Texas Rangers (MLB). The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is one of the busiest and the largest in the world.