Fort Worth is a city of partnership and progress, qualities that ensured its survival as a frontier outpost and later transformed the city into one of the best places to live and do business in Texas. Even in its early days, Fort Worth was a bustling business center, first with the livestock industry and then with oil. Known as the city where the west begins, Fort Worth melds its rich western heritage with technology, modern amenities and progressive leadership to make it an ideal location to live and work.
Fort Worth is ideal for companies of all sizes and from many different industry sectors. Four Fortune 500 companies call Fort Worth home including: XTO Energy, American Airlines, RadioShack and BNSF Railway. For most visitors to Fort Worth, there is no lack of entertainment attractions; Texas Motor Speedway in north Fort Worth provides thrills by hosting hundreds of events throughout the year, including two Nextel Cup NASCAR races and one IndyCar Series.
Demographic profile
Moving to Fort Worth
Fort Worth is located in North Central Texas, 30 miles west of Dallas. This central location makes Fort Worth a midpoint for national businesses. With a varied terrain, Fort Worth's elevation ranges from 500 to 900 feet above sea level. The climate is moderate with mild spring and fall weather, warm summers and cool winters. Thunderstorms occur in the region an average of 45 days per year. Fort Worth averages 34 inches of rain and three inches of snow annually and is not at risk for hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, blizzards, or catastrophic fires and floods, although tornados are a possibility.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA is the nation's fastest growing metro area. With a population of over 6.7 million, the DFW Metroplex is the largest market in the southern U.S. and fourth largest in the nation.
The Fort Worth-Arlington Metro Division (Tarrant, Johnson, Parker and Wise Counties) forms the western half of the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex." Together, these four counties consist of over 2.2 million people. Last year alone, Tarrant County added 21,650 persons, pushing the county's total population to 1,829,400. The same year, Fort Worth grew by 15,500, making it the nation's 17th largest city with 736,200 residents.
Population Trends
Fort Worth residents enjoy the area's affordable, easy-going lifestyle, thriving business environment, outstanding educational system, active arts community and a dynamic downtown that dazzles locals and tourists alike.
Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall is listed among the Top 10 opera halls in the world. Fort Worth has 109 acres of museum space; 2nd in the nation behind only Washington D.C. for the most accredited museums within walking distance from each other. Not forgetting the city's western heritage, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame has joined other museums in the Cultural District. And, to the north of downtown, western culture lives on in the Stockyards Historic District.
General Information
Fortune 500 Headquarters
The 3rd Quarter 2011 ACCRA Cost of Living composite index for Fort Worth is 93.0; with 100 being the average of U.S. metro areas participating in the survey. The housing cost index for Fort Worth is 79.6, the grocery cost index is 90.7, the utility cost index is 109.6, the transportation cost index is 99.2, the health care cost index is 96.4 and the miscellaneous goods index is 98.5. All of this makes Fort Worth a very affordable place to live.
Cost of Living Index
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA is the largest population center in Texas. Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in Texas but unlike many other large cities, Fort Worth still has plenty of room for growth. Fort Worth is consistently ranked among the top places in the nation to work, live and do business by Money, Fortune, Site Selection and Newsweek magazines. In 2009, Newgeography selected Fort Worth-Arlington MD as the nation's “4th Best City for Job Growth, ” and Builder Magazine named Fort Worth the “3rd Healthiest Metropolitan Area for Housing in Country. ”
As one of the most diverse high-tech manufacturing locations in Texas, Fort Worth is home to a variety of high tech corporations including Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter and Motorola. A number of international corporations are also headquartered here, including American Airlines, BNSF Railway, Pier 1 Imports, RadioShack and XTO Energy. Other corporate luminaries include Justin Brands, FedEx, Ben E. Keith and Williamson Dickie. Health care, finance, telecommunications, education, tourism, retail trade, and services are also significant economic sectors for the area.
A growing population in North Texas provides area companies with access to a workforce of more than 3 million; those numbers are expected to exceed 7 million in the next 15 years.
Health insurance, free parking, 401k plans, dental insurance, overtime, and tuition reimbursement, health reimbursement accounts, Paid Time Off (PTO time), Section 125 plans are the most common employee benefits provided by area businesses.
Typical commutes for persons working and living in the Fort Worth area are 15-30 minutes. Commutes between Dallas and Fort Worth areas are usually 30-45 minutes.
Scheduled bus service throughout Fort Worth is provided by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, known as the T. The Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line links northeast Tarrant County, DFW International Airport, downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth. In addition, the T partners with local companies to meet employee transportation needs using van pools to minimize road congestion and maximize clean air.
Fort Worth's central location and efficient transportation system make it an international hub with hundreds of daily flights from its four area airports - DFW International, Alliance, Meacham and Spinks. Serving over 56 million travelers in 2009, DFW International Airport is a major passenger hub located only 17 miles from downtown Fort Worth and serves as a hub for American Airlines.
As the world's first master-planned industrial-use airport, Alliance Airport tenants include FedEx, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Bell Helicopter and others. Ideally situated for logistical operations, Alliance can offer many convenient transportation options including air, rail and highway as well as offer the benefit of being a designated "foreign trade zone."
Meacham offers private aircraft convenient access to the city and Spinks is rapidly becoming home to area flight schools.
In Tarrant County, the Fort Worth Independent School District is the largest school district, but there are 20 other districts whose boundaries are within the county. There are over 200 private schools, inclusive of many faiths and teaching philosophies, in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.
From well-known public and private universities to technical schools and medical training, North Texas attracts and produces talented, skilled employees at its many higher education institutions. Fort Worth and Dallas area colleges and universities enroll over 260,000 students annually and graduate more than 30,000.
The State of Texas, City of Fort Worth and Tarrant County are eager to assist companies with recruiting, screening and training employees. The Workforce Solutions Board provides recruitment and screening services at no cost to businesses in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Job Links, a Fort Worth Chamber-sponsored monthly forum, brings employers and employee candidate providers together in a "one-step" approach to matching workers with jobs.
Skills Development Fund provides millions of dollars annually for training employees. Funds can be used for classroom, on-site or other types of training that meet the needs of a particular employer. Tarrant County College has a strong history of providing job training for local employers and will assist employers in acquiring training funds. Tarrant County College's list of area clients includes Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, American Airlines, National Semiconductor, Bell Helicopter-Textron and General Motors.
One of the most vigorous sectors of the Fort Worth economy is real estate, both commercial and residential. Shopping centers, industrial buildings and offices are being constructed to meet the demand for space.
Real and personal property taxes are assessed locally. Cities, counties and school districts each tax real and personal property. Usually, the total combined property tax rate will range from $2.76 to $3.00 per $100 of assessed value. In Texas, assessed value equals fair market value. For example, a combined tax rate of $3.00 per $100 of assessed (fair market) value would result in an annual tax bill; before exemptions, abatements or depreciation; of $3,000 annually on $100,000 worth of property.
The sales tax rate is a combination of the State of Texas rate (6.25 cents) and local rate (maximum of 2.0 cents), for a maximum rate of 8.25 cents. There are numerous exemptions from the sales tax. The sales tax allocation is:
- 1.0 % to the City
- 0.5 % to the Fort Worth Transportation Authority
- 0.5 % to the Crime District
- 6.25 % to the State
The Texas franchise tax is a privilege tax imposed on each taxable entity chartered/organized in Texas or doing business in Texas. The tax applies to corporations, limited liability companies, business trusts, professional associations, joint ventures and most other legal entities. The tax is 1% for most taxable entities and 0.5% for entities primarily engaged in retail or wholesale trade (as defined in Divisions F or G of the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Manual) as well as other eating and drinking establishments.
The State of Texas does not collect business or personal income tax.
The State of Texas allows local property taxing jurisdictions to partially or fully abate, for a maximum of ten years, a company’s real and personal property taxes. Property tax abatement is limited by state law to new investment; property already on the tax roll is ineligible for abatement. The City of Fort Worth adheres to a “case-by-case” application, review and negotiation process when presented with requests of abatement.
The State of Texas allows local property taxing jurisdictions to exempt in-transit inventory from personal property taxes. This is commonly referred to as the “freeport” exemption. In-transit inventory is inventory which leaves Texas within 175 days. Most locations in Fort Worth allow this exemption at all three taxing levels – school, city and county. This is known as a “triple freeport” exemption.
Job training funds are available through Texas’ Skills Development Fund. These programs are flexible; funds can be applied to classroom training, on-site training, remote training or other arrangements that meet a company’s needs. The Skills Development Fund has a cap of $500,000 per project.
State sales tax refunds and utility rate discounts are available by state law for companies which locate in State Enterprise Zones and are designated Enterprise Projects by the City of Fort Worth. The State of Texas allows cities and counties to designate areas as State Enterprise Zones, and to nominate facilities in these zones as Enterprise Zone Projects. Texas can refund up to $1.25 million in state sales and use taxes, depending upon job creation and investment at the qualifying business site.
Fort Worth’s Foreign Trade Zone locations allow companies to import goods without paying custom duties until those goods enter the U.S. market. Other incentives and support considered for companies moving to or expanding in Fort Worth include expedited permitting, employee recruitment packages and infrastructure.
The City of Fort Worth has a council-manager government. The mayor is elected at-large. The City Council is elected from eight, single-member districts.
Morgan Quinto Press continually ranks Fort Worth in the Top 10 list of America's Safest Cities with populations of 500,000 or more. This can be attributed to the Fort Worth Police Department's innovative community policing efforts, which includes Citizens on Patrol, Neighborhood Policing Districts and Neighborhood Police Officers.
Fort Worth offers reliable and inexpensive utility service. Public and private providers stay well ahead of the demand curve for critical services, and Texas has deregulated the electricity market. One of Fort Worth's most outstanding attributes is its water supply. The water infrastructure is 30 years ahead of projected demand. Texas has deregulated the electricity market.
