Dallas Economic Indicators

The Dallas economy rebounded in recent months. Employment increased in June while unemployment was unchanged. Hourly earnings declined but remained higher than the state and year-ago levels. Existing-home sales grew. Dallas’ financial activities sector has expanded significantly over the past decade, positioning it as a leading destination for corporate relocations and expansions.

Labor market

Employment increases

Employment in Dallas rose an annualized 3.7 percent in June following a 1.3 percent increase in May (Chart 1). Employment in Texas rose 3.5 percent in June. Dallas’ job growth in the three months ending in June was 1.8 percent, with job gains broad-based across sectors. Only employment in financial activities declined slightly.

Unemployment flat

Dallas’ unemployment rate was unchanged from May to June at 4.3 percent, remaining lower than Texas’ jobless rate of 4.4 percent (Chart 2). The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2 percent. While the unemployment rate in Dallas is notably higher than June 2025 (3.7 percent) it is in line with current national and statewide rates.

Earnings slightly decline in June

The average nominal hourly wage in Dallas dipped to $37.05 in June from $37.30 in May. Hourly wages in the area were above the state figure ($35.63) (Chart 3). The national average hourly wage slightly increased to $37.64 in June, 3.5 percent above year-earlier levels. Year over year, hourly earnings were up 0.5 percent in the Dallas metropolitan division, slower than the state’s 2.7 percent increase.

Housing

Housing demand strengthened in Dallas. Existing-home sales rose 1.3 percent in June after falling 1.5 percent in May (Chart 4). Statewide, sales were flat at 0.1 percent in June, while they declined 2.4 percent nationally. Year over year, existing-home sales were up 3.7 percent in Dallas, 6.4 percent statewide and 2.8 percent nationally.

Finance

Finance employment grows rapidly

Financial activities employment growth in Dallas has outpaced other major financial hubs across the country since the pandemic (Chart 5). As of June, financial activities employment, which includes finance, insurance and real estate firms, was up 23.2 percent above its February 2020 levels in Dallas compared with 6.0 percent in New York City. In contrast, financial activities employment in Chicago, Boston and San Franciso remains below its prepandemic level.

The share of total employment in financial activities is higher in Dallas (10.1 percent) than New York City (9.9 percent), Boston (9.6 percent), Chicago (6.9 percent) and San Francisco (6.5 percent). The financial activities sector employed 317,000 people in Dallas in June 2026, more than any other Texas metro.

Dallas leads Texas in corporate headquarters relocations

In addition to a thriving financial sector, Dallas leads Texas major metros in corporate headquarters relocations, attracting 125 companies between 2015 and 2024 (Chart 6). Nearly half of these relocations came from California (47.2 percent), followed by New York (6.4 percent) and Illinois (5.6 percent). More recently, major financial insitituions have significant expansions in the Dallas area, further strengthening its positon as a growing financial center. This month, the Texas Stock Exchange opened for trading, adding another milestone to Dallas’ emergence as a leading U.S. financial hub.