City · Dallas County, Texas

Grand Prairie, Texas

Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas County, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area. It has 201,883 residents. Grand Prairie, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,090 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #450 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on average weekly wage (high), new business applications (high) and distance to an emergency room (low). It ranks worst on high school diploma or higher (low), uninsured residents (under 65) (high) and property crime rate (high).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,090 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #450 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 201,883 (2020-2024)
Land area: 76 mi²
Density: 2,639.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4830464

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety15#13,293/15,637
Economy59#6,393/15,631
Housing16#12,576/14,977
Health50#7,810/15,609
Healthcare50#7,790/15,650
Environment6#14,565/15,453
Education26#11,560/15,649
Infrastructure50#7,898/15,650
Community21#12,420/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,396/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Grand Prairie, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Dallas County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Average weekly wage · high$1,780
96/100Texas $1,499United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDallas County value
New business applications · high22.9 /1k
94/100Texas 17.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauDallas County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.2 mi
90/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDallas County value
Distance to an airport · low10 mi
89/100Texas 33 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDallas County value
Dentists · high97 /100k
86/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDallas County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high96.2%
85/100Texas 82.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDallas County value

Weaknesses

High school diploma or higher · low81.7%
3/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high20.3%
5/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Property crime rate · high2,372 /100k
6/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDallas County value
Rent-burdened households · high59.1%
7/100Texas 51.7%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
High ozone days · high9 days
8/100Texas 7 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDallas County value
Hot days · high102 days
9/100Texas 111 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDallas County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
43.9% (2015-2019) → 59.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.9% (2015-2019) → 93.0% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.4× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+50%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedWorsening
11.7 /1k (2021) → 5.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−49%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
23.6% (2015-2019) → 30.0% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.4% (2015-2019) → 33.8% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Grand Prairie, Texas improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Property tax−0.4 points2.01% → 1.61%
Bachelor's++6.4 points23.6% → 30.0%
Broadband+10 points82.9% → 93.0%
Household income+21%$67,388 → $81,619

Declined3

Price / income+1.2×2.4× → 3.6×
Rent burden+15 points43.9% → 59.1%
Rent / income+6.4 points27.4% → 33.8%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Grand Prairie, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.1 min2015-2019	28.0 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	62%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.6%2015-2019	30.0%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Improved	76%
Broadband subscriptions	82.9%2015-2019	93.0%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	60%
Child poverty rate	17.0%2015-2019	17.7%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Effective property tax rate	2.01%2015-2019	1.61%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	85%
High school diploma or higher	80.3%2015-2019	81.7%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3952015-2019	0.4082020-2024	+0.013	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$67,3882015-2019	$81,6192020-2024	+21%	Improved	35%
Poverty rate	11.3%2015-2019	12.1%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Rent as share of income	27.4%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Declined	17%
Rent-burdened households	43.9%2015-2019	59.1%2020-2024	+15 points	Declined	14%
Unemployment rate	4.6%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	20.1%2015-2019	20.3%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Grand Prairie, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Grand Prairie, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Grand Prairie, Texas itself moved −9.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

201,883 residents (±335)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

68,406 households (±1,236)

Grand Prairie, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k11%7,254
$25k–50k17%11,719
$50k–75k18%12,451

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

68,406 households (±1,236)

Grand Prairie, Texas
Texas share

Own59%40,183
Rent41%28,223

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−4.0 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

99,593 workers (±2,182)

Grand Prairie, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone73%72,976
Carpool12%11,678
Public transit0.1%†72

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Dallas County, the county holding most of Grand Prairie's residents.

Dallas County has 71,182 employer establishments, 270 for every 10,000 residents (1.09× the US rate of 248; 1.24× Texas's), with 1,648,702 paid employees at an average annual pay of $80,015. The Census Bureau also counts 312,744 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 71,182; 312,744 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 270; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 1,648,702
Average annual pay: $80,015; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Dallas County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	6,867	26	1.25×About typical	94,638	$71,707	11,541
Restaurants and other eating places	5,390	20.4	1.11×About typical	110,804	$26,252	2,027
Lessors of real estate	4,048	15.3	1.25×About typical	37,117	$93,374	26,231
Specialty trade contractors	3,139	11.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	61,980	$72,103	24,766
Limited-service restaurants	2,514	9.5	1.19×About typical	51,478	$22,111	597
Offices of physicians	2,412	9.1	1.41×More than typical	24,101	$135,732	2,303
Legal services	2,360	8.9	1.66×More than typical	20,305	$160,257	2,888
Computer systems design and related services	2,293	8.7	2.01×More than typical	48,458	$123,287	2,893
Management, scientific and technical consulting	2,266	8.6	1.28×More than typical	34,193	$123,075	10,028
Full-service restaurants	2,092	7.9	1.03×About typical	51,472	$30,947	986
Construction of buildings	1,485	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	23,873	$126,571	10,676
Offices of dentists	1,476	5.6	1.39×More than typical	10,757	$54,647	807

Rank places for an industry Open Dallas County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 2,637,393 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $10.1B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Grand Prairie, Texas: $49,911 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $10.1B; +27% vs FY2025
Per resident: $49,911; US $1,994
Sole-source: 99.7%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.1%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$9.6B95%
Missile Defense Agency$319.3M3.2%
U.S. Coast Guard$111M1.1%
Department of the Air Force$18.1M0.2%
Department of Veterans Affairs$7.8M0.1%
Defense Logistics Agency$6.2M0.1%
Defense Microelectronics Activity$4.4M0.0%
Federal Aviation Administration$77.1K0.0%

Top recipients

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION$9.9B99%
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS, INC.$87.4M0.9%
SAFRAN HELICOPTER ENGINES USA, INC$22M0.2%
TEXSTARS LLC$9.4M0.1%
ROCK CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT LLC$5.6M0.1%

Spending by fiscal year

1.7BFY2017
4.8BFY2018
7.4BFY2019
7.6BFY2020
3.6BFY2021
5.4BFY2022
6.6BFY2023
5.2B

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$9.8B97%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$68.7M0.7%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$65.4M0.6%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$57.4M0.6%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$37M0.4%
Support activities for air transportation · 4881

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Grand Prairie, Texas

HQ0147-17-C-0032 UNDEFINITIZED CONTRACT ACTION (UCA) FOR THAAD INTERCEPTOR LOT 9 PRODUCTION - QTY OF 23$10.4B
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION· Dallas County, TX· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Mar 27, 2017 – Jun 3, 2026· HQ014717C0032
EXECUTE PHASED ARRAY TRACKING RADAR TO INTERCEPT ON TARGET (PATRIOT) ADVANCED CAPABILITY-3 (PAC-3) MISSILE PRODUCTION BY PROVIDING INCIDENTAL SERVICES, HARDWARE, FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND TECHNICAL, PLANNING, MANAGEMENT, AND MANUFACTURING EFFORTS.$5.3B
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION· Dallas County, TX· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Jun 28, 2024 – Jun 11, 2026· W31P4Q24C0022
THE CONTRACT AWARD IS FOR THE FY21/FY22/FY23 BASE AND OPTION PRICING FOR PHASE ARRAY TRACKING RADAR TO INTERCEPT ON TARGET (PATRIOT) ADVANCED CAPABILITY-3 (PAC-3) PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE UNITED STATES (US) AND FOREIGN MILITARY SALES (FMS)$4.2B
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION· Dallas County, TX

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Grand Prairie, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Grand Prairie, Texas's figures are part of those of Dallas County, TX, Tarrant County, TX and Ellis County, TX ($41B in FY2026), never added to them: 25% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Grand Prairie is mostly in Dallas County.

See federal money in Dallas County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Grand Prairie, Texas is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX52

Other cities and towns in Dallas County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4830464

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends