If you think that Austin has cornered the market on the creative economy in Texas, you’d be wrong.

A new study by the University of North Texas’ Economic Research Group shows that it’s Dallas leading the state in creative economy and it isn’t even close.

The study revealed that DFW’s creative industries funnel $34 billion into the broader economy annually, as well as almost $4 billion in taxes.

“When comparing the overall size of Dallas-Ft. Worth’s creative economy against other regions in Texas, it emerges the clear leader.”
UNT study

“When comparing the overall size of Dallas-Ft. Worth’s creative economy against other regions in Texas, it emerges the clear leader,” according to the study

Creative industries in Dallas-Fort Worth employ 98,639 workers in creative jobs, the study said. That is more than twice the number of jobs in Austin’s creative economy, according to the study. In fact, Houston is second with 62,349 workers in creative jobs.

Some of the jobs defined by the study were graphic designers, advertising agency employees, and architects, according to a report in The Dallas Morning News. 

DFW’S CREATIVE JOBS MARKET IS LARGE

“In all of the literature on creative economies, Texas never comes up,” Michael Carroll, director of the research group and one of the report’s authors, told The Dallas Morning News. “But if you compare [North Texas] to Atlanta or others, you see DFW is a large economy for that.”

The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area had a population of 7.2 million in mid-2016, while Austin-Round Rock Metro had a population of 2 million. 

Dallas’ business community has been pushing to show the more creative side of things, including recently unveiling ‘Say Yes to Dallas,’ luring millennial workers to DFW from around the country.  

Delivering what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth innovation, every day. Get the Dallas Innovates e-newsletter.