Fort Worth's growth brings nearly $2 billion in investment and 4,100 new jobs

Fort Worth’s rapid growth is showing up in more than its population.

As the newly minted 10th-largest city in the country, Fort Worth is also attracting major business investment. Robert Allen, CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, said the city has netted nearly $2 billion in capital investment this year, bringing an estimated 4,100 new jobs.

“Big numbers, big announcements. We love that,” Allen said.

The investments include multimillion-dollar facilities from eye-care giant Alcon and Marand, a supplier to Lockheed Martin.

One industry in particular is taking off.

“Aviation and defense has doubled in our project pipeline from 2025 to 2026,” Allen said. “That is our biggest gain in a specific sector over time.”

For the thousands of people moving to Fort Worth, as well as longtime residents, Allen said the ultimate payoff is employment.

“Job opportunities for people moving in, job opportunities for the people that are already here. That’s what we want,” he said.

Juan Carlos Martinez, an economics professor at Dallas College, said the investment is another sign of Fort Worth’s economic momentum.

“My first thought was, it was a good number,” Martinez said. “It shows progress.”

Fort Worth’s identity could be part of its economic advantage

Martinez said there’s enough of a population to boost the region, but having a distinct identity can help cities stand apart.

“I think when you have this amount of people in the region, each area can create its own identity and people will gravitate to it,” Martinez said.

For Fort Worth, that identity is unmistakably cowtown.

The city’s Western heritage received an international spotlight during the World Cup, when thousands of visitors came to North Texas and experienced Fort Worth’s Stockyards and cowboy culture.

Allen believes that global exposure could have an impact beyond tourism by introducing Fort Worth to international companies and investors.

“Our international pipeline of business is growing and continues to grow,” Allen said. “So some of that has to be attributed to the World Cup exposure.”

Allen says their biggest target now is trying to increase the corporate footprint by attracting new corporations and headquarters.

But it’s also strategic, he says.

“I have been clear with anybody that will talk to me, we do not say yes to every project. We analyze them, we use data. To back our decision-making in very close partnership with the city of Fort Worth and the counties that we work with to ensure that when we are taking a project forward, we are confident that it is gonna be a good project for the city of Fort Worth,” Allen said.

Trying to hold onto the city’s identity as they climb ranks in population and job growth.