The Texas Triangle (also known as Texaplex)[3][4][5] is a region of Texas which contains the state's five largest cities and is home to the majority of the state's population. The Texas Triangle is formed by the state's four main urban centers, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin, connected by Interstate 45, Interstate 10, and Interstate 35. In 2020, the population of the Texas Triangle reached nearly 21 million following rapid growth across much of Texas.[2] The Texas Triangle is one of eleven megaregions in the United States, clusters of urban areas which share economic and cultural ties.
In 2004, the Texas Triangle contained five of the 20 largest cities in the U.S., and was home to more than 70% of all Texans, with a population of 13.8 million.[6] In the next 40 years, the population of the Texas Triangle has been projected to grow more than 65%,[7] or an additional 10 million people, leading to 78% of Texans living and working within the Texas Triangle. From a resident's perspective, the Triangle is gradually becoming synonymous with Texas.[8]
Additional metropolitan areas in the region include Bryan-College Station, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, and Waco. Twelve micropolitan statistical areas are within the Triangle, which includes 66 counties.[9] Beaumont, located east of Houston, has been considered part of the Texas Triangle by numerous studies dating from 2000.[10][11][12][13][14] Burleson County is the center of the Texas Triangle.
Sizable metro areas in Texas outside the Triangle are Corpus Christi, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland-Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo, Laredo, Amarillo, Tyler, Longview, Wichita Falls, and the Rio Grande Valley.
