932,116
Population
Sunny Days: 229
95100 Affordability
80100 Schools
100100 Diversity
80100 Safety
It's the most Texas city in Texas.
-- Dan Jenkins
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Crunk
Forth Worth Skyline
Fort Worth Stock Yards
Downtown Fort Worth, Credit: Fallon Michael
Botanic Garden Boulevard, Fort Worth, Credit: Jessica Tan
LookyLOO Review of Fort Worth
Cowtowns Are Cool!
Unlike its fancier sibling (Big D), Fort Worth stayed true to its roots and preserved much of what makes it a true Western town. If you’re into the Wild West, both authentic and available as entertainment, you’re going to dig it here and enjoy the laid-back atmosphere, live music, cultural festivals, bars, restaurants, and the Fort Worth Stockyards!
The tricky thing for Fort Worth right now is it has become a great place to live but not so much to work. This means that lots of people who live here commute to Dallas to work and that makes Fort Worth feel a bit like a suburb of Dallas, at least economically. This lack of a tax base has resulted in a struggling school system and resulted in a city that is appealing to young people or retirees but not families as much.
Lifestyle
Urban style and cowboy culture aren’t two things that usually mix, but Fort Worth perhaps pulls it off better than anywhere else in the world. Fort Worth is known for being a family friendly area (and an area with friendly people more generally) with a Texas flavor.
A dynamic hub of nightlife just minutes away from classic western museums? A six flags experience for the whole family and a wide variety of highly rated restaurants? Fort Worth has a unique environment that would be hard to replicate anywhere else. You’ll definitely want a car to experience everything the DFW area has to offer, and you’ll probably need it if you want to work in the area…
Check out the calendar of events to see what's happening in Fort Worth.
Worklife
There’s a big commuter culture in Fort Worth, and making the drive to Dallas is one of the most popular(or unpopular) options for residents of all ages. For those not inclined to sit on the highway for forty minutes, however, there are still some options in town. Transportation is the big ticket in Fort Worth. American Airlines, Bell Helicopter, and BNSF Railway are three of the largest employers in Fort Worth.
Schools
The Fort Worth ISD has struggled a bit over the years. As noted, a lower tax base and less innovative structure for raising funds for new schools than in the Dallas suburbs has put it behind the local market for perception and reality of the quality of the schools. Niche.com grades the district with a "B-".
While the district overall has struggled in standardized scoring there are some real pearls amidst the district schools including:
-IM Terrell Academy for STEM & Visual Performing Arts. The high school Academy receives an "A" ranking on [niche. com](https://www.niche.com/k12/im-terrell-academy-for-stem-and-vpa-fort-worth-tx/?map) and strong ratings in Academics, Teachers, and College Prep.
-Texas Academy of Biomedical, is another high school in Fort Worth that receives an "A" on niche.com.
If none of the public schools are appealing, check out the niche.com list of the best private schools in the area. Plenty of A+ choices for private and religious schools.
It should be noted that Fort Worth ISD is starting a big five-year strategic initiative to raise the level of the entire district. Right now you can find excellent schools in different pockets of the city and of course, the district aspires to the same level of performance across all schools.
Why You Should Move Here Now?
Won’t You Take Me To Funkytown?
Fort Worth has a lot of nicknames (including Funkytown), but it remains a hidden gem among the Texas cities targeted for moves from the West Coast, Northeast and Midwest. Austin, Houston and Dallas come up first for transplanters, but we think everything true for the hottest Texas cities -- low/no taxes, booming economies, lower cost of living and no snow are true for Fort Worth but in a smaller, more manageable package.
Reviews of Fort Worth from Locals
"Un Showy"
HawrdRawk
Living in Fort Worth
Edited 2y ago
✭✭✭
Fort Worth is a beautiful “slower pace” city. The cultural scene is excellent with top notch museums and classical music venues. There are a lack of “outdoorsy” activities in most of the area. However we use the money we save from living here by taking a couple vacations each year.
Fort Worth is also very “un showy” when it comes to money. Many wealthy individuals who like to keep it under wraps (family ranches and oil money). This is in contrast compared to Dallas. I’d say Dallas compares more to LA in that people drive fancy cars, show off their money, etc. Fort Worth is much different.
Downtown is one of the cleanest cities I’ve been to.
If you buy a house, property tax runs about 2.6% of the value, so take that into account.
Crime is much lower in Fort Worth than most other cities. South of downtown can get sketchy, but never really unsafe unless at night. Weather is not bad, sometimes we get tornadoes but there is a warning system in place.
If you're interested in hearing from other locals check out: The Reviews.
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Living in Fort Worth
Neighborhoods in Fort Worth
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Downtown
Young Professionals
Downtown is the first neighborhood to check out for young professionals. It's more chill than downtown Dallas (and less expensive) but has tons of tower and mid-rise condo, loft and apartment options. There's also a booming social scene in the Sundance Square district.
You also get the outdoor experience of 4+ acres of water features in the oasis of the Fort Worth Water Gardens when you need to get a bit of zen time. Finally, you can experience arts, culture and live performances at Artspace111, Bass Performance Hall and the Scat Jazz Lounge.
- Downtown
- Arlington Heights