The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The metropolitan area is further divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area informally refer to it as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, or simply The Metroplex (the term was originally invented to refer to Dallas/Fort Worth), which is the economic and cultural hub of the region commonly called North Texas or North Central Texas.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 1, 2008 estimate, the metropolitan area has a population of 6,300,006. According to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the metroplex has a population near 6,538,850. The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington MSA is the largest metropolitan area in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States. The metroplex also encompasses 9,286 square miles (24,100 km) of total area: 8,991 sq mi (23,290 km) is land, while 295 sq mi (760 km) is water, making it larger in area than the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. It is also the 4th largest metropolitan area by population and gross metropolitan product (GMP) in the United States, but approximately tenth largest by GMP in the world.