Overview
One System, Four Metros
The Texas Triangle is the densest part of the Texas Nexus; the Panhandle, Trans-Pecos, Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast anchors sit outside it. Its metros share labor markets, the ERCOT grid, intermodal rail and Gulf logistics. Tesla runs Giga Texas in Austin, Megapack in Brookshire near Houston and lithium refining in Robstown as one network, and Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers serve customers across all four metros.
Metros
The Four Metros
Starbase at Boca Chica incorporated as a city in 2025. The Cameron County land swap with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Starship V3 production and SpaceX sites in Cameron, McLennan and Bastrop counties are driving growth that current metro definitions do not count.
| Metro | Population | Anchors |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | ~2.5M | Tesla Giga Texas, Samsung Taylor, Apple, Dell Round Rock, Starlink Bastrop, TIE NGMM |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | ~8.3M | Lockheed Fort Worth, Raytheon McKinney, Northrop Grumman Allen, Bell Textron; TI headquarters and TI Sherman (SM1 in production since December 2025) |
| Houston | ~7.8M | Energy company headquarters; Houston Ship Channel; Tesla Brookshire Megapack; Port of Houston; LNG export |
| San Antonio | ~2.7M | Cybersecurity and military intelligence (Joint Base San Antonio, NSA Texas); Toyota San Antonio; Mexico trade |
Corridors
The Six Corridors
Supply chains in the Triangle cross city lines. Samsung Taylor's suppliers run through Round Rock, Hutto, Georgetown and Killeen, and Giga Texas depends on Brookshire, Robstown and Bastrop, none inside the Austin metro. Each corridor also carries residential growth; the San Marcos-New Braunfels stretch is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country.
| Corridor | Route | Specialization |
|---|---|---|
| US Highway 79 Corridor | Round Rock, Hutto, Taylor, Rockdale, College Station (97 miles) | Fab and specialty semiconductor supplier ring |
| Austin-Taylor Manufacturing Axis (SH 130) | Giga Texas to Samsung Taylor, ~30 miles | Tesla-Samsung supply chain |
| Georgetown-Hutto-Taylor Data Center Corridor | Williamson County, within US 79 | Sabey, Switch, Skybox/Prologis, Blueprint, Colovore data centers |
| Austin-Waco I-35 / I-14 Spine | Austin, Temple, Killeen-Fort Hood, Waco, ~130 miles | Meta Temple (opened July 2026), defense contractors, SpaceX McGregor, Heroes MAKE America |
| US 183 Space Corridor | Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, Liberty Hill, Georgetown | Firefly Aerospace and the space supplier base |
| Austin-San Antonio Corridor (I-35 South) | Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels, San Antonio, ~80 miles | Two-metro link; housing for the Austin industrial workforce |
Record
Dataset Record
- Sources
- US Census Bureau metro estimates; company announcements; City of Starbase
- Last verified
- Q4 2026