Future Cities

Emerging Life Sciences Markets: Dallas, TX

June 30, 2025 5 Minute Read

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Demographics

Nearly 8.2 million people—39% aged 18 to 44—live in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area, with a projected five-year growth rate of 7.5%, well above the national average of 1.9%. Over half of its residents are millennials or Gen Zers, with a median age of 36. Only 13% of the population is 65 and older.

Figure 1: Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington Population Analysis

Source: CBRE Location Intelligence, 2025

Life Sciences Employment

Approximately 2% of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington labor force includes biopharmaceutical research & development (R&D), biopharmaceutical manufacturing and medtech roles. Dallas placed 12th for medtech talent, 13th for biopharma manufacturing talent and 15th for biopharma R&D out of 100 metros examined in CBRE’s Life Sciences Talent Trends 2025 report. Dallas has the 5th most data scientists of any U.S. metro and is in the top 10 for six of the eight biomanufacturing occupations and seven of the nine medtech occupations tracked by CBRE.

Figure 2: 2024 Dallas Life Sciences Related Occupations

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, CBRE Research, 2025

Dallas offers a scientific talent base at competitive costs compared with U.S. metros that have at least 2,000 jobs in life, physical and social science occupations. Dallas falls below the U.S. average annual salary for life sciences workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Figure 3: Life, Physical & Social Science Occupation Summary

Note: Size of dot represents total science employment per market. Showing only markets with at least 5,000 applicable jobs.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Location Incentives

Over the past five years, there have been more than 250 economic incentive deals in the Dallas metropolitan area at an average of $3.7 million per deal or $20,700 per new job, according to FT Locations.

According to CBRE’s Location Incentives Group, among the top incentive programs is the Texas Enterprise Fund, which awards discretionary cash grants to companies considering a new project in Texas. Award amounts are based on the average wage of new employees, the hiring timeline and a company’s total capital investment.

Meanwhile, the Texas Enterprise Zone Program encourages private investment in economically distressed areas of the state through a sales and use tax refund. Communities can nominate companies that meet investment and job creation thresholds to receive the enterprise zone designation. Based on the level of capital investment and job creation, the refund can range from $2,500 to $7,500 per job.

Figure 4: Dallas Top Incentive Programs

Note: The extent, if any, of state and local incentive offerings depend on location and scope of the operation.
Source: CBRE Location Incentives Group, 2025.

Success Drivers

Education

Over 40% of Greater Dallas residents aged 25 or more have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 37% of the corresponding U.S population. Dallas ranked 11th out of all U.S. metros for bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees issued in the biological and biomedical sciences for the 2022-2023 school year. The metro has a strong concentration of PhDs in bioengineering and biomedical engineering with 32 graduates in 2023, ranking 12th in the nation. Metro Dallas is home to 17 colleges and universities offering degrees in biological and biomedical sciences, the largest being the University of Texas at Dallas which awarded 803 bachelor’s, 148 master’s and 33 PhD degrees in biological and biomedical sciences in 2023.

Figure 5: Degree Completions

Source: IPEDS, CBRE Research, 2025.
Note: Not all degrees listed are available in the MSA.
R&D Degrees: Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology; Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other; Biology, General; Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology; Biomedical/Medical Engineering; Botany/Plant Biology; Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences; Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology; Genetics; Microbiological Sciences and Immunology; Neurobiology and Neurosciences; Pharmacology and Toxicology; Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences; Zoology/Animal Biology
Other Life Sciences-Related Degrees: Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services; Agricultural and Food Products Processing; Agricultural Business and Management; Agricultural Engineering; Agricultural Mechanization; Agricultural Production Operations; Agricultural Public Services; Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other; Agriculture, General; Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs; Animal Sciences; Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services; Chemical Engineering; Engineering Chemistry; Environmental/Environmental; Health Engineering; Food Science and Technology; International Agriculture; Plant Sciences; Science Technologies/Technicians, General; Science Technologies/Technicians, Other; Soil Sciences; Veterinary Administrative Services; Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; Veterinary Medicine; Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians

Funding

According to PitchBook, Dallas-based companies and institutions received over $221 million in venture capital funding, along with private/public investment and grants in 2024. Dallas ranked 26th for life sciences venture capital funding and 19th for NIH funding among 387 U.S. metros last year.

Figure 6: Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington Combined Statistical Area Funding Deal Volume

Source: PitchBook, CBRE Research, 2025.

Market Snapshot

As a strong logistics hub, Dallas-Fort Worth has begun to build a name for itself in the life sciences from lab/R&D to biomanufacturing to medtech. Dallas’ central location and status as a major U.S. logistics hub, along with its business-friendly policies, make it a prime location for life sciences companies. According to the Dallas Regional Chamber, Dallas boasts the second-largest cold chain storage capacity in the U.S., a critical component of pharmaceuticals distribution.

Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport has direct flights to every major pharma hub in the world, making the metro area an ideal location for life sciences operations. Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Abbott, McKesson and trailblazing companies like de-extinction group Colossal Biosciences have sizable operations in metro Dallas. The airport boasts a “center of excellence” certification by the International Air Transport Association, which validates that it provides safe and efficient handling of specialty cargo like pharmaceuticals, perishables and live animals.

With many Dallas-based companies leading the way in artificial intelligence and big data advances, the metro’s life sciences ecosystem is poised for growth. Over 18 incubators and accelerators in the region help grow cutting-edge companies in technology, health care and life sciences. With the metro area’s strong pipeline of college graduates and continued support from local businesses and government, the region will continue to grow in coming years.

Figure 7: Top Life Sciences Companies

Source: CBRE Research, 2025.

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