Dallas is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in northern Texas, it is the ninth-most populous city in the United States and third-most populous city in Texas, with a population of 1.3 million at the 2020 census. Along with the city of Fort Worth, Dallas anchors the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and the most populous metropolitan area in Texas, at 8.5 million people. Dallas is a core city of the largest metropolitan area in the Southern U.S. and the largest inland metropolitan area in the U.S. that lacks any navigable link to the sea. It is the seat of Dallas County, covering nearly 386 square miles (1,000 km2) and extending into Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties.