Mesquite is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the country's fourth-largest metro area with an estimated population of 7.3 million.

Diversity

Almost 19% of Mesquite's population is foreign-born. Mesquite is a Hispanic-majority city. Mexican Americans are the largest subgroup followed by Salvadoran Americans. The African-American population of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area grew 178% between 2000 and 2010 with much of the growth in suburbs like Mesquite. Throughout Dallas County and Texas as a whole, the most recent census data shows decreasing populations of non-Hispanic whites. In a decade, Dallas lost over 200,000 white residents or about 20%.

Population Growth

In 1940, Mesquite had a population of just 1,050 which grew 62% by 1950. The next decade saw population growth of 1,523% to more than 27,000 people and 100% population growth the next decade to 55,000 in 1970. Mesquite posted strong double-digit growth up until 2010 when its growth slowed. Over the last decade, Mesquite has added an estimated 3,000 people. It seems things are changing in Mesquite, however.

After 15 years without a single new subdivision, Mesquite is showing signs that it's getting ready to grow again with a new development in 2017 and homes remaining on the market for just 14 days on average. Expansion and distribution center plans will also create new jobs in the community to fuel further growth in the coming years.

Mesquite is a fairly young city, founded in 1878 on land next to the Texas & Pacific Railway which ran from Shreveport, LA to Dallas. It was incorporated in 1887. During the early years, Mesquite was known for its outlaws but it grew in the 1900s as a farming community that used the railroad to ship goods like cotton, sugar, and corn. It wasn't until the end of WWII that the suburban boom in Dallas took off and Mesquite began to grow rapidly.