DFFW — Dallas, Fort Worth and Frisco. What began as a phrase coined by North Texas Realtor Levi Lascsak is quickly becoming local lingo. Now, Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney is even using the term and said that start-up-friendly Frisco could be “the next Austin.”
Frisco’s explosive growth is transforming the city, once merely a Dallas outskirt, into a major regional business hub. At Group One’s annual Frisco Forecast on Feb. 26, 2025, Cheney highlighted the city’s momentum in attracting businesses, jobs and waves of new residents.
That rise is reshaping how the region is viewed. “You've heard in the press, people start now referring to DFW as DFFW,” Cheney said, before going on to explain Frisco’s growing influence in DFW — sorry, DFFW.
Major Companies Are Moving To Frisco
In the last few years alone, high-profile relocations and expansions underscore Frisco’s growing reputation. “We’re actually bringing more jobs than Dallas,” Cheney continued. “A lot of the different things are leaving Dallas to come up here.”
(Local Profile reached out to the Frisco EDC for clarification as Dallas has historically brought in more jobs than Frisco due to population differences. The number the mayor was referencing was the number of job relocations in the past two years.)
Companies such as McAfee, Toyota Financial Services, Toshiba, Haskell and TIAA have established a large presence in the city, while successful tech startups like Plug and Play are also finding a home in Frisco’s supportive business environment.
“We're well on our way to being like an Austin, bringing these startups,” Cheney said. “We're becoming kind of the epicenter for that. Certainly, we're a global city.”
Over the past three years, the city welcomed or saw the expansion of 70 companies, resulting in nearly 10,500 jobs created or retained and a 24% reduction in the labor shed — representing the percentage of Frisco residents who must leave the city for work. In 2024 alone, the FEDC spearheaded or supported 26 business projects and four real estate developments, showing growth year over year.
How Frisco Keeps Attracting Business
According to Frisco EDC Vice President Gloria Salinas, the FEDC’s strategy focuses on aligning incoming businesses with the city’s skilled workforce and fostering a dynamic ecosystem where companies can thrive. This targeted approach has played a significant role in the city’s job creation and business retention successes.
“Attracting and retaining top companies is critical to the Frisco Economic Development Corporation’s mission of creating jobs," Frisco EDC Vice President Gloria Salinas told Local Profile. "We take a proactive approach toward the growth and expansion of primary employers in our community through the development and implementation of programming. We want our corporations to get their roots established early and take advantage of all that the city has to offer.”
By fostering innovation, supporting business growth and enhancing the quality of life for residents, Frisco is not just a suburb anymore — it's a key player in North Texas' economic future.
Frisco Is Doing Big Things
With massive developments like the $10 billion Fields project from developer Fehmi Karahan, Frisco’s transformation into a full-fledged business and lifestyle hub is well underway. The mixed-use community, featuring residential, office, retail and hospitality components, signals the city’s readiness to meet the demands of its expanding population and business landscape.
Not to mention, just down the road is the PGA headquarters, the soon-to-be Universal Kids Resort and a potential Frisco Center For The Arts. In just this one corner of Frisco is everything one could need or want.
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