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Originally Posted by Quixote
What does the first sentence even mean? Looking at DFW from satellite view, it appears that a disproportionate amount of the growth is happening in the northeast quadrant (Frisco, McKinney) of the metro area. That assumption is supported by the numbers, which also show significant population gains in Tarrant County (Fort Worth). So, the macro-level snapshot of DFW is certainly relevant. Adding "several million more residents" would likely entail expanding that macro-level view.
I don't know whether or not it's true that more people in LA commute long-distance, but I'm firmly of the belief that most people don't choose to live where they live because of proximity to employment. People change jobs all the time, and most aren't going to uproot their children for a shorter commute to a job that might only last a few years. Further, people who move to DFW are likely interested in large, new-construction homes... which, again, are likely to be found in peripheral areas.
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Get on the ground in DFW and you'll find that there are major employment nodes throughout the region. Those various employment centers taken separately constitute a micro view of the region's economy. There are thousands of jobs in central Fort Worth and on the west side or Fort Worth, NE Tarrant County/southern Denton County around development associated with Alliance Airport, over at DFW Airport itself (at least 50,000 jobs there at the airport alone), Irving/Las Colinas to the east of DFW Airport, Mid-cities area around Arlington especially, North Dallas along both the Stemmons and North Central Freeway corridors, downtown Dallas proper and midtown, and the Richardson, Plano, Frisco Telecom corridor. DFW workers spend on average around 25 minutes each way commuting on freeways that are crowded but not as crowded as in many other metros.
My point about there being more housing mobility in DFW relates to the fact that housing is cheaper and relatively plentiful throughout the region. I don't have raw numbers, but anecdotally I can tell you about several different people I have known who moved from one part of the DFW area to another in order to be closer to employment. It happens all the time, and, more important, it is fairly easy to accomplish. That certainly is not the case for the more expensive metro regions in California and elsewhere, and it is part of what gives DFW (and Houston or Atlanta perhaps) a leg up in attracting new residents and businesses to the area. By the way, I don't think commenting in this fashion consitutes some kind of homerism or boosterism about life in Texas. It is just one explanation that may partially explain the explosive growth of the region.