Jorja Clemson was born and raised in Grand Prairie, where she is on the City Council. (Courtesy | Jorja Clemson)

By Jorja Clemson

I was born and raised in Grand Prairie. My parents worked at North American Aviation, then ran a family business as I grew up. I married a young man from Fort Worth and moved him to Grand Prairie immediately.

After raising our three children here, I felt a call to public service, as did my parents, who served on the City Council and Grand Prairie ISD school board. 

As a proud Grand Prairie and Tarrant County resident, I am honored to represent the constituents of City Council District 1 as their council member since 2013. I love the opportunity to make the lives of residents better by being the conduit between them and a solution. 

Connecting residents and businesses with services and programs, getting to know people from all walks of life and helping others fills my servant’s heart with joy. And the best part is, I get to live in Tarrant County while doing it. 

Tarrant County in Grand Prairie retains a rural feel, with stately trees, creeks and streams, uncurbed roads, big residential lots and housing from affordable to affluent. Grand Prairie is split among Tarrant, Dallas, Johnson and Ellis counties.

We have easy access anywhere, with Interstate 30, Interstate 20, State Highway 360 and State Highway 161 creating a checklist of ways to get where you are going. 

Grand Prairie residents and businesses benefit from being in one of the safest cities in Texas. 

Grand Prairie offers great value for your dollar, more amenities than most and family friendly fun at places like the city’s new EpicCentral entertainment district.

And, just north of EpicCentral, you can travel to Asia Times Square. Then south, shop ‘til you drop at Traders Village and the Grand Prairie Premium Outlet Mall. 

But, above all, Grand Prairie is home. 

Grand Prairie

Total population: 199,778 (including 71,869 in Tarrant County
Female: 59% | Male: 41%

Age
0-9: 20%
10-19: 11%
20-29: 12%
30-39: 14%
40-49: 15%
50-59: 17%
60-69: 8%
70-79: 2%
80 and older: 2%

Education
No degree: 0%
High school: 19%
Some college: 37%
Bachelor’s degree: 26%
Post-graduate: 18%

Race
Black: 47%| White: 35%| Hispanic: 7% | Asian: 0% | Two or more: 8%

Click on the link to view the schools’ Texas Education Agency ratings:

Crosswinds Accelerated High School Digital Arts & Technology Academy at Adams Middle School Daniels Elementary Academy of Science and Math Grand Prairie Collegiate Institute Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy Grand Prairie High School School for the Highly Gifted Seguin Elementary South Grand Prairie High School Travis World Language Academy Truman Middle School Whitt Fine Arts Academy Williams Elementary Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Kennedy Middle School Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Arnold


Bonham Early Education School Bowie Fine Arts Academy Bush Global Leadership Academy Crockett Early Education School De Zavala Environmental Science Academy Delmas Morton Elementary Dickinson Montessori Academy Dubiski Career High School Eisenhower Elementary Fannin Middle School Florence Hill Elementary Garcia Elementary Garner Fine Arts Academy Jackson Middle School Johnson DAEP Marshall Leadership Academy Moore College and Career Preparatory Moseley Elementary Ochoa STEM Academy at Ben Milan Elementary Powell Elementary Rayburn Elementary STEAM Academy Reagan Middle School

Jorja Clemson was born and raised in Grand Prairie. The lifelong resident has been married to her husband, Dan Clemson, for more than 50 years, and they have three children and eight grandchildren. She was reelected to the Grand Prairie City Council in the May 6 election. 

Creative Commons License

Noncommercial entities may republish our articles for free by following our guidelines. For commercial licensing, please email hello@fortworthreport.org.