Plano, Texas, United States

🇺🇸 Plano is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County. Plano is also one of the principal cities of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the ninth most-populous city in Texas, and, respectively, the 73rd most populous city in the United States.

Plano's economy makes up a significant portion of Dallas' economy, home to many large companies such as Frito Lay, JCPenney, Pizza Hut, and other major distributors. It is also home to the headquarters of Toyota Motor North America. Plano has also been named as both one of the fastest growing cities and one of the best places to live in the country.

History Several Native Americans have passed through what is now Plano, including the Comanche, Caddo, and Wichita. Settlers came to the area near present-day Plano in the early 1840s. Facilities such as a sawmill, a gristmill, and a store soon brought more people to the area. A mail service was established, and after rejecting several names for the nascent town (including naming it in honor of then-President Millard Fillmore), residents suggested the name Plano (from the Spanish word for "flat") in reference to the local terrain. The post office accepted the name.

In 1872, the completion of the Houston and Central Texas Railway helped Plano grow, and it was incorporated in 1873. By 1874, the population was over 500. In 1881, a fire raged through the business district, destroying most of the buildings. Plano was rebuilt and business again flourished through the 1880s. Also in 1881, the city assumed responsibility for what would eventually become Plano Independent School District (PISD), ending the days of it being served only by private schools.

At first, Plano's population grew slowly, reaching 1,304 in 1900 and 3,695 in 1960. By 1970, Plano began to feel some of the boom its neighbors had experienced after World War II. A series of public works projects and a change in taxes that removed the farming community from the town helped increase the population. In 1970, the population reached 17,872, and by 1980, it had exploded to 72,000. Sewers, schools, and street development kept pace with this massive increase, largely because of Plano's flat topography, grid layout, and planning initiatives.

During the 1980s, many large corporations, including J. C. Penney and Frito-Lay, moved their headquarters to Plano, spurring further growth. By 1990, the population reached 128,713, dwarfing the county seat, McKinney. In 1994, Plano was recognised as an All-America City. By 2000, the population grew to 222,030, making it one of Dallas's largest suburbs. Plano is surrounded by other municipalities and so cannot expand in area, and there is little undeveloped land within the city limits. But as of July 2012, one large tract of land was being developed: Turnpike Commons at the intersection of Renner Road and the George Bush Turnpike (also bordered by Shiloh Road to the east). The development is expected to feature apartments, medical facilities, restaurants, a Race Trac gas station, and a hotel.

On June 15, 2015, after five years of disuse, a 178-foot (54 m) water tower built in 1985 was demolished to make room for Legacy West.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, Plano has an area of 71.6 square miles (185.5 km²). Plano is about 17 miles (27 km) from Downtown Dallas.

Plano is in the humid subtropical climate zone. The highest recorded temperature was 118 °F (48 °C) in 1936. On average, the coolest month is January and the warmest is July. The lowest recorded temperature was –7 °F (–22 °C) in 1930. The maximum average precipitation occurs in May.

Demographics As of the 2020 United States census, there were 285,494 people, 107,320 households, and 76,211 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2010, Plano had 259,841 people, 99,131 households and 69,464 families, up from 80,875 households and 60,575 families in the 2000 census. The population density was 3,629.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,401.2/km²). There were 103,672 housing units at an average density of 1,448.6 per square mile (559.3/km²).

In 2010, the racial makeup of the city was 67% White (58.4% non-Hispanic white), 7.5% Black, 0.36% Native American, 16.9% Asian (6.5% Asian Indian, 5.2% Chinese, 1.2% Vietnamese, 1.2% Korean, 0.6% Filipino, 0.2% Japanese, 1.9% Other), 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.86% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino made up 14.7% of the population (10.6% Mexican, 0.5% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Cuban, 3.5% Other). By 2020, the racial makeup was 46.3% non-Hispanic white, 8.77% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 24.08% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.47% some other race, 4.0% multiracial, and 16.04% Hispanic or Latino of any race, reflecting nationwide trends of greater diversification.

Of the 99,131 households in 2010, 35.8% had children under the age of 18. Married couples accounted for 56.7%; 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. About 24.4% of all households were individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61, and the average family size was 3.15. Data indicates that 28.7% of Plano's population was under the age of 18, 7.0% was 18 to 24, 36.5% was 25 to 44, 22.9% was 45 to 64, and 4.9% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $84,492, and the median income for a family was $101,616. About 3.0% of families and 4.3% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those 65 or older. In 2007, Plano had the United States' highest median income among cities with a population exceeding 250,000, at $84,492. According to crime statistics, there were four homicides in Plano in 2006, the lowest rate of all U.S. cities of 250,000 or more people.

Plano also has a substantial Iranian-American community.

Foreign-born residents As of the 2000 U.S. census, of the foreign-born residents, 17% were from China, 9% from India, and 4% from Vietnam; a total of 30% of foreign-born residents came from these three countries. That year, 22% of Plano's foreign-born originated in Mexico.

Chinese Americans Along with Houston and Sugar Land, Plano has one of Texas's major concentrations of Chinese Americans. According to the 2010 U.S. census, there were 14,500 ethnic Chinese in Plano. Of cities with 250,000 or more residents, Plano has the sixth-largest percentage of ethnic Chinese, making up 5.2% of the city's population. Charlie Yue, the executive vice president of the Association of Chinese Professionals, estimated that about 30,000 Plano residents are Chinese and that many "don't participate in government activities, like the census".

Chinese professionals began to settle Plano by 1991. As of 2011, DFW's Chinese restaurants catering to ethnic Chinese are mainly in Plano and Richardson. Most of the DFW-area Chinese cultural organizations are headquartered in Plano and Richardson. Plano has six Chinese churches and supermarkets, including 99 Ranch Market and zTao Marketplace.

Economy: Top employers According to the Plano Economic Development 2017 Leading Employers Report, Plano's top 10 employers were: 1 Capital One Finance; 2 DXC Technology; 3 Bank of America Home Loans; 4 Red Bee Media (fka Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services); 5 Toyota Motor North America, Inc.; 6 Frito-Lay; 7 J.C. Penney Company, Inc.; 8 NTT Data Services (fka Dell Services); 9 Texas Health Plano (fka Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano); 10 Medical City Plano (fka Medical Center of Plano).

About 80% of Plano's visitors are business travelers, due to its close proximity to Dallas and the many corporations headquartered in Plano. The city also has a convention centre owned and operated by the city. Plano has made a concerted effort to draw retail to its downtown area and the Legacy West in an effort to boost sales tax returns. It has two malls, The Shops at Willow Bend and The Shops at Legacy. Collin Creek Mall closed in 2019. There is an area that has apartments, shops, and restaurants constructed with the New Urbanism philosophy. An experimental luxury Walmart Supercenter is at Park Boulevard and the Dallas North Tollway.

Headquarters of major corporations Some of the country's largest and most recognised companies are headquartered in Plano. Legacy Drive in ZIP Code 75024, between Preston Road and Dallas North Tollway, has many corporate campuses. The following companies have corporate headquarters (Fortune 1000 headquarters) or major regional offices in Plano: • At Home • Beal Bank • Cookies by Design • Cinemark Theatres • Crossmark • Denbury Inc. • Diodes Incorporated • FedEx Office • Fogo de Chão • Frito-Lay • Hilti North America • Huawei Device USA • JCPenney • Main Event Entertainment • NTT Data Services • Pizza Hut • Rent-A-Center • Ribbon Communications • Robot Entertainment • Siemens Digital Industries Software • Toyota Motor North America • Tyler Technologies • Zoës Kitchen.

In 2014 Toyota Motor North America announced its U.S. headquarters will move from Torrance, California, to Plano. In 2015, Liberty Mutual announced its plans to build a new corporate campus just a few blocks east of Toyota's, bringing an estimated 5,000 jobs to the community. In January 2016, JP Morgan Chase and mortgage giant Fannie Mae announced they would move their regional operations to Plano, bringing a combined 7,000 new jobs to the community.

Arts and culture The Plano Public Library System (PPLS) consists of the W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library, the Maribelle M. Davis Library, the Gladys Harrington Library, the Christopher A. Parr Library, the L.E.R. Schimelpfenig Library, and the Municipal Reference Library. The Haggard Library houses the system's administrative offices.

The Plano Symphony Orchestra is partially funded by the city, performing regularly at St. Andrew United Methodist Church and the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts in nearby Richardson.

Historic sites • Plano Station, Texas Electric Railway (1908) • Heritage Farmstead Museum (1891).