Welcome to Plano!

Plano is a very affluent and upscale suburb of Dallas, Texas, located to the north, mainly within Collin County, but also extending into Denton County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 222,030, making it the ninth largest city in Texas. According to a 2005 census estimate, Plano had grown to 250,096 making Plano the sixty-ninth most populous city in the United States. Plano is within the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, colloquially referred to as the Metroplex. The city is home to many corporate headquarters, including Perot Systems, Electronic Data Systems, Frito-Lay, Cinemark Theatres, UGS, and JCPenney. In 2005, Plano was the best place to live in the Western United States by CNN Money magazine. In 2006, Plano was selected as the 11th best place to live in the United States by CNN Money magazine. In addition to its many industries and good-quality living, Plano has excellent schools that consistently score in the top few percent of the nation. In the early 1840s, several settlers came to the area around Plano. Several nearby facilities including a sawmill, gristmill and a store brought more people to the area. Mail service was established and after rejecting several names for the budding town (including naming it in honor of then-President Millard Fillmore), the locals suggested the name Plano, which they mistook for the Spanish word for "flat," a reference to the terrain of the area. The name was accepted by the Post Office and Plano was born. In 1872, the completion of the Houston and Texas Railroad helped the city to grow, increasing the population to more than 500 by 1874. In 1873, the city officially incorporated.
In 1881, a fire raged through the central business district, destroying most of the buildings: 51 in all. However, the town was rebuilt and business again flourished through the 1880s. In 1895 the PISD (Plano Independent School District) was formed. This is one of the best school districts in the entire country.
Unlike many of the other Dallas suburbs, which were closer to Dallas itself, the population of Plano initially grew slowly, reaching 1,304 in 1900 and increasing to 3,695 in 1960. By 1970, however, Plano began to feel some of the boom its neighbors experienced following World War II. A series of public works projects and a change in taxes that removed the farming community from the town helped to increase the overall population of Plano. In 1970, the population reached 17,872 and by 1980, the population had exploded to 72,000 people. Almost unbelievably the sewers, schools and street development kept easy pace with this massive increase largely due to Plano's flat topography, grid layout and excellent planning.
During the 1980s, many large corporations moved their headquarters to Plano, including JC Penney and Frito-Lay, which helped to further grow the city as more people desired to move closer to where they worked. By 1990, the population had reached 128,713 and now dwarfed the county seat of McKinney. In 1994, the city was recognized as an All-America City.
By 2000, the population nearly doubled again to 222,030, making it one of the largest suburbs in the Dallas area. However, the area's suburban sprawl has pushed beyond Plano and the city's population is stabilizing. Plano is completely locked in by other municipalities and cannot expand in area, and there is little undeveloped land remaining within the city limits. By 2005, its population was estimated to be 250,096.