Plano is a thriving urban center in the heart of Texas, nestled within Collin County, where it stands as the county’s largest city. As a key component of the expansive Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, Plano boasts a population that ranks it as the ninth most populous city in the Lone Star State and the 72nd most populous city in the entire United States.
In the 1980s, several major companies, such as J. C. Penney and Frito-Lay, relocated their main offices to Plano, which led to additional development and expansion in the area.
Plano encompasses a total area of 71.6 square miles (185.5 km2), as reported by the United States Census Bureau. Its distance from the heart of Dallas, Texas, spans approximately 17 miles (27 km).
Plano experiences a humid subtropical climate. The hottest temperature ever recorded was 118 °F (48 °C) in 1936, while the coldest was –7 °F (–22 °C) in 1930. January is typically the coolest month, while July is the warmest. The month with the highest average precipitation is May.
The city had a population of 285,494 individuals, with 107,320 households and 76,211 families, according to the 2020 United States census.
Plano, in addition to Houston, is one of the two main areas in Texas where Chinese Americans are concentrated. The 2010 U.S. census reported a population of 14,500 ethnic Chinese in Plano. Among cities with 250,000 or more residents, Plano ranks sixth in terms of the proportion of ethnic Chinese residents, accounting for 5.2% of the total population. Charlie Yue, the executive vice president of the Association of Chinese Professionals, approximated that around 30,000 Plano residents are Chinese and noted that many do not engage in civic activities, such as participating in the census.
Plano’s visitor demographic is primarily composed of business travelers, taking advantage of the city’s proximity to Dallas and the numerous corporate headquarters located within its limits. The city has a convention center, which is owned and operated by the city itself. In an effort to increase sales tax revenue, Plano has made a deliberate attempt to attract retail businesses to its downtown area and Legacy West. The city boasts two shopping malls, The Shops at Willow Bend and The Shops at Legacy, with Collin Creek Mall having closed in 2019. Additionally, there is a New Urbanism-inspired area featuring apartments, shops, and restaurants. Notably, an innovative luxury Walmart Supercenter can be found at the intersection of Park Boulevard and the Dallas North Tollway.
The city of Plano is home to the corporate headquarters or major regional offices of various companies included in the Fortune 1000 list, such as At Home, Beal Bank, Cookies by Design, Cinemark Theatres, Crossmark, 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, Samsung Electronics, Siemens Digital Industries Software, Toyota Motor North America, Tyler Technologies, and Zoës Kitchen.
The Plano Public Library System is made up of several branches, including 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 administrative offices of the system are located at the Haggard Library.
Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation Center, Carpenter Park Recreation Center, Oak Point Recreation Center, Liberty Recreation Center, and Douglass Community Center are the five recreation centers available. Among them, Carpenter Park Recreation Center, Oak Point Recreation Center, and Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation Center feature indoor pools, whereas Liberty Recreation Center offers an outdoor pool.
Under the Parks and Recreation Department, the City of Plano manages four performing arts venues and a conference center: the Courtyard Theater, the Cox Playhouse, the Amphitheater at Oak Point Park, McCall Plaza, and the Oak Point Park Nature and Retreat Center.
Plano is a willing participant in the North Central Texas Council of Governments association, which aims to bring together local governments to work together on regional issues, minimize redundant efforts, and make decisions collectively.
In 2020, the Plano Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Ed Drain, implemented a new policy regarding the possession of small quantities of marijuana. According to this policy, officers would no longer effect arrests for such possession.
Plano is divided among several districts in the Texas House of Representatives, including the 33rd, 65th, 66th, 67th, 70th, and 89th Districts. The section of Plano located in Collin County falls entirely within Texas Senate, District 8, while the part in Denton County is situated in Texas Senate, District 30.
Plano boasts an impressive educational system, comprising 70 public schools, 16 private schools, and two campuses of Collin College.
The city is primarily served by the Plano Independent School District.
Plano is one of 12 suburbs of Dallas that utilize the public transportation system provided by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Initially, Plano’s involvement with DART was limited to a few bus lines, but in 2002, the Red Line of the DART Light Rail project was introduced, complete with stations in the heart of the city.
The Plano Fire-Rescue department consists of 386 permanent firefighters stationed at 13 locations. They serve a community of 271,000 people living across an area of 72 square miles. Additionally, the department ranks as the 10th largest in Texas based on the number of firefighters.
The Plano Police Department, an accredited and esteemed law enforcement agency, boasts a robust team of 414 sworn officers, 178 full-time civilian staff, and 79 part-time civilian employees. As a member of the North Texas Crime Commission, the department actively participates in the Crime Stoppers program, solidifying its commitment to maintaining public safety and crime prevention in the community.
Plano is a member of the North Texas Municipal Water District, which is based in Wylie, Texas. The main source of raw water for the district is Lake Lavon. Pl system consists of 10 raised towers, 12 storage tanks, a storage capacity of 54.5 million gallons, 5 pump stations 225 million gallons, 1,080 miles of water pipes, and 65,965 metered service connections.
Plano is affiliated with the following sister cities:
Hsinchu, Taiwan (established in 2003)
San Pedro Garza García, Mexico (established in 1995)
Brampton, Canada used to be a sister city of Plano until 2018.