Plano is having a bit of a moment. It has been for a while now.
Dallas’ largest northern suburb was once a small farm town just outside of the big city. Explosive growth in the second half of the 20th century turned it into a bustling city, and earned it the nickname “The City of Excellence.”
That transformation has even drawn two of Dallas’ biggest names away from downtown: AT&T and the NHL’s Dallas Stars. They join an impressive core of major businesses with presence in the city, including Toyota, Capital One, and PepsiCo Foods. Beyond that, the city has repeatedly been named one of the best places to live in America for its schools, affordability, safety and more.
Related: North Texas suburb named top-5 city to live in U.S. in new ranking
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Here’s your guide to Plano:
Fast facts
Population: 292,615
Median age: 40.5
Median income: $115,901
Unemployment rate: 4.0%
Race / ethnicity
- One race, white: 47.5%
- One race, Black or African American: 12.6%
- One race, American Indian or Alaska Native: 0%
- One race, Asian: 24%
- One race, Native Hawaiian: 0%
- One race, some other race: 3.6%
- Two or more races: 11.5%
- Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): 14.1%
- White alone, not Hispanic or Latino: 45.5%
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Educational Attainment
For ages 18-24 (roughly 7.1% of the population)
- Less than high school degree or equivalent: 10.9%
- High school graduates (or equivalent): 41.1%
- Some college or associate’s: 28.2%
- Bachelor’s degree or higher: 19.8%
For ages 25+ (roughly 71.9%)
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- High school graduates (or equivalent): 10.7%
- Bachelor’s degree: 36.7%
- Graduate or professional degree: 26.9%
Housing
120,096 units; 115,376 occupied (96%)
- 65,561 owner occupied
- 49,815 renter occupied
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- 73,397 1-unit detached
- 4,600 1-unit attached
- 41,961 multi-unit
- 138 mobile homes
Median home value: $541,700
Median rent: $1,904
Compiled by staff researcher Rachel Friend. Data from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-Year Estimates Subject Tables, Tables S0601, S1501, S1903, S2301, DP04.
A brief history
Initial attempts to settle the prairie in the 1840s were met with resistance from area Native Americans, according to the Texas State Historical Association. Subsequent efforts were more successful as farmers took advantage of land grants in the area. The town was named Plano after the Spanish word for “flat” when a post office was established in 1852.
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Related: Plano’s rise to becoming ‘The City of Excellence’
The Houston and Texas Central Railway connected the town to Dallas in 1872 and it incorporated the following year, according to TSHA. The Shawnee Trail used for cattle drives also helped the area grow in the 1870s as herds went north through Collin County.
A fire in 1881 destroyed most of the buildings in Plano, but the town successfully rebuilt. By 1888, a new railroad arrived and opened the town to further growth. It became an outlet for blackland-prairie farmers and, by 1890, the town was home to about 1,200 people.
Plano remained primarily a farming town for much of the next 75 years, adding only about 400 residents every 10 years, according to TSHA. The Plano of today emerged in the 1960s and 1970s when Dallas’ growth and other developments spurred a population boom in the city.
The town’s population more than quadrupled between 1960 and 1970, growing from just under 3,700 to nearly 18,000. The town surpassed 100,000 residents in the 1980s and became home to some major corporate relocations, including Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Frito-Lay and JCPenney.
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Today, Plano remains a hub for major corporations and has grown into one of Collin County’s most important cities and Dallas’ most important suburbs. Beyond that, the city has won recognition in recent years for its schooling, affordability, safety and more.
The Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano seen during an event for Easter.
2017 File Photo
Notable landmarks
Heritage Farmstead Museum: One of the few remnants of Plano’s past as a farming community, the museum is located in a restored Victorian-era farmstead.
Legacy District: This northwest Plano hub is a microcosm of the city’s boom over the past few decades. With major business, retail, dining and residential all well-connected to Dallas and the rest of D-FW, this area is hard to beat.
Chicken thighs, roasted vegetables, and smashed croquettes, at Flamant, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 in Plano.
Shafkat Anowar/Staff Photographer
Things to do
Bars and restaurants
- Bavarian Grill
- CraftWay Kitchen
- El Pueblito
- Flamant
- Haywire
- Legacy Hall
- Lockhart Smokehouse
- Mudleaf Coffee
- Sixty Vines
- Uchiko
- Urban Crust
A young resident bikes through Chisholm Trail on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Plano.
Christine Vo/Staff Photographer
Parks and trails
- Arbor HIlls Nature Preserve
- Bluebonnet Trail
- Carpenter Park and Recreation Center
- Chisholm Trail
- Oak Point Park & Nature Reserve
- Preston Ridge Trail
- Shawnee Park
Shopping
- Lakeside Market
- Legacy District
- Preston Park Village
- The Shops at Willow Bend
Museums
- Heritage Farmstead Museum
- Interurban Railway Museum
- Museum of Contemporary Visual Art
- Plano African American Museum
Hot-air balloons take to the skies at the yearly Plano Balloon Festival.
File 2013 –
Staff Photo
A fun fact
Plano hosts a yearly Balloon Festival at its Oak Point Park where they release dozens of hot-air balloons into the city sky. The event has taken place for nearly 50 years.