Your City: Plano

Plano, Texas

Origin & Incorporation
• First settlers arrived in the 1840s from Kentucky and Tennessee under the Peters Colony land grants.
• Name comes from the Spanish word for "flat" — the area was Blackland Prairie.
• Incorporated June 2, 1873; celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023.
• Growth began when the Houston and Texas Central Railway arrived in 1872.

What Plano Is Known For
• Home to major corporate headquarters: Toyota Motor North America, Capital One, PepsiCo Foods, and the joint Pizza Hut/KFC HQ.
• Tech and R&D hub (Ericsson, Samsung, Intuit, USAA).
• Top-rated parks system and high-performing Plano ISD schools.
• ~292,000 residents, one of America's fastest-growing cities.

National Awards (recent)
• 2026: #2 Safest Big City in the U.S. (CultureMap)
• 2026: 6th Best City to Live in America (Niche)
• 2025: First Happiest Big City in America (SmartAsset)
• 2021: Safest City in Texas (WalletHub)
• 2019: Happiest City in America (WalletHub)
• #1 park system in Texas (Trust for Public Land)

Top 10 Employers (by employees, 2025 city report)
Employer — Approx. Employees
JPMorgan Chase — 11,261
Capital One Finance — 5,649
Toyota Motor North America — 4,938
PepsiCo — 3,759
Ericsson — 3,346
AT&T Foundry & Services — 2,500
Liberty Mutual Insurance — 2,100
JCPenney — 2,000
NTT DATA — 1,968
Samsung Electronics America — 1,711

Top Employers by Prominence/Prestige
These are the most nationally recognized, based on brand and corporate standing:
• Toyota Motor North America — US headquarters of the world's largest automaker.
• Capital One — major national bank and credit-card issuer.
• JPMorgan Chase — largest US bank by assets.
• PepsiCo Foods — global food and beverage giant.
• Ericsson — global telecom equipment leader.
• Samsung Electronics America — global electronics and tech giant.
• JCPenney — national department-store chain (historic HQ).
• Bank of America — major national bank.
• USAA — major financial services firm for military families.
• Fannie Mae — US housing-finance agency.

Famous People From Plano
• Lance Armstrong — former cyclist, seven-time Tour de France winner.
• Alan Tudyk — actor (Firefly, Rogue One, Moana); 2026 Disney Legend.
• Chace Crawford — actor (Gossip Girl, The Boys).
• Kevin McHale — actor/singer (Glee).
• Michael Irvin — Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver.
• Nastia Liukin — Olympic gold medalist gymnast (trained in Plano).
• Jake Arrieta — Cy Young Award-winning MLB pitcher.
• Anousheh Ansari — first self-funded woman in space.
• Ross Perot — billionaire businessman, two-time presidential candidate.
• Boz Scaggs — Grammy-winning musician.
• Austin Tice — journalist kidnapped in Syria.

Size
• Population: 293,028 (Census estimate, July 1, 2025).
• Land area: 71.69 sq mi = about 45,882 acres.

Distances from City Hall
• DFW Airport: ~28–29 miles driving (~21.5 mi straight-line).
• Love Field: ~20 miles driving.
• Dallas City Hall: ~19 miles driving (~17.5 mi straight-line).
• (Approximate; actual miles vary by route.)

Major Attractions & Amenities
• Legacy West — largest mixed-use district in North Texas; high-end retail, Legacy Hall food hall.
• The Shops at Legacy — open-air shopping and dining.
• Downtown Plano Arts District — historic brick streets, boutiques, DART station.
• Arbor Hills Nature Preserve — 200 acres, trails, observation tower.
• Oak Point Park — Plano's largest park (800 acres); home of the Plano Balloon Festival.
• 80+ parks and 100+ miles of trails.
• Heritage Farmstead Museum, Interurban Railway Museum, ArtCentre of Plano.
• 6 recreation centers, multiple pools, and entertainment venues.

Education Levels (age 25+)
• Less than high school: ~6%
• High school diploma / some college: ~27%
• Associate's degree: ~6%
• Bachelor's degree: ~36%
• Graduate degree: ~25%
• Verified benchmarks: 94.3% have a high school diploma; 60.5% have a bachelor's or higher.

School Districts
• Main district: Plano ISD — serves most of the city.
• Other cities served by Plano ISD: Richardson, Dallas, Murphy, Allen, Carrollton, Garland, Lucas, Parker, Wylie.
• Other districts serving small parts of Plano: Lewisville ISD (west), Frisco ISD (north), Allen ISD (east/northeast).
• TEA ratings: Plano ISD B (85/100); Allen ISD A; Frisco ISD A; Lewisville ISD B.

High Schools & UIL
• All 3 Plano senior high schools are Class 6A: Plano, Plano East, Plano West.
• State championships:
o Plano football — 7 titles (1965, 1967, 1971, 1977, 1986, 1987, 1994); only Texas school to win titles at 2A, 3A, 4A, and 5A.
• Plano girls soccer — 1986, 1988.
• Plano West team tennis — 7 titles (2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2016, 2021, 2023–24).
• Plano West boys basketball — 2015; girls basketball 2006; volleyball 2018–19.
• Plano East boys basketball — 2024 (perfect 38–0 season).
• Individual: Tagen Jamison (Plano West), 2019 UIL 6A wrestling champion (132 lbs).

Lakes
• Lake Lavon — borders Plano's east side; ~121 miles of shoreline (USACE reservoir).
• Lake Lewisville and Lake Ray Hubbard are nearby but outside city limits (Lewisville ~233 mi, Ray Hubbard ~111 mi shoreline).
• White Rock Creek and Rowlett Creek flow through Plano.

Highways, Tollways
• US 75 (Central Expressway) — north–south, along east side.
• Dallas North Tollway — north–south, along west side.
• President George Bush Turnpike (SH 190) — east–west arc, southern border.
• Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH 121) — east–west, northern border.
• SH 289 (Preston Road) — north–south through the city.

Bordering cities
Frisco (North), Allen (Northeast), The Colony (NW/W), Little Elm (Northwest), Carrollton (West), Dallas (Southwest), Richardson (South), Murphy (East).

Counties
Collin County (most) and Denton County (small west portion).

Airports
• No public or private airports within the city limits — the seven FAA-registered facilities are all private heliports (hospital and corporate helipads). Nearest public airports are in Addison and McKinney.

Public Transportation
• DART Red Line (light rail) — 4 Plano stations: Parker Road, Downtown Plano, Shiloh Road, 12th Street.
• DART Silver Line (regional rail, opened late 2025) — 2 Plano stations: Shiloh Road, 12th Street; runs Plano ↔ DFW Airport.
• DART buses — routes 234, 236, 239, 241, 243, 245, 247, 308.
• DART GoLink — on-demand rideshare; DART Paratransit; Plano Rides (seniors 65+).

Major Future Plans
• Dallas Stars arena + entertainment district at Willow Bend — ~$3 billion project; arena possible by 2031 (demolition starts early 2027).
• Downtown Plano redevelopment — land purchases and a new Downtown Design Guide (2026).
• Collin Creek redevelopment — former mall being converted to mixed-use housing (through 2028).
• Transportation — Silver Line station-area development, road and trail projects (G Avenue, Spring Creek Corridor, Shady Brook Trail).

Sources: City of Plano (plano.gov, planotexas.org), Visit Plano (visitplano.com), U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, TSHA Handbook of Texas, The Dallas Morning News, Plano ISD, Texas Education Agency (via Community Impact), UIL archives, Wikipedia (Plano, Texas; Plano High Schools; Lavon Lake), NTTA, DART, DCTA, GlobalAir (FAA data), Lake Lavon guide, City of Lewisville, Texas Outside.

Important Websites:
Cities
School Districts
Chambers of Commerce: includes VCBs (Visitor & Convention Bureaus) and EDCs (Economic Development Corporations)

I’ve Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build certified
KW North Country Realty
214-862-7212
dfwmark@KW.com
DFWmark.com

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