Plano City, Texas sits mostly within the limits of Collin County. The city was estimated to have a population of 260,000 residents in 2010. Presently, it is the ninth-largest city in the state, and the 71st most inhabited city in the nation. The city is part of the metropolitan area referred to as the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Within the state of Texas, Plano is probably the most highly educated city, consistently ranking among the highest within the nation. With a mere 6.4% poverty rate, the city of Plano was ranked by CNN Money the wealthiest state within the nation. It has also be ranked as amongst the three "Top Suburbs to Live Well" of Dallas by Forbes.com, with University Park and Highland Park also making the list. On a yearly basis, the city of Plano hosts the Plano International Festival and the Plano Balloon Festival, which are considered to be two of the most premiere entertainment and cultural events. It was even listed as the safest city to live in America by Forbes magazine in the year 2010.
Numerous companies began relocating their headquarters in Plano during the 1980's, including: Frito-Lay and J.C. Penny. This movement helped to stimulate growth by the year 1990. At that time, the population reached 128,700 which made Plano City larger than the county seat of McKinney. The city of Plano was recognized as an All-America City during 1994. It rapidly became amongst the biggest suburbs within Dallas, with the population reached 222,030 by the year 2000. The city is completely surrounded by various municipalities, which severely limits growth. Plano City can no longer expand in area, and there is really little undeveloped land remaining that the city may draw upon.
Located within the city of Plano is the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, which is the training facility of Nastia Liukin and Patterson, two Olympic All Around Champions. The coach of Patterson, Yevgeny Marchenko, and Liukin's coach, Valeri Liukin and father, own the gym.
Business travelers make up the majority of the visitors to Plano as the city has a lot of corporate headquarters located within the city limits and due to its nearness to Dallas. The city of Plano likewise operates and owns a medium sized convention center. In an effort to increase sales tax returns, Plano City has devised a plan to draw retail centers downtown as well as the Shops at Legacy area. Restaurants, apartments and shops are plentiful in the Shops at Legacy area. There is likewise a luxury Walmart Supercenter located within the area.
Among the companies with their headquarters within Plano City, comprising: Dell Services, Alliance Data, Cinemark Thetares, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Ericsson, Frito-Lay, HP Enterprise Services, Pizza Hut, J.C. Penny, Rent-A-Center, and Siemens PLM Software. The city of Plano is also home to one of some Facebook servers.