Plano  is a city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located mainly within Collin County, it is a wealthy northern suburb of Dallas. The population was 222,030 at the 2000 census, 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.

Plano, with a 2009 population of over 268,000, is a prosperous place. In 2008, the City received national attention as being the nation’s Most Affluent City and Best City to Create Wealth. JCPenney, EDS - an HP Company, Frito-Lay, Perot Systems and Rent-A-Center are all headquartered in Plano. Several technology giants have major R&D operations here including Texas Instruments, Ericsson, McAfee, CA, Intuit and Alcatel-Lucent. These companies attract highly skilled workers from throughout the US and abroad.

Plano, unlike other affluent locations, is affordable. It has low taxes, housing prices and unemployment compared to most metros in the U.S. The Plano Independent School District is nationally regarded and provides an education comparable in quality to many top private schools.

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.[1] 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.

History
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, from 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.

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 effective 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.

Notable residents
The following is a list of past and current residents of Plano, who have become famous outside of the community:

Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner and testicular cancer survivor
Troy Aikman, Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback.
Steve Harvey, comedian and radio show host
Amanda Swafford, model, third place on America's Next Top Model Cycle 3
L. Sprague de Camp, prolific science fiction author
Kristin Holt, host of the G4's Cheat! and a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
Stephen Katz, television and film writer, wrote The Contract
Glen Kimberlin, bassist, Nashville session musician
Jimmy King, a former member of the University of Michigan's Fab Five and former NBA basketball player
Lar Park Lincoln, starred in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Scott Kurtz, Cartoonist, maker of PvP
Nastia Liukin, gymnast
Scott Mechlowicz, actor, star of Eurotrip
Michael Urie, actor, stars in Ugly Betty
H. Ross Perot, businessman and two-time presidential candidate
Greg Ray, former auto racing driver in the Indy Racing League
Deion Sanders, former Dallas Cowboys cornerback, current NFL sports commentator
Alan Tudyk, stage and film actor on such works as Serenity, Dodgeball, and A Knight's Tale
Jennifer Vasquez, contestant on the reality show Big Brother 6 on CBS, and a former Dallas Desperados Dancer.
Anne Wingate, mystery author and former Plano police detective
Hollie Vise, 2003 World Champion Gymnast.
Drew Pearson, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver.
Chace Crawford, television actor in the CW series Gossip Girl
Kelsey McCann, actress, stars in "Chicago Massacre" "Dracula's Guest"
Kevin Michael McHale, lead signer in boy band NLT.
Stephanie Bulger, contestant of the show Make Me a Supermodel

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 71.6 square miles (185.5 km²), of which, 71.6 square miles (185.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.08%) is water.[3]

Outdoor Amenities
Plano's parks feature many playgrounds, several bicycling trails, and a nature preserve. The bike trails take advantage of several contiguous parks to extend their range. One runs northwest-southeast, beginning at Legacy Drive east of Independence in Chisolm Trail Park and running to Alma Drive south of Parker at the terminus of the park. The trail diverges near Spring Creek Pkwy & Custer Rd leading to another outlet on Alma, this time north of Spring Creek terminating at High Point Park. Another trail originates in Carpenter Park which is north of Spring Creek on Coit Rd running both east-west and north-south. The north-south path terminates south of Park Boulevard just west of Coit Road, while the east-west path terminates at Bronze Leaf Dr in Lone Star Park.

Bob Woodruff Park, which has its north-west corner at Spring Creek Pkwy & Parker Rd and extends south of Park & east to Los Rios Blvd, features one of the largest playgrounds in Plano. Oak Point Park is Plano's largest park, in area.

The Arbor Hills Nature Preserve is located west of the Dallas North Tollway on Parker Rd. It features a shared pedestrian and bicycling trail which highlights the assets of the preserve, and the woods within the preserve are traversed by several unpaved trails.

Transportation
Plano is one of many cities in the Dallas area that opts into the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) public transportation system. During most of its membership in DART, Plano was lightly served by bus lines, but in recent years, the Red Line of the DART light rail project has opened stations in Downtown Plano and at Parker Road which provide access to commuters traveling to work elsewhere in the Dallas area.

Plano was the first of many cities in Collin County to adopt a master plan for their road system. The use of wide, multi-lane, divided highways for all major roads allows for higher speed limits on those thoroughfares, generally 40 or 45 mph but sometimes up to 55 mph (89 km/h) on the northern section of Preston Road, and due to this, concerns for pedestrian safety have arisen.

Plano is served directly by several major roadways and freeways. Central Plano is bordered to the East by U.S. Highway 75, the West by Dallas North Tollway, the South by President George Bush Turnpike, and the North by SH 121 (which is currently under construction to be made into a toll road). Preston Road or Texas State Highway 289 is also a major thoroughfare that runs through the city.