Plano City, Texas sits mostly within the limits of Collin County. The city was projected to have a population of 260,000 people during the year 2010. Presently, it is the ninth-biggest city in the state of Texas, and the 71st most inhabited city in the country. The city of Plano is part of the metropolitan area called the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Plano City is known as one of the most highly educated cities within the state of Texas and consistently ranks amongst the highest in the nation. CNN Money ranked it the wealthiest state within the United States due to its mere 6.4% poverty rate. It has also be ranked as amongst the three "Top Suburbs to Live Well" of Dallas by Forbes.com, with Highland Park and University Park also making the list. Annually, the city hosts the Plano International Festival and the Plano Balloon Festival, that are considered to be two of the most premiere entertainment and cultural events. It was also listed as the safest city to live in the US by Forbes magazine during the year 2010.
During the 1980's some corporations, included Frito-Lay and J.C. Penny, relocated their head office to Plano City. This stimulated growth and by the year 1990 the cities population had reached a little over 128,700, making it larger then the county seat of McKinney. Plano City was recognized as an All-America City during 1994. It rapidly became among the biggest suburbs in Dallas, with the population reached 222,030 by the year 2000. The city is entirely surrounded by other municipalities, that severely limits growth. Plano City can no longer expand in area, and there is very little undeveloped land remaining that the city may draw upon.
Located in Plano City 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.
The majority of visitors to Plano are business travelers. This is because of the many businesses headquartered within the city along with the proximity to Dallas. Plano City likewise owns and operates a medium sized convention center. In an effort to increase sales tax returns, the city has devised a plan to draw retail centers downtown as well as the Shops at Legacy area. Shops, restaurants and apartments are plentiful in the Shops at Legacy area. There is likewise a luxury Walmart Supercenter located in the area.
Alliance Data, Cinemark Theatres, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Dell Services, Frito-Lay, Ericsson, HP Enterprise Services, J.C. Penney, Siemens PLM Software, Pizza Hut and Rent-A-Center are only a few of the corporate headquarters located in Plano City. The city is also home to one of some Facebook servers.