Collin County, Texas

Collin County is a place in the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is close to big cities like Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington. A small part of Dallas is inside Collin County.

Many people live in Collin County. The main city, or county seat, of Collin County is McKinney. This area is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area.

History

Native American groups such as the Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Delaware, Kickapoo, and Tonkawa lived around Collin County and North Texas. Important Native American sites have been found near Lavon Lake and Sister Grove Creek. The county and its main city are named after Collin McKinney, one of the five men who helped write the Texas Declaration of Independence.

During the Civil War, Collin County voted against leaving the United States. Some men from Collin County joined to fight for the Confederacy.

Geography

Collin County, Texas, covers an area of 886 square miles (2,290 km²). Most of this is land, with a small part being water.

Lakes

• Lavon Lake
• Lake Ray Hubbard (small part)

Adjacent counties

• Grayson County (north)
• Fannin County (northeast)
• Hunt County (east)
• Rockwall County (southeast)
• Dallas County (south)
• Denton County (west)

Communities

Collin County has many cities and towns. Some cities are shared with other counties.

Cities partly in other counties include Carrollton, Celina, Dallas, Frisco, Garland, Josephine, Plano, Richardson, Royse City, Sachse, Van Alstyne, and Wylie.

Cities entirely within Collin County are Allen, Anna, Blue Ridge, Farmersville, Lavon, Lowry Crossing, Lucas, McKinney, Melissa, Murphy, Nevada, Parker, Princeton, and Weston.

Towns in the county include Fairview, New Hope, and St. Paul.

Census-designated places are Seis Lagos and Westminster.

Unincorporated communities include Altoga, Arnold, Beverly Hill, Bloomdale, Branch, Chambersville, Chambliss, Clear Lake, Climax, Collin, Copeville, Cowley, Culleoka, Desert, Fayburg, Forest Grove, Frognot, Kelly, Little Ridge, Milligan, Millwood, New Mesquite, Pike, Rhea Mills, Rockhill, Sedalia, Snow Hill, Trinity Park, Valdasta, Walnut Grove, and Winningkoff.

Historical communities include Buckner, Lebanon, Lolaville, Renner, Shepton, and Wetsel.

Ghost towns are Biggers, Marilee, Nickelville, Parris, Roland, and Verona.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census counted 1,064,465 people in Collin County. The average age was 36.5 years. About 26% were children under 18, and 11% were adults 65 or older. For every 100 girls and women, there were 96 boys and men.

Most people were White at 54%, with 10% being Black or African American, less than 1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 18% Asian, and smaller groups of other races. About 16% were Hispanic or Latino American. About 94% lived in towns and cities, and 6% lived in the countryside.

There were about 381,000 homes. About 40% had children under 18. Most homes, about 58%, were lived in by married couples. Some homes had single men or single women. About 22% of homes had just one person. Most homes were owned by the people living there.

2019 American Community Survey

In 2019, about 1,230 people lived in each square mile. The average age was 37.3 years.

About 12% of people spoke Spanish at home, and 30% spoke a language other than English at home. Many people were born in other countries, making up 22% of the population.

In 2019, about half the people were non-Hispanic white. The Black or African American population was about 10%, Asian Americans were about 16%, and Hispanic or Latino Americans were about 16%. The largest groups with European ancestors were from Germany, England, Ireland, and Italy.

The median income for a home was $96,134. Families had a higher median income of $113,471, and married couples had $127,575. About 6% of people did not have enough money for their needs.

Housing and taxation

In 2019, the middle value of a home was $354,100. In 2007, Collin County had high taxes on homes.

Racial and ethnic composition

2000 census

In 2000, about 492,000 people lived in Collin County. Most were White at 81%, with smaller groups of Black or African American, Native American, Asian, and other races. About 10% were Hispanic or Latino American. About 5% of children under 18 and 7% of adults 65 or older did not have enough money.

Religion

Christianity is the most common religion. Other religions include Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish groups. Among Christians, Catholics are the largest group, followed by Baptists, Methodists, Evangelicals, and non-denominational Christians.

American Community Survey 2023

In 2023, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population was 1,195,359. The breakdown was 50% non-Hispanic white, 12% non-Hispanic Black, 20% non-Hispanic Asian, 2% Hispanic or Latino American, and smaller groups of other races.

Government, courts, and politics

Government

Collin County, like all counties in Texas, is led by a Commissioners Court. This group is led by a county judge, who is chosen by voters from the whole county. The judge works like a leader for the county. There are also four commissioners, each chosen by voters from different parts of the county.

Politics

Collin County has usually voted for Republican leaders in big elections since the 1960s. The last time a Democrat won here was a long time ago. But in recent years, more people have started to vote for different parties. In 2020, Joe Biden got almost half of the votes, which was a big improvement for Democrats since 1964. Even in 2024, more than 40% of people in Collin County voted for Kamala Harris, showing that the county's voting patterns are changing.

Education

K–12 education

Many school districts are in Collin County. Some schools are only in the county, like Allen Independent School District, Anna Independent School District, Farmersville Independent School District, Lovejoy Independent School District, McKinney Independent School District, Melissa Independent School District, Plano Independent School District, Princeton Independent School District, and Wylie Independent School District. Other districts are only partly in the county.

In the 1990s, many families moved from cities to Plano ISD. From 1997 to 2015, the number of children in K–12 schools in the county grew, but the number of children in Plano ISD went down.

Colleges and universities

Collin College started in McKinney in 1985 and now has seven campuses in the county. The college serves all of the county.

Dallas Baptist University and the University of North Texas also have sites in Frisco. Much of the University of Texas at Dallas campus in Richardson is in Collin County.

Transportation

Most of Collin County does not have public buses, except for the Red Line that ends in Plano. There were bus routes here from 2013 to 2015, but they stopped. Plans are being made to possibly extend the Red Line or Silver Line further north.

The county has many important roads, including U.S. Highway 75, U.S. Highway 380, and the Dallas North Tollway.

There are airports in McKinney for small planes, with one planning to add bigger airplanes soon. Some towns have train tracks for moving goods, but no trains for people to ride.

Parks

Main article: Parks and open spaces of Collin County, Texas

Collin County has many lovely places to visit and enjoy the outdoors. Some popular parks are Bratonia Park, Myers Park, Parkhill Prairie, Sister Grove Park, and Trinity Trail. Visitors can also explore the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary, where they can learn about nature and see animals in a safe place.

Media

Collin County is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Local media outlets include KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, and KFWD-TV. Other nearby stations from the Texoma market, such as KTEN-TV and KXII-TV, also cover the area.

Newspapers in Collin County include the Allen American, Celina Record, Farmersville Times, Frisco Enterprise, McKinney Courier-Gazette, and the Plano Star-Courier. Nearby publications like The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram also report on the county.

Notable people

Collin County has been home to many interesting people.

Some famous people from the county are Collin McKinney, who helped write Texas’s declaration of independence, and Sam Johnson, a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives. The county has also produced athletes like Kyler Murray, who plays football for the Arizona Cardinals, and entertainers such as Jason Ralph. Many others have made their mark in sports, politics, and community service.