City of Plano, Texas
Plano is one of the cities in the Texas state of the United States. This city is mostly situated within Collin County, however its small part also lies in the Denton County, which is 20 miles northeast from the city center of Dallas.
According to the 2010 census, the population of the city of Plano was around 270,000. This makes the city the ninth most populous city in Texas as well as it gained the 70th rank as the most populous city in America.
Economy and Commerce
The city of Plano is a home for many prosperous corporate headquarters, like Alliance Data, Dell Services, Cinemark Theatres, Denbury Resources, Ericsson, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Frito-Lay, Huawei, HP Enterprise Services, J.C. Penny, Rent-A-Center, Pizza Hut, Toyota Motor North America, Inc., and Siemens PLM Software.
The Plano 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report shows that some of the top employers in the city of Plano include Bank of America Home Loans, HP Enterprise Services, and Capital One. Nearly 80% of the people that visit Plano are business travelers, owing to its nearness to the major city of Dallas as well as the many corporate headquarters that are located in Plano.
There is also a convention center in the city, which is operated as well as owned by Plano. In order to boost its returns on sales tax, Plano has attracted a lot of retail outlets to its downtown area, including the Shops at Legacy. The Shops at Legacy region has everything, including restaurants, shops, and apartments. All of these are constructed keeping in mind the philosophy of New Urbanism, which is an urban design movement advocating environmentally friendly habits. Moreover, a new luxury Walmart Supercenter is situated at the Dallas North Tollway and Park Boulevard.
When it comes to business operations in Plano, as said above, it is home to the headquarters of major corporations in the United States. The most recognized and largest companies have their headquarters situated in the city of Plano. Most of the corporate campuses in Plano are located in the Tree-lined Legacy Drive, which is situated between the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road.
The Toyota Motor North America division opened its American headquarters in 2014 in Plano. Additionally, in the year 2015, Liberty Mutual announced that they will build a new corporate campus near the Toyota headquarters, which in turn was estimated to bring in around 5,000 jobs to the region. In the January of 2016, JP Morgan Chase, along with Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant, announced that they will move their regional operations to the city of Plano, which will in turn bring in a combined number of 7,000 new jobs to the region.
Cost of Living
Plano has a relatively low cost of living and offers affordable housing options as opposed to other metropolitan areas in the United States. This allows residents to enjoy a rich lifestyle that is not possible in America’s other metropolitan cities, like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles.
Moreover, the city of Plano has significantly lower crime rate and less traffic, along with less hassle in general. According to Money Magazine, Plano is one of the ‘Best Places to Live.’ Furthermore, Salary.com named the city of Plano as the ‘Best Place to Build Wealth.’
Plano also has low property taxes, which enables its residents a considerable homestead exemption. This makes Plano a city that has the lowest tax rates in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. By offering great jobs with low cost of living, Plano allows its residents to expand their lifestyle.
Texas does not have any corporate or personal income tax, which makes it a smart place to set up a business. The state has 46th lowest tax burden in the United States, which allows companies to keep their profits. Moreover, the low cost business environment of the state has made it a leader in population and job growth in the United States.
Recreational Attractions
Although, Plano has a lot of flat plains, it also has an abounding number of trees in its parks. One of the trees in one such park in the city of Plano is estimated to be more than 500 years old. The park in which this tree is Bob Woodruff park, which is situated in the vicinity of Rowlett Creek on the east side of Plano.
Apart from the parks, the city of Plano has five recreation centers, including Tom Muehlenbeck Center, Oak Point Recreation Center, Carpenter Park Recreation Center, Douglass Community Center, and Liberty Recreation Center. What is more, people can play with their pets in the Dog Park, which is situated in Jack Carter Park.
Plano also owns and operates three venues of performing arts through support from its Parks and Recreation Department. These venues are the Cox Playhouse, the Courtyard Theater, and the Amphitheater situated in the Oak Point Park.