Collin County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the northern part of the U.S. state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is part of the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

- Fort Worth- Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,064,465, making it Texas's sixth-most populous county and the 43rd-largest county by population in the United States. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is McKinney.

History

Native Americans around Collin County and North Texas included the Caddo, Comanche,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, Kickapoo, and Tonkawa. Several Native American sites have been found, including around Lavon Lake and Sister Grove Creek. Both the county and the county seat were named after Collin McKinney (1766-1861), one of the five men who drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence and the oldest of the 59 men who signed it.

Civil War

Like many counties in North Texas, Collin County voted against secession from the United States. This is mainly due to the relatively weak hold of slavery in Collin County and the influence of James W. Throckmorton, who had represented Collin County in both the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives. Nonetheless, Collin County sent men to fight for the Confederacy with Throckmorton leading his own company of mounted riflemen.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (5.1%) is covered by 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

Cities (shared with other counties)

* Carrollton (mostly in

and Denton counties) * Celina (small part in Denton County) *

(mostly in Dallas County with small parts in Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall counties) * Frisco (partly in Denton County) * Garland (mostly in Dallas County and a small part in Rockwall County) * Josephine (small part in Hunt County) * Plano (small part in Denton County) * Prosper (partly in Denton County) * Richardson (mostly in Dallas County) * Royse City (mostly in Rockwall County and partly Hunt County) * Sachse (mostly in Dallas County) * Van Alstyne (mostly in Grayson County) * Wylie (small parts in Rockwall and

counties)

Cities

* Allen * Anna * Blue Ridge * Farmersville * Lavon * Lowry Crossing * Lucas * McKinney (county seat) * Melissa * Murphy *

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

* Parker * Princeton *

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

Towns

* Fairview *

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

(mostly in Denton County) * New Hope * St. Paul

Census-designated places

* Seis Lagos *

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Unincorporated communities

* Altoga * Arnold * Beverly Hill * Bloomdale * Branch * Chambersville * Chambliss * Clear Lake * Climax * Collin * Copeville * Cowley * Culleoka *

Desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

* Fayburg * Forest Grove * Frognot * Kelly * Little Ridge * Milligan * Millwood * New Mesquite * Pike * Rhea Mills * Rockhill * Sedalia * Snow Hill * Trinity Park * Valdasta * Walnut Grove * Winningkoff

Historical communities

* Buckner *

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

* Lolaville * Renner * Shepton * Wetsel

Ghost towns

* Biggers * Marilee * Nickelville * Parris * Roland * Verona

Demographics

In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau determined 491,675 people resided in Collin County. With the economic and population growth of the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

, its population increased to 1,064,465 at the 2020 U.S. census. The population density as of 2019 was . Among the population, its median age was 37.3, up from the statewide median age of 35.1. Linguistically, 11.6% of the county spoke Spanish as their household language, followed by Asian and Pacific Islander languages. Altogether 29.7% of Collin County spoke a language other than English at home, contributed in part by its large foreign-born population which made up 22% of the population according to 2019 estimates from the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the county as of 2019 was $96,134, up from $70,835 in 2000. Families had a median household income of $113,471, married-couple families $127,575, and non-family households $53,986. An estimated 6.3% of Collin County's residents lived at or below the poverty line from 2014 to 2019. In 2000, about 3.30% of families and 4.90% of the population lived at or below the poverty line, including 5.10% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those aged 65 and older. Of its residential properties, the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $354,100 in 2019, with a total of 8% of owner-occupied housing units ranging from less than $100,000 up to $200,000. In 2007, Collin County was ranked No. 21 for high property taxes in the U.S. as percentage of the homes' value on owner-occupied housing. It also ranked in the top 100 for amount of property taxes paid and for percentage of taxes of income. Part is this is due to the Robin Hood plan school financing system in Texas.

Race and ethnicity

At the 2000 census, the racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 81.39%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.79% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 6.92% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.26% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races; 10.27% of the population were Hispanic or Latino American of any race. In 2019, the

estimated its

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

population now represented 55%, reflecting a national demographic trend of diversification. The Black or African American population grew to 10%, Asian Americans made up 16% of the population, and Hispanic or Latino Americans increased to 16% of the total population in 2019; multiracial Americans made up an estimated 2% of the county population. The largest European ancestry groups from 2014 to 2019 were

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

English Americans English Americans (also known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.6 million Ameri ...

, and Irish and

Italian Americans Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

. By the publication of the 2020 census, the racial and ethnic makeup of Collin County was 50.96% non-Hispanic white, 10.16% Black or African American, 0.36% American Indian or Alaska Native, 17.70% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.46% some other race, 4.41% multiracial, and 15.89% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

Religion

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

has historically been the predominant religious affiliation among the county's residents as part of the Bible Belt. According to the 2020 Public Religion Research Institute study, non-Christian religions are present and have been growing, largely due to migration into the county; among the non-Christian population, 3% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 2%

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and 2%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Overall among its Christian population, Catholics are the largest group holding a plurality of Christians in Collin County.

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, Methodists, Evangelicals, and non-denominational Christians are also prominent. American Community Survey 2023 Data The United States Census Bureau estimated that in 2023, Collin County’s population was 1,195,359. It was also estimated that the county was 16.1% Hispanic or Latino, 49.9% NH White, 11.5% NH Black, 19.5% NH Asian, 0.4% NH Native American, 0.1% NH Pacific Islander, 2.6% NH Multiracial.

Government, courts, and politics

Government

Collin County, like all counties in Texas, is governed by a Commissioners Court. The court is chaired by a county judge (equivalent to a county executive in other states) who is elected county-wide, and four commissioners who are elected by the voters in each of four precincts.

County Judge & Commissioners

County Officials

Justices of the Peace

Politics

Like most suburban Texas counties, Collin County has consistently supported Republican candidates in presidential and congressional elections since the 1960s. The last Democrat to win the county was native Texan Lyndon Johnson in 1964. By the 2020s, Collin County had become considered competitive in national elections due to demographic and voting trends, though it remains Republican-leaning. In down-ballot races, Republicans hold all of the county-level offices and all but one of the county's seats in the state legislature. Despite its Republican lean, Collin County has trended leftward, as

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

managed to win 46.9% of the vote share (compared to

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's 51.3%) in the 2020 presidential election, the best result for a Democrat since 1964. Many other suburban Texas counties, including neighboring Denton and Tarrant Counties, as well as those around

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and Austin, showed similar swings between 2016 and 2020. However, in 2024 many of these swung back toward Trump, though Trump carried Collin County by a somewhat smaller margin than in 2016. Democrat

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

still won over 40% of the vote in 2024, becoming only the second Democrat since Biden four years prior to do since 1964.

United States House of Representatives

Texas State Representatives

Texas State Senators

State Board of Education member

Education

K-12 education

Colleges and universities

Collin College opened its first campus on Highway 380 in McKinney in 1985. The college has grown to seven campuses/locations—two in McKinney and two in Plano and as well as Frisco, Allen, Rockwall, Wylie, Farmersville, and Celina. Collin College's official service area includes all of Collin County. Dallas Baptist University also has an extension site in Frisco, DBU Frisco, as well as the University of North Texas's extension side, UNT Frisco. The majority of the University of Texas at Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas lies within Collin County. While the main campus' address is officially within the jurisdiction of Richardson and Collin county, approximately one-third of the college is physically located within the border of Dallas county.

Transportation

With the Red Line operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) ending with its northern terminus at Parker Road Station in Plano, most of Collin County is not served by any public transit agencies as of 2023. The Texoma Area Paratransit System (TAPS) transit service provided bus routes for a short period from 2013 until Collin County bus service was suspended in 2015. The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) in a 2022 meeting discussed the possibility of expansion of the Red Line corridor from Plano through Allen to McKinney. Either the Red Line or Silver Line could be extended north. While the Red Line could be expanded further north into Allen, Allen is currently unable to levy the 1% sales tax required to become a DART member city.

Major highways

Air

McKinney National Airport is a public

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

(GA) airport located in southeast McKinney that handles between 300 and 700 flights a day. The city purchased the airport in 1979, and in 2023, it completed a major expansion of the GA terminal. In January 2025, city officials approved a $72 million project to build a commercial airline terminal on the east side of the airport. Aero Country Airport, located on the west edge of McKinney, is a privately owned public-use GA airport used primarily by single-engine aircraft, with about 30 flights per day.

Rail

Carrollton, Frisco, Prosper, and Celina are served by a

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

line connecting Irving to Denison. McKinney is the southern terminus of a branch line of the Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad that originates in Sherman. As of February 2025, these rail lines are used for freight haulage only; no scheduled passenger service is offered.

Parks

* Bratonia Park * Myers Park * Parkhill Prairie * Sister Grove Park * Trinity Trail * Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary

Media

Collin County is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex media market. Local media outlets are KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, and KFWD-TV. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Collin County come from the Texoma market, including KTEN-TV and KXII-TV. Newspapers in the Collin County area include the '' Allen American'', ''Celina Record'', ''Farmersville Times'', ''Frisco Enterprise'', '' McKinney Courier-Gazette'', and the ''Plano Star-Courier''. Nearby publications ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' and the ''

Fort Worth Star-Telegram The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History In May 1905, Amon G. Car ...

'' also provide news coverage of cities in the county.

Notable people

* Collin McKinney (1766-1861) Politician, businessman, and co-author of the Texas Declaration of Independence * Griff Barnett (1884-1958) Actor born in Blue Ridge * Josh Blaylock (Born 1990) Actor and photographer born in Plano * Samuel Bogart (1797-1861) American Methodist minister and militia officer * Casey Dick (Born 1986) Football player born in Lucas * Russell E. Dickenson (1923-2008) Park ranger born in Melissa * Julie Doyle (Born 1996) Soccer player for Sky Blue FC (

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

) born in Fairview * Devin Duvernay (Born 1997) Football player for

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

born in Sachse * King Fisher (1853-1884) Texas rancher and gunfighter born in Collin County * James R. Gough (1860-1916) Texas State Senator born in Collin County * Frank Shelby Groner (1877-1943) Lawyer, pastor, and educator born near Weston * Aubrey Otis Hampton (1900-1955) Radiologist born in Copeville * Warren Glenn Harding Sr. (1921-2005) Texas State Treasurer born in Princeton * Jimmie C. Holland (1928-2017) Founder of the field of psycho-oncology, born in Nevada * Sam Johnson (1930-2020) Politician who represented Collin County and Texas's 3rd District in

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

* Kyler Murray (Born 1997) Football player for

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

from Allen * Bumper Pool, Football player born in Lucas * Jason Ralph (Born 1986), Actor born in McKinney * James W. Throckmorton (1825-1894) 12th Governor of Texas, lived and is buried in McKinney

References

External links

Collin County government's website

1846 Plat of Buckner
the first county seat of Collin County, from the Collin County Historical Society, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

Life in Collin County

Collin County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the University of Texas
Collin Chronicles
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

Texas State Election History
{{Coord, 33.18, -96.58, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1846 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1846