Welcome to Collin County, one of the fastest growing counties in the State of Texas. This bustling part of North Texas has become an attractive home to two professional sports teams and an ever-growing list of corporate headquarters. More importantly, however, we’re home to an estimated 730,000 people who live and work from Plano to Blue Ridge, Celina to Royse City, and everywhere in between.

We’ve posted this page for those who may not be familiar with everything there is to do, find or look up in Collin County. For starters, here’s a quick look at the county -- by the numbers.*

• County Seat: McKinney
• Area: 848 sq. mi. land; 38 sq. mi. water
• Towns and Cities: 27
• Estimated Population (2007): 730,000
• New residents moving in each day: 93
• Density: 580 people/sq. mi.
• Paved County Roads: 726 mi.
• Average Wage per Job (2004): $42,736
• Median Household Income: (2004) $75,709
• Average Home Value: $221,701
• County Tax Rate (2006): $0.245 per $100 assessed value
• Independent School Districts: 21
• Special Districts: 2
• Hospital Districts: None.
• County-level Elected Officials: 34

County Government

If you’re not familiar with the in’s and out’s of local government here, we’ve put together a primer on how county government works, how we spend our tax dollars, the convenience of online services for the county – and for many of the cities in Collin County, the online services they offer.

Many of the county and city online services provide a convenient way to take care of things such as traffic tickets, vehicle registration and jury duty. By the way, if you need to replace or update your drivers license, check out Texas Online or visit one of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s local offices. Also, our Elections Department can help you update your voter registration.

The Past

For those unfamiliar with this region, the Collin County Historical Commission has posted an online driving tour to help you get you acquainted with this region’s past and present, and we’ve included a brief history of Collin County.

The Present

The county’s Parks & Open Space Department can clue you into special occasions at county-sponsored places like the Myers Park & Event Center. This website’s Living Section points out scores of Rec Centers, hiking trails, parks and fitness facilities scattered across county. We’re home to Major League Soccer’s Pizza Hut Park (FC Dallas) and the Dr. Pepper Ballpark (Frisco Roughriders), and the Dallas Stars hockey team is headquartered and practices at the Dr. Pepper StarCenter.

Mapping it Out

Our Geographic Information System’s interactive maps can locate virtually any of these locales in a few clicks of a mouse.

Under Construction

For ongoing – and upcoming – road and building construction programs in the county, you can pore over details such as location, cost and progress on our Projects page.

Property & Taxes

To review tax-appraised property values and histories, go to the Central Appraisal District, a separate governmental entity from county government. For paying property taxes or get a previous tax statement, go to the county Tax Assessor.

The Grass is Greener

To find out how to landscape your property with native- and drought-resistant plants, go to our Lawn & Garden page, or straight to the area’s agricultural experts at the Texas Cooperative Extension. Since we’re in the middle of a drought, you may also want to review water restrictions (new link) in your Collin County city or town, or check up on efforts to ensure water supplies (new link) for the area.

* Sources of demographic data: U.S. Census, North Central Texas council of Governments, Collin County Central Appraisal District.