A statistical profile of Collin County

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Collin County's population climbed to 730,690 people by last summer, a 4.9-percent growth spurt from 2006. That's more than 34,000 new residents in the last year - or, about 94 folks moving here every day of the week.

That makes Collin County:

• The 7th most populous county in Texas;
• Among counties with more than a half-million people, the highest sustained growth rate since the last Census in 2000: 48.1 percent;
• If Collin County continues to grow at the same rate attributed to last year, our population would come to about 766,000.

But there's a bit more to examine about this part of North Texas than population figures alone.

In September 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) released estimates on a wide variety of data related to Collin County for the previous year. Just as most folks who live here would expect, the county's rapid growth and expansion is obvious at virtually all social and economic levels.

Here's just a sampling of changes from 2000 through 2006, and a statistical snapshot of those who live and work here. In some categories, we included comparisons to Texas and the nation to give some perspective. We'll be posting much more detailed information, charts and comparisons in the coming months. For now, if you'd like to examine Collin County by the numbers, logon to the American Community Survey.

The Basic Make-up

The county's population in 2006 was estimated at 699,000 with virtually a perfect 50-50 split of males and females. The median age here is 33.7 years, slightly younger than the U.S. average, and more than one in four people here are under 18. About 6 percent are over age 65. There were 246,000 households here, with an average of 2.8 people in each. Families make up 72 percent of all households, and eight out of 10 of those are traditional, married-couple families. Other population highlights include:

• Collin County's population grew by more than 42 percent from 2000-2006;
• Households grew by 35 percent in that same time;
• The average family size here was 3.37 people;
• More than 57,000 people here lived alone;
• Asian and African American populations more than doubled during this seven-year timeframe; Hispanics increased by 85 percent; Whites by 35 percent.
• Householders aged 65 and older increased by almost 65 percent.

Industry & Occupation

There were 104,000 more jobs in the civilian labor force here in 2006 than in 2000, far outpacing the county's 42-percent population growth spurt for the same time period. The estimated unemployment rate here in 2006 came in at 4.5 percent, compared to the state's rate of 7 percent and a national rate of 6.4 percent, according to the ACS employment numbers. Keep in mind that more current rates are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or the Texas Workforce Commission. There's also more from the ACS:

• For the employed population in 2006 - almost 531,000 or the 16 and older population of the county - Education services, healthcare and social assistance industries employed slightly more than 17 percent of that grouping.
• Professional, scientific, and administrative and waste management services industries made up 14 percent.
• The most common three occupational groupings were: management, professional and related occupations (48 percent); sales and office workers (28 percent); and service jobs (12 percent).
• From 2000-2006, the only occupation that saw a loss of workers were was farming, fishing and forestry; all other occupations grew by double-digit percent increases, especially service jobs, which grew by almost 90 percent in seven years.

Workforce Education

The education level of the county's workforce almost doubles state and U.S. averages for degreed workers, with almost half of those 25 and older possessing bachelors or advanced degrees. Less than one in 10 of workers here dropped out of school. Also:

• Almost half of those 25 and older had a bachelor's degree or higher: 47 percent;
• More than 9 out of 10 workers 25 and older had at least a high school diploma;
• From 2000-2006, Collin's higher degreed workers increased by almost 23,000, while about 43,000 more workers arrived with bachelor's degrees.
• The smallest increases - less than 5 percent each - came in workers who had no high school diploma.

Getting to Work

The ACS determined that the average commute to work for a Collin County resident is 28.1 minutes. While some folks would love to have just a 28-minute drive to work in the morning, especially those heading to downtown Dallas at the crack of dawn, voters here passed a $235.6 million bond package in November 2007 to widen and improve our roadways. Work on the Highway 121 toll road will not only bring a faster east-west trip across the middle of the county but also pull in added revenues to work on other large roadway expansions in our area. For plans far in the future, take a look at Collin County's Outer Loop Project. Meanwhile, the ACS figures go on to point out that:

• More than eight out of 10 of us drive alone to work, higher than state or U.S. percentages in that category.
• Those using public transportation more than doubled in the 7-year span of the survey.
• People work at home here at a much higher rate than the state average.
• And, our mean travel time to work in the morning actually shrunk by a fraction from 2000-2006, but remained a few minutes longer than national or state averages.

Paychecks & Such

Per Capita income in this corner of North Texas is 28 percent higher than the U.S. rate, while median family income here outpaces the national rate by almost 34 percent. As for those in poverty - by 2006 federal standards, $9,800 annual income for one individual and $20,000 for a family of four - about four percent of Collin County families were estimated to fall at or below that threshold. Less than two percent of families here were on cash public assistance, which came to an annual average of $2,300 per family. And:

• Per Capita income in Collin County was $10,000 a year higher than the national rate;
• Median family income bested national figures by almost $30,000 a year;
• Median household income here in 2006 was estimated at $74,051;
• Less than two percent of families here were estimated to have received public cash assistance in 2006.

Schools

Total school enrollment was estimated at 202,000 in 2006, which breaks down to 27,000 in nursery school and kindergarten; 126,000 in grades 1 through 12; and, 49,000 in college or graduate school. For individual school district enrollments, however, please check our links from the city services pages.

Also, for another outside look at Collin County schools overall, check out Forbes Magazine's Best and Worst School Districts for the Buck, where Collin County ranked second in the nation. Additionally:

• The biggest growth spurt in education here from 2000-2006 came from college student (undergraduate and graduate work) enrollments, up almost 47% in the seven-year period;
• High-school students grew at the second-fastest rate in this timeframe, at 36.5 percent - or, about 5 ¼-percent each year.
• Elementary students clearly make up the largest single group, at 42 percent of all enrolled students, but their growth rate dropped three percentage points since 2000.

Where you from, son?

Just in case you were wondering, Native Texans have lost the upper hand, population-wise -- in Collin County. We're not sure exactly when that happened (and we're still checking on that) but the survey put people born in the Lone Star State at 45 percent in 2006. But that's not all that's happening to the cultural make-up of the county:

• Soon, one in five Collin County residents will be foreign born; in 2006, the figure was slightly more than 17 percent;
• Of the foreign born population, about four out of 10 are naturalized U.S. Citizens;
• A language other than English is spoken at home in almost one in four homes here, representing almost 150,000 county residents;
• Of those residents, more than 62,000 are estimated to not speak English very well.

Housing & Households

The county had a 93-percent occupancy rate for the 263,000-plus housing units in the area. Traditional married-couple families make up 60 percent of the more than quarter-million households here. And, the median monthly housing cost for an owner with a mortgage came to $1,800. Plus:

• More than 93 percent of all 263,532 housing units were occupied by owners or renters; of those being lived in, two-thirds were owner-occupied, and about 27 percent were being rented out; of those, 73 percent were single-unit structures, one in four were multi-unit buildings.
• Two thirds of these homes - more than 166,000 -- were built from 1990 on.
• For housing costs, the median monthly housing costs for mortgaged owners came to $1,831; owners without a mortgage: $722; and median rent came to $906 a month.
• For a comparison between these and local figures on home values, please see the Certified Totals from the Collin Central Appraisal District.

Links:

Newcomer's Guide
History of Collin County
How County Government Works
Where Your (local) Tax Dollars Go

View Past Features