Texas, and Texas Woman's University, the largest state-supported university for women in the United States.

Both the city and county were named after John B. Denton, a pioneer, preacher, lawyer and Texas Militia Captain. Residents of Denton are known as "Dentonites" and the city has been known as the “Redbud Capital of Texas” since 1993. In 2006, Denton was selected by Money magazine as one of the "Top 100 Best Places to Live in America. For more information visit the Denton community website.

Demographics
Denton's population increased in its first century primarily due to its role as a local agricultural trade center and subsequently when it became host to two universities. Since the mid 1900s, Denton has grown as a result of its proximity to Dallas and Fort Worth. According to July 2005 population estimates, Denton is the 239th largest city in the U.S.

As of the census of 2000, there were 80,537 people, 30,895 households, and 16,405 families residing in the city. The population density was 505.7/km² (1,309.7/mi²). There were 32,716 housing units at an average density of 205.4/km² (532.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.62% White, 9.12% African American, 0.58% Native American, 3.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 8.85% from other races, and 2.40% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race comprised 16.38% of the population.

There were 30,895 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population consists of 20.7% under the age of 18, 25.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,422, and the median income for a family was $51,419. Males had a median income of $33,698 versus $26,037 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,365. About 8.7% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
In its beginnings, Dallas relied on farming, neighboring Fort Worth's cattle market, and its prime location on trade routes with Indians to sustain itself. Dallas's real key to growth came in 1873 though with the building of multiple rail lines through the city. As Dallas grew and technology developed, cotton became its boon—by 1900 Dallas was the largest inland cotton market on Earth and led the world in cotton gin machinery manufacturing. By the early 1900s, Dallas was a hub for economic activity all over the Southwestern United States and was selected in 1914 as the seat of the Eleventh Federal Reserve District; by 1925, Texas churned out more than ⅓ of the nation's cotton crop, and 31% of Texas cotton was produced within a 100 mile (161 km) radius of Dallas. In the 1930s, oil was discovered east of Dallas near Kilgore, Texas, and Dallas's proximity to the discovery put it at the center of the nation's oil market. Oil discoveries in the Permian Basin, the Panhandle, the Gulf Coast, and Oklahoma in the following years further solidified Dallas's position as the hub of the market as it was roughly the geographic center of all 5 regions.

After World War II, Dallas was seeded with a nexus of communications engineering and production talent by companies such as Collins Radio Corp. The telecommunication and information revolutions that ensued still drive a great deal of the local economy. The city is sometimes referred to as Texas's Silicon Valley or the Silicon Prairie because of a high concentration of telecommunications companies—the epicenter of which lies along the “Telecom Corridor”, home to more than 5,700 companies. The corridor is also home to Texas Instruments and regional offices for Alcatel Lucent, AT&T, Ericsson, Fujitsu, MCI, Nokia, Rockwell, Sprint, and Verizon, as well as the national offices of CompUSA and Canadian Nortel.

In the 1980s, Dallas was a real estate hotbed, with populations skyrocketing and the demand for housing and jobs soaring along with it. Downtown Dallas's largest buildings are the fruit of this boom, but over-speculation and the Savings and Loan crisis knocked the area to its knees. Between the late 1980s and the early 2000s, Dallas suffered a lengthy recession and has only recently bounced back—like much of the country, the real estate market has improved significantly in recent years.

Dallas is no longer a hotbed for manufacturing like it was in the early 20th century—partially due to constraints placed by the DFW Ozone Nonattainment Area—but plenty of goods are still manufactured in the city. Texas Instruments employs 10,400 people at its corporate headquarters and chip plants in Dallas and neighboring Richardson. Oak Farms Dairy also headquarters and has a plant in the city.

Companies headquartered in Dallas, Irving or Mesquite include ExxonMobil, the largest company in the world (by revenue), 7-Eleven, Brinker International, id Software, Blockbuster, ENSCO Offshore Drilling, Kimberly-Clark, Energy Future Holdings Corporation, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Southwest Airlines, CompUSA, Texas Instruments, Fluor, Zales and Comerica Bank. Corporate headquarters in the northern suburb of Plano include EDS, Frito Lay, Dr Pepper, and JCPenney.

The Dallas metroplex has more shopping centers per capita than any other United States city or metro, and is also home to the second shopping center in the United States, Highland Park Village, which opened in 1931. The city itself is also home to 12 billionaires—concentrated in the Preston Hollow area of north Dallas—placing it 9th worldwide among cities with the most billionaires. When combined with the 8 billionaires who live in Dallas's neighboring city of Fort Worth, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is one of the greatest concentrations of billionaires in the world.

Attractions
Dentonites take pride in being part of a unique and diverse creative community, and many consider this community to be the primary value of life in Denton that separates it from other Texas cities. Many in the creative community see Denton as the antidote to the ballooning traffic and population concerns of larger cities. The combination of Denton's respected music and art cultures, and the large intellectual population sustained by the town's two universities, which together have a combined enrollment of over 45,000 students, make Denton one of the state's most dominant cultural bases.

Denton's Historic downtown square is centered around the former county courthouse which now serves as a museum. Bordered by Elm, Oak, Hickory and Locust Streets, the downtown square is surrounded by many shops and restaurants, most of which have been in business for many years.

Considered by many to be a cultural epicenter of Denton, the area surrounding Fry Street is home to a group of shops, bars, restaurants, and other cultural venues. Many of the buildings were originally constructed in the 1920s.

The pervasive music culture that exists in Denton was originated in the University of North Texas's College of Music, a top-rated institution that draws musicians from all over the world . The college's Jazz Studies program, established in 1947, was the first of its kind in the country, and in more recent years the college's Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI) has developed its own distinct reputation as an internationally-renowned center for teaching, research, and groundbreaking music creation.

Denton's vibrant and diverse music culture, however, extends well beyond the rigorous and disciplined world of UNT's College of Music. A thriving independent music scene has emerged and gained outside notoriety separate of Denton's more civically embraced academic music establishments.

The latest development of Denton's evolving scene has been the arrival of musicians creating work outside the University of North Texas College of Music. These Denton transplants move there because they are aware of Denton's reputation as a music town, but they are most familiar with the independent music, not the studied musicianship, the town has produced.

The city's live music venues are chiefly supported by Denton's very active music listening audience, but show attendance is often partly composed of Dallas/Ft.Worth music listeners. Dallas's largest alternative weekly, the Dallas Observer, once even suggested Dallas music listeners drive north to Denton to hear the best local music the Metroplex has to offer.

Every spring - usually the last three days of April - Denton hosts the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival, a city-sponsored event that brings over 200,000 people per year for live music, food, drink, crafts, and recreation at the Civic Center Park. Big-name performers and bands such as Arturo Sandoval and Tower of Power have performed at the Festival.

Started in 1928, the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo held in August is compact by state fair standards, yet covers every aspect a local fair would encompass. The fair brings in over 100,000 people annually during its average 9 day run. It has been held at the North Texas State Fair Grounds, where it continues to be today, since 1948.

Sports
Denton is home to the Denton Outlaws baseball team, a member of the Texas Collegiate League.

TWU and UNT field a variety of collegiate teams as members of the NCAA. Several area school districts have large athletics programs which draw significant attendance from the general public, especially for high school football games.

The Denton Rugby Football Club (http://www.dentonrugby.com) was formed in 1979 out of the ashes of the former North Texas State University Rugby Club (which was formed in 1972). A part of the Texas Rugby Union, the club has seen some success over the past few years, including winning the Texas Rugby Union Championship, Western Rugby Union Championship, and playing in the National Quarterfinals in Reno, Nevada in 2004, as well as numerous other trips and wins to the Texas Rugby Union Championship. The town is also home to the University of North Texas Rugby Football Club.

Education
Colleges and Universities

• Texas Woman's University
• University of North Texas
• University of North Texas Research Park

Public Schools
Denton is served by the Denton Independent School District. Small portions of Denton extend into the neighboring districts of Argyle Independent School District and Sanger Independent School District.

Private Schools

• Denton Calvary Academy
• Hilltop Montessori School
• Immaculate Conception Catholic School
• The Selwyn School
• Community School
• Countryside Montessori

Transportation
Denton is served by the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) which currently operates express bus service to downtown Dallas along with local fixed route and paratransit service throughout the city. DCTA plans to open a commuter rail line run from Denton to Carrollton in 2010. This line will tie in to a planned Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail line also opening in 2010.

Additional paratransit service for senior citizens is offered by Special Programs for Aging Needs (SPAN), a non-profit organization.

The area is served by two commercial airports: Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (known as DFW International) and Dallas Love Field. In addition, Dallas Executive Airport (formerly Redbird Airport), is a general aviation airport located within the city limits, and Addison Airport is another general aviation airport located just outside the city limits in the suburb of Addison. Two more general aviation airports are located in the outer suburb of McKinney, and two more general aviation airports are in Fort Worth, on the west side of the Metroplex.

DFW International Airport is located in the suburbs north of and equidistant to downtown Fort Worth and downtown Dallas. In terms of size, DFW is the largest airport in the state, the second largest in the United States, and third largest in the world. In terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest in the state, third busiest in the United States, and sixth busiest in the world. The headquarters of American Airlines, the largest air carrier in the world, is located less than a mile from DFW, in Fort Worth. Love Field is located within the city limits of Dallas, 6 miles (10 km) northwest of downtown, and is headquarters to Southwest Airlines.