For long time Dallasites, Plano was the provincial little patch of flatland out north that housed a few strip centers and a handful of lonely corporate headquarters. Today it is anything but a suburb, boasting more than 270,000 residents, making it the 9th largest city in Texas. Plano has major corporations, hotels, mixed use developments, country clubs, and lots of wealth: according to CNN Money magazine poll, Plano is the wealthiest small town in America, with a median income topping $77,000 per year. It’s so big that it even has “subsets” of neighborhoods, from the old money of Willow Bend, to the eclectic artsy east side, to the grandeur of West Plano with robber baron-sized mansions that rival anything Highland Park has to offer. Plano is now officially a city.
