Emigrants fromKentucky andTennessee settled near present-day Richardson in the 1840s. Before theCivil War, a small settlement called Breckenridge, located near present-dayRichland College, was established. In 1873, theHouston and Texas Central Railway built a depot northwest of Breckenridge. After the H.&T.C. purchased acreage for a townsite from two local land-owners, the site was surveyed and laid out in blocks and lots, which the railroad began selling in 1874. The town was named after the secretary of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, Alfred S. Richardson.[10]
In 1908, theTexas Electric Railway, anelectric railway known as the Interurban, connected Richardson toDenison,Waco,Corsicana andDallas. In 1910 the population was approximately 600. A red brick schoolhouse was built in 1914 and is now the administrative office for the Richardson Independent School District. In 1924 the Red Brick Road, the present-dayGreenville Avenue, was completed. The completion of the road brought increased traffic, population and property values. The town incorporated and elected a mayor in 1925. In 1940 the population was approximately 740.
After World War II the city experienced major increases in population, which stood at approximately 1,300 by 1950. Throughout the 1950s the city continued to see growth including the opening of theCollins Radio Richardson office,Central Expressway, a police department, shopping centers, and many homes.Texas Instruments opened its offices in Dallas on the southern border of Richardson in 1956. This was followed by significant gains in land values, population, and economic status. In the 1960s Richardson experienced additional growth including several new parks, facilities, and the creation of theUniversity of Texas at Dallas within the city limits. By 1972 the population was approximately 56,000. Residential growth continued through the 1970s and slowed in the 1980s. Commercial development increased throughout the 1980s. Richardson had a population of 74,840 according to the 1990 census. Population increases throughout the 1990s were primarily from development of the northeast part of the city. The city ofBuckingham, after being completely surrounded by Richardson, was annexed into the city in 1996.
Richardson had a population of 91,802 as of the 2000 census. By 2002 Richardson had fourDallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)light rail stations and had built theEisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations and the adjacentGalatyn Park urban center, which has a 2-acre public pedestrian plaza, a luxury hotel, and mixed-use development. Richardson was a"dry city" with no alcohol sales until November 2006, when the local option election passed to allow the sale of beer and wine in grocery and convenience stores. In the fall of 2008 Peter Perfect, aStyle Network television show, came to Richardson. The business-makeover show remodeled SpiritWear, an apparel and embroidery store in the city's historic downtown area. The episode first aired on January 22, 2009. It was the first episode of the series to be filmed outside ofCalifornia.[11][12]
The cities ofDallas,Plano andGarland constitute almost all of the Richardson border apart from the municipality's extreme northeastern "panhandle."
Richardson borders theLake Highlands area of northeastDallas to the south,North Dallas to the southwest,Far North Dallas to the west, West Plano to the northwest, East Plano to the north, the city ofMurphy to the northeast,Sachse to the east, andGarland to the southeast.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.6 square miles (74.2 km2), of which 28.6 square miles (74.0 km2) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.2 km2), or 0.32%, is water.[13]
Approximately two-thirds of the city is inDallas County, with the northern third of the city inCollin County. Of the 28.6 square miles (74.2 km2) contained within the borders of the city of Richardson, 18.2 square miles (47 km2) lie in Dallas County; the other 9.2 square miles (24 km2) are in Collin County.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Richardson has ahumid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[14]
Map of racial distribution in Richardson, 2020 U.S. census. Each dot is one person:⬤ White⬤ Black⬤ Asian⬤ Hispanic⬤ Multiracial⬤ Native American/Other
Richardson city, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2020 United States census, there were 119,469 people, 44,136 households, and 29,113 families residing in the city. As of the 2015 American Community Survey, there were 106,123 people, 40,020 households, and 27,327 families residing in the city.[20] The population density was 3,213.9 people per square mile (1,241.1/km2). There were 36,530 housing units at an average density of 1,278.9 per square mile (493.8/km2).
There were 40,020 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city, 21.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.5% was from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males.
In the 2015 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates males had a median income of $60,709 versus $50,404 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,551. About 5.7% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over. According to a 2015 estimate, themedian income for a family in Richardson was $72,427 and a median home price of $198,900.
By 1990, 10% of the Richardson population was not born in the United States, which increased to 18.1% by 2000. According to the 2015 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, this figure was 24.3%. As of 2015, of those not born in the United States, almost 50% had arrived in the United States after 2000.[20]
Dallas County has an estimated 275,000 Arab Americans, many of whom have settled in Richardson. Many of them have come from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco, etc.[21] The DFW Chinatown is located in Richardson, in part because of the large Asian population.[22] Esther Wu, a former editor of theDallas Morning News, stated that Chinese immigration began in Richardson in 1975. Since then the Chinese community has expanded to the north.[23] In the mid-1980s the majority of ethnic Chinese K–12 students in the DFW area resided in Richardson.[24]
By 2012North Texas had over 60 Chinese cultural organizations and most of them were headquartered in Richardson and Plano.[24] The Dallas Chinese Community Center (DCCC;Chinese:达拉斯华人活动中心;pinyin:Dálāsī Huárén Huódòngzhōngxīn) is in the DFW Chinatown. It includesEnglish as a second language (ESL) classes and 20,000 books written inSimplified Chinese; the center imported some books from People's Republic of Mainland China.[22] As of 2011 the Chinese restaurants catering to ethnic Chinese in DFW are mainly in Richardson andPlano.[23] TheUniversity of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, as of 2012, has almost 1,000 Chinese students. The university has a program to recruit students of Chinese origin.[24]
Richardson's Indian immigrant community has been primarily driven by the international telecommunications industry that is so prevalent in the community. The Indian Association of North Texas headquarters are in Richardson.[25] Indo-Pak grocery store is located in an Indian-oriented strip shopping center east ofCentral Expressway.[26] Of the suburbs in the DFW area, Richardson had one of the earliest Indian settlements.[25]
Richardson is home to a large community ofVietnamese Americans and even has a significant amount of Vietnamese-catering retail stores, malls, markets, and plazas, especially nearU.S. 75, such as the Cali Saigon Shopping Mall - which borders Dallas and Garland respectively.
Despite declining economies in other parts of theUnited States, from 2005 to 2009 Richardson had substantial increases in its economy. The city's total assessed property value went up from $8.3 billion in 2005 to $14 billion in 2017. Sales tax collection went up from $21 million in 2005 to an estimated $32.9 million in 2017.
Since 2008, bothStandard & Poor's andMoody's have upgraded Richardson's credit rating to "AAA" from the previous rating of "AA+". At the time, Richardson was one of only four cities in the state of Texas and one of 88 cities in the nation with an "AAA" rating from Standard & Poor's. In 2015, theNorth Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) determined Richardson's daytime population to be 156,065 based on American Community Survey information.[27] The economy remains rooted in the telecommunication industry. However, Richardson's property tax base is deep and extends beyond its telecommunication roots to include other sectors including insurance, health care, technology and finance. The tax base is diverse with the 10 leading taxpayers accounting for 16.17% of total assessed value.
On March 1, 2014, the Richardson Fire Department officially received its Class 1 ISO rating. TheInsurance Services Office (ISO) is "a leading supplier of statistical, underwriting and actuarial information for the property/casualty insurance industry", and its rating is used to measure the quality and effectiveness of fire protection in a community. At the time, Richardson was one of only 56 municipalities in the country to achieve this highest rating, which tends to reduce property/casualty insurance premiums.[28]
According to the Richardson Economic Development Partnership's listing on Major Employers (last updated May 2018),[31] the top employers in the city were:
Richardson was originally incorporated in 1925, with the first Charter being adopted in 1956 and the latest revision made in November 2015. The community is a home rule city and has operated under thecouncil–manager form of government since 1956.[32] Richardson voters simultaneously elect six Council members and a mayor to represent them every two years. The Council members representing the four districts (1 to 4) must live in each district respectively; however, the mayor and the remaining two districts (5 and 6) can live in any part of the city. All Council members and the mayor are elected at large, with four Council members representing each of the city's four districts. The City Council is elected for two-year terms on a nonpartisan basis.
The Charter requires that the City Council appoint a city manager to act as the chief administrative and executive officer. The city manager is not appointed for a fixed time and may be removed at the will and pleasure of the majority of the City Council. One of the responsibilities of the city manager is to appoint and remove department heads and conduct the general affairs of the municipal government in accordance with the policies of the City Council.
The City provides to its citizens a full range of services including police and fire protection, emergency ambulance service, water and sewer service, solid waste disposal, park and recreational activities, cultural events, and a library. In addition, the City provides planning for future land use, traffic control, building inspection, and community services and operates two 18-hole golf courses. The City also operates theCharles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations, which is a multi-venue performing arts and presentation center.
The City of Richardson is a voluntary member ofthe North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.
UT Dallas Student Services Building - ALEED Platinum Building
TheUniversity of Texas at Dallas, also referred to as UT Dallas or UTD, is a publicresearch university in theUniversity of Texas System. Despite its name the UT Dallas main campus, consisting of approximately 445 acres (1.80 km2), is within the Richardson city limits at 800 West Campbell Road. The campus is sited with Campbell Road on the south, Floyd Road on the east, Waterview on the west, and Synergy Park Boulevard on the north.[35] The university owns an additional 265 acres (1.07 km2) in Richardson, adjacent to the campus, between Synergy Park Boulevard and thePresident George Bush Turnpike.[36] The UTD Student Services building, completed in 2010, is the first academic structure in Texas to be rated aLEED Platinum facility by theUnited States Green Building Council. During 2016, construction was completed on the Student Services Building addition. New projects include an Alumni Center, a Brain Performance Institute and an engineering building as well as additional housing options. These enhancements are part of a campus renovation that has included hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in new and upgraded buildings since 2009. For the fall 2016 semester, UT Dallas had a total of 26,793 enrolled students.[37]
Dallas College (formerly Dallas County Community College District or DCCCD) serves areas in Dallas County.[38]Richland College of Dallas College is in Dallas on the Richardson border. It is the largest school in the DCCCD, featuring nearly 20,000 students. In 2005, Richland became the first community college to receive theMalcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.[39]
The city is served by theRichardson Independent School District (RISD) within theDallas County portion of the city,[40] and thePlano Independent School District (PISD) within theCollin County portion of the city.[41] Despite that name, however, most of the Richardson Independent School District lies outside of the municipal boundaries of Richardson: 60 percent of RISD is in Dallas, with 35 percent in Richardson and 5 percent in Garland.[42]
The RISD and PISD have many Blue Ribbon Schools.[43][44][45][46] TheBlue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created to honor schools. The Blue Ribbon award is considered to be the highest honor that an American school can achieve.
Sections of Richardson in thePlano Independent School District are served by several schools. Aldridge, Haggar, Miller, Schell, and Stinson elementary schools are within Richardson and serve Collin County portions of Richardson.[51][52] A section of Collin County Richardson is zoned to Mendenhall Elementary School in Plano.[53] Otto, Frankford and Wilson middle schools in Plano and Murphy Middle School inMurphy serve separate sections of Collin County Richardson. Vines High School and T.H. Williams High School, 9–10 schools in Plano, serve separate sections of Collin County Richardson, along with McMillen High School in Murphy. Plano Senior High School and Plano East Senior High School also serve separate sections of Collin County Richardson.
Four charter schools operate within the City of Richardson. These include the Evolution Academy Charter School (9–12), Premier High School of Richardson (6–12), Vista Academy of Richardson (K–12), and theWinfree Academy Charter School (Richardson) (9–12).
The Richardson Public Library is located at 900 Civic Center Drive at the southwest corner ofU.S. Route 75 (North Central Expressway) and Arapaho Road.[56]
The roots of the Richardson Public Library date back to 1947 when a branch of the Dallas County Library was established in a section of the Cash Dry Goods store on East Main Street in downtown Richardson. The fledgling library collection numbered about 400 volumes and was managed by Jessie Durham the store's proprietor. The City Council established the library as a city department in 1958 and in 1959 the library moved into a newly constructed building at 310 Tyler Street. This new library was just under 6,000 square feet (560 m2) in size and was built at a cost of $100,000.[57]
Richardson was experiencing rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s, and the library facility soon became inadequate for community needs. The current facility was constructed at a cost of $2 million and opened December 1, 1970. The new 81,650-square-foot (7,586 m2), four-story building opened with the use of two floors and a small portion of a third.[58] The basement was finished in 1980 for the reference collection and services. In 1995 the library underwent another expansion which finished the upper floor and renovated the three previously opened floors. Another renovation occurred in 2006 when the Youth Services department was expanded.[57]
In 2008 the library set a new record for the number of items circulated in a fiscal year when the 1 millionth item was checked out in the fall of 2008. The building has undergone building renovations and technological improvements in recent years that have enhanced the library experience for patrons. Since 2014, the digital library has expanded to include movies, music and magazines as well as books andaudiobooks. In 2015, the Richardson Library established a "makerspace" that initially included a 3-D printer, designated computers with creative applications and software, and kits for the early exploration of electronics.
The Texas Municipal League recognized the library with its "Achievement of Excellence in Libraries" award every year from 2004 to 2017.[59]
Richardson also benefits from theDallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Light Rail line which parallelsU.S. 75 and has four stations in the city. In October 2016, DART approved the future construction of theSilver Linecommuter rail with the adoption of its 20-Year Financial Plan. Service on the Cotton Belt is projected to commence in 2025. The Cotton Belt line will run fromDFW Airport to the eastern side of Plano, with Richardson stations located at TheUniversity of Texas at Dallas and CityLine. The Cotton Belt rail line will also connect toTrinity Metro'sTEXRail line, which connects downtownFort Worth to the DFW Airport. In order to take full advantage of these transportation assets for development and redevelopment purposes, the City has implemented threeTax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts. TIF District #1 was established in November 2006, encompassing both sides of the U.S. 75 corridor from Campbell Road south to Spring Valley Road, and then extending west from U.S. 75 along Spring Valley Road to Coit Road. TIF District #2, established in November 2011, is bounded byPresident George Bush Turnpike on the north, Wyndham Lane on the east, Renner Road on the south, and the DART light rail line on the west. TIF District #3, established in November 2011, is bounded by President George Bush Turnpike on the north, the DART light rail line on the east, Renner Road on the South and has its western boundary between Alma Road and U.S. 75. Dallas County participates financially in TIF District #1 and Collin County participates financially in TIF District #2 and TIF District #3.
The southern Central Trail extension opened in June 2014 and the northern extension opened in 2015. The new hike and bike trail segments mean that the central spine to Richardson's trail network will run from city limit to city limit, eventually connecting to trails throughout the region.
In July 2015, Richardson was named a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists.[60] Richardson has a long-range plan to provide bicycle facilities and to designate preferred bicycle routes on lower-volume, lower-speed roadways. There are now more than 15 miles of bike lanes in Richardson.[61]
Braithwaite, Barbara (editor).A History Of Richardson. Richardson, Texas: Richardson Centennial Corporation, 1973.
Gillespie, Gwyn.Historic Richardson: An Illustrated History. San Antonio, Texas: Historical Publishing Network, 2002.
Harris, Janet (editor).And The Telling Takes Us Back: An Oral History of Richardson. Richardson, Texas: University of Texas at Dallas Center for Continuing Education, c1984-85. (Note: Part 1 consists of 21 interviews with representatives of families who settled in and helped in the development of the city. It covers the time period of early settlement to 1940. Part 2 begins with 1940 and continues to 1985.)
^"Major Employers".Telecom Corridor. March 7, 2017. RetrievedJune 19, 2017.
^Butler, Steven R. (2022).A Sesquicentennial History of Richardson, Texas, Vol. 1, Rural Roots (First ed.). Richardson, Texas: Poor Scholar Publications. pp. 77–79,93–96, 106.ISBN978-1737948018.
^abBrettell, Caroline B. '"Big D" Incorporating New Immigrants in a Sunbelt Suburban Metropolis' (Chapter 3). In: Singer, Audrey, Susan Wiley Hardwick, and Caroline Brettell.Twenty-First Century Gateways: Immigrant Incorporation in Suburban America (James A. Johnson metro series).Brookings Institution Press, 2009.ISBN0815779283, 9780815779285. Start p.53. CITED: p.56.
^Brettell, Caroline B. '"Big D" Incorporating New Immigrants in a Sunbelt Suburban Metropolis' (Chapter 3). In: Singer, Audrey, Susan Wiley Hardwick, and Caroline Brettell.Twenty-First Century Gateways: Immigrant Incorporation in Suburban America (James A. Johnson metro series).Brookings Institution Press, 2009.ISBN0815779283, 9780815779285. Start p.53. CITED: p.64.
^"Dies at 56".Associated Press inThe Tuscaloosa News. May 15, 1980. RetrievedMarch 18, 2010.Bette Claire Graham, inventor of Liquid Paper ... She was the mother of Michael Nesmith, who was a member of the defunct Monkees rock group.
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