Denton

Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas. The city was incorporated in 1866 and named after pioneer and Texas militia captain John B. Denton. The arrival of a railroad line in the city in 1881 spurred population, and the establishment of the University of North Texas in 1890 and Texas Woman's University in 1901 distinguished the city from neighboring regions. The North Texas State Fair and Rodeo, Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, and Thin Line Fest attract over 300,000 people to the city each year. Its diverse citizenry is represented by a nonpartisan city council, and numerous county and state departments have offices in theCity. As of 2011, the city was the seventh-fastest growing city with a population over 100,000 in the U.S., and the 12th most populous in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. It is known for its active music life; the city experiences hot, humid summers and few extreme weather events. It was named after a preacher and lawyer who was killed in 1841 during a skirmish with the Kichai people in what is now Tarrant County. In February 1861, a statewide referendum was held and Texans voted to join the Confederate States of America. After the Civil War, "Freedmen Settlements" were started throughout the South. In 1920, the residents were forcibly removed by the City government to make way for a park. Originally scheduled to open in September 1913, it was mysteriously burned down the Sunday night prior to opening to the scheduled opening.

History

Denton is the primary city name, but also Corinth are acceptable city names or spellings. Denton was founded in 1857 as the county seat of Denton County. The city grew from 26,844 in 1960 to 48,063 in 1980. The population jumped from 66,270 in 1990 to 80,537 in 2000. In May 2006, Houston-based real estate company United Equities purchased the 100-block of Fry Street and announced that several of the historic buildings would be demolished. The Denton City Council approved a new proposal for the area from Dinerstein Cos in 2010. Gerard Hudspeth became Denton's first African-American mayor in 2013. Denton is now home to the University of North Texas and the Texas Woman's University. It is also home to Denton International Airport, a major airport for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The town is located on the Texas-Mexico border, and has a Friendship City relationship with Santa Rosa de Múzquiz, Mexico. It was named for John Denton, a preacher and lawyer who was killed in 1841 during a skirmish with the Kichai people in what is now Tarrant County. In 1857, a commission laid out the city and named the first streets. On July 8, 1860, approximately one-half of the downtown Square burned down in what was later called the "Texas Troubles". The arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881 gave Denton its first rail connection and brought an influx of people to the area. North Texas Normal College was established in 1890, and the Girls' Industrial College, now Texas Women's University, was founded.

Geography

Denton is located on the northern edge of the DallasFort Worth metropolitan area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 89.316 square miles (231.33 km²) The city is located in the Bend ArchFort Worth Basin, which is characterized by flat terrain. Denton lies on the southern end of what is commonly referred to as "Tornado Alley"; the National Weather Service occasionally issues tornado watches, although tornadoes rarely form in the city. The city receives about 37.7 inches (96 cm) of rain per year. Flash floods and severe thunderstorms are frequent occurrences during spring. Average snowfall in Denton is similar to the Dallas Fort Worth average of 2.4 inches (6.1 cm) per year, with daily low temperatures averaging 33 °F (1 °C) in January. The all-time record high temperature is 113 °f (45 °C), recorded in 1954. The average summer temperature highs range from 91 to 96°F (33 to 36°C) between June and August, and the average winter low is 6 °F. The area is within USDA hardiness zone 8a, which means it is humid subtropical and is very dry in the summer and cool in the winter. It is located near the Barnett Shale, a geological formation believed to contain large quantities of natural gas. Lewisville Lake, a man-made reservoir, is located 15 miles (24 km) south of the city and is the largest reservoir in Texas.

Demographics

According to the 2020 United States census, there were 139,869 people, 47,777 households, and 28,430 families residing in the city. Denton's population made it the 197th largest city in the United States and the 27th largest in Texas per the 2020 census. The median income for a household was $60,018 in 2020. The per capita income was $29,109. About 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line. The city is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, which has a population of more than 1.2 million. It is the seventh fastest-growing city in U.S. with a population over 100,000 between 2010 and 2011. The population of Denton has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 21st century, becoming the 7th fastest- Growing City in the U.S. in the last five years. The average high school graduation rate is 90.4%, with 38.9% with a Bachelor's degree or higher. The national average is 80.9%. The city has a median household income of $60.018, with the per capita incomes of $29.109. The percentage of the city's population that graduated from high school or higher is higher than the national average of 80.4%. Denton fares above the nationalaverage with 90.3% of its population high school graduated or higher, and 38.8% with Bachelor's degrees or higher; the average national high school graduating rate is 76.7%. The average age of the Denton population is 24.9 years old.

Economy

The University of North Texas is the largest employer in the city, with 7,764 employees. The City of Denton also employs more than 1,334 people. Notable businesses headquartered in Denton include truck manufacturer Peterbilt, beauty supplier Sally Beauty Company, and jewelry producer Jostens. Golden Triangle Mall, the city's largest shopping complex with over 90 specialty shops, is a major source of retail trade. The city's top employers in 2020 were: Texas Woman's University, Denton Independent School District, and the University of Texas at Denton, with more than 12,000 employees. It is estimated that over 20,000 people work in the educational services, health and social services, manufacturing, and general retail sectors of the Denton economy. It was estimated that more than $1.2 billion was spent on construction projects in the first quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, with the majority of the work being in the construction industry. It has been estimated that about $2.1 billion will be spent in the second quarter of 2020, with most of the construction work to be done in the oil and natural gas sector. It will be the first time since the 1990s that the city has had such a high level of construction activity in a quarter of its economy. The number of construction jobs is expected to continue to rise in the next few years, with many of the jobs expected to be in the energy and mining sectors. The construction industry is expected in the future to play a major role in the growth of the city.

Arts and cultural life

Denton is home to several annual artistic and cultural events that cater to residents and tourists. The annual North Texas State Fair and Rodeo began in 1928 and promotes the cowboy culture of Texas. The city-sponsored Denton Arts and Jazz Festival attracts over 200,000 people each year for live music, food, crafts, and recreation at Civic Center Park. Denton houses the largest community garden in the United States, specifically Shiloh Field Community Garden, which measures at 14.5 acres of land. The Denton Confederate Soldier Monument, a 12-foot tall (3.7 m) granite, arched monument topped with a statue of a Confederate soldier, was erected in 1918 in the Denton Square on the courthouse lawn by the Daughters of the Confederacy. The monument was controversial, and though previous attempts to remove it were unsuccessful, Denton County Commissioners unanimously approved its removal on June 9, 2020. In 2014, the Huffington Post listed Denton as the number-one emerging cultural hot spot in Texas to visit, while referring to the city as "practically an indie band factory at this point" The city has also hosts the annual film and music festival, Thin Line Fest, each year since 2007. It is the longest running documentary film festival in Texas and attracts thousands of tourists to Denton over a few days each year. The downtown square is populated by local shops and restaurants, some of which have been in business since the 1940s. The former county courthouse was restored for the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986.

Government

Denton is the county seat of Denton County. Residents elect a mayor, four single-member district council members, and two at-large members. The city manager is appointed by the Denton City Council. Denton is a part of the Sister Cities International program and maintains cultural and economic exchange programs with its sister cities, Madaba in Jordan and San Nicolás de los Garza in Mexico. The Denton State Supported Living Center is the largest residential facility for people with developmental disabilities in Texas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has its Region VI headquarters in Denton. The current mayor is Gerard Hudspeth, who was first elected in 2020, and then re-elected in 2022. In 2014, city voters approved a ban on fracking. In 2022, city Voters approved decriminalization of possession of misdemeanor amounts of marijuana. Almost all of the city is in the newly drawn Texas House district 64. Some portions of south, north, and far east Denton are in either Texas House districts 57 or 106. Starting in 2023, most of DENTON will be represented by U.S. House 13th Congressional district. The southwest portions of theCity will berepresented by U-S. 26th Congressional District. The City of Denton is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association. The purpose of the association is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions. All city council and mayor terms are two-year terms, different from most cities in the area.

Education

The Denton Independent School District provides the public primary and secondary educational system in the majority of the city. The Roman Catholic Immaculate Conception Catholic School, a K8 school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, opened in 1995. According to the 2010 United States Census, 35.1% of all adults over the age of 25 in Denton have obtained a bachelor's degree, as compared to the state average of 25.8%. The high school residential program Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, for gifted students, is in DENTON. Denton is served by the Denton Public Library, which has three branches: Emily Fowler Central Library, North Branch Library, and South Branch Library. The University of North Texas (UNT) is the flagship university of the UNT System, with an enrollment of over 42,000. North Central Texas College (NCTC) is a public community college based in Gainesville, Texas. Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, the college partnered with First State Bank to open a branch campus in downtown Denton. TWU's College of Nursing is the second largest in Texas and in the top 20 of largest nursing programs in the United States, and the school's nursing doctoral program is the largest in the world. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Its College of Music, the first school to offer a degree in the field of jazz studies, is internationally recognized and known for producing successful artists.

Infrastructure

Two major hospitals operate in Denton: Medical City Denton and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton. Each employs more than 800 employees and are licensed with emergency services. A 2014 city referendum prohibiting hydraulic fracturing (fracking) passed with 59% of the vote. Texas enacted a law specifying "the exclusive jurisdiction of this state to regulate oil and gas operations in this state and the express preemption of local regulation of those operations" Denton's city council put out a statement affirming it will "continue to enforce our current regulations to protect the health and safety of our residents, but we do not know how the operators or courts will react". Denton is home to the University of Texas at Denton, which was founded in 1883. Denton has a population of more than 100,000, and the city's population has grown to more than 200,000 since the early 1900s. The city is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, which is in the eastern part of the Texas Panhandle. The Denton area has a reputation for having good infrastructure, particularly in the area of health care. The town has two full-service hospitals with differing capacities: 208 beds and 255 beds, respectively. It also has a number of smaller hospitals, such as the Denton Children's Hospital, which has a capacity of just over 100 beds. It is also the home of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the Fort Worth Army Medical Center and the Texas Army National Guard Base.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Denton, Denton County, Texas = 1.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 73. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Denton = 5.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 139,869 individuals with a median age of 30.1 age the population grows by 46.81% in Denton, Denton County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,451.68 residents per square mile of area (560.49/km²). There are average 2.37 people per household in the 45,976 households with an average household income of $43,455 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.00% of the available work force and has dropped -1.43% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 31.14%. The number of physicians in Denton per 100,000 population = 116.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Denton = 34.8 inches and the annual snowfall = 1.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 77. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 228. 96 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 33 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 24, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Denton, Denton County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 41.54%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 20 years with median home cost = $129,100 and home appreciation of 0.10%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $19.23 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,823 per student. There are 13.2 students for each teacher in the school, 707 students for each Librarian and 394 students for each Counselor. 5.08% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.93% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 13.03% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).