Denton County, Texas facts for kids

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Denton County

County

The Denton County Courts Building, built 1998

Seal

Location within the U.S. state of Texas

Texas's location within the U.S.

Country

United States

State

Texas

Founded

April 11, 1846

Named for

John B. Denton

Seat

Denton

Largest city

Denton

Area

• Total

953 sq mi (2,470 km²)

• Land

878 sq mi (2,270 km²)

• Water

75 sq mi (190 km²) 7.8%

Population

(2020)

• Total

906,422

• Estimate

(2023)

1,006,492

• Density

951.1/sq mi (367.23/km²)

Time zone

UTC−6 (Central)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−5 (CDT)

Congressional districts

4th, 13th, 26th, 32nd

Denton County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It's located in the northern part of the state. In 2020, about 906,422 people lived there, making it the seventh-biggest county in Texas by population. The main city and county seat is Denton. The county was named after John B. Denton and was created in 1846. Denton County is part of a large area called the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It has been one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.

History of Denton County

Before settlers arrived, different Native American groups, like the Kichai and Lenape, sometimes lived in the area. In the early 1840s, people from the Peters Colony started to settle here. The area was part of Fannin County until Texas joined the United States.

On April 11, 1846, the First Texas Legislature officially created Denton County. It was named after John B. Denton, who died in 1841 during a conflict with a Native American village. At first, the county seat was a place called Pinckneyville. Later, it moved to Alton, where the Old Alton Bridge is today. Finally, the county seat was moved to Denton.

By 1860, the county's population grew to 5,031 people. In 1861, residents voted to leave the Union during the time leading up to the American Civil War. The vote was very close. In the early 1880s, the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad reached Lewisville, a city in the southern part of the county. The Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square was built in 1896. Today, it holds government offices and a museum.

Geography and Nature

Weather chart for Denton, Texas

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2.9

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3.6

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temperatures in °F
precipitation totals in inches

Metric conversion

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
52 13 1	74 16 2	82 20 7	83 24 11	130 28 17	91 33 21	61 35 23	54 36 23	78 31 19	126 26 13	74 19 7	65 14 2
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

Denton County covers about 953 square miles. Most of this is land (878 square miles), and 75 square miles (about 7.8%) are covered by water. The county is in northern Texas, about 35 miles south of the border with Oklahoma. Two branches of the Trinity River flow through it.

The biggest lake in Denton County is Lewisville Lake. It was created in 1954 when two smaller lakes, the Garza–Little Elm Reservoir and Lake Dallas, were joined together. The county is on the edge of the eastern Cross Timbers area and also includes parts of the Grand Prairie, which is part of the Texas blackland prairies.

Some parts of Denton County are on top of the Barnett Shale. This is a rock formation that contains a lot of natural gas. Between 1995 and 2007, the number of natural gas wells in the county grew from 156 to 1,820.

Lakes in Denton County

Neighboring Counties

Denton County shares borders with these other counties:

Cooke County (north)
Grayson County (northeast)
Collin County (east)
Dallas County (southeast)
Tarrant County (south)
Wise County (west)

Cities and Towns

Denton County has many cities and towns. Some of them are located entirely within Denton County, while others spread across multiple counties.

Cities in Multiple Counties

These cities are partly in Denton County and partly in other counties:

Carrollton (also in Dallas and Collin Counties)
Celina (mostly in Collin County)
Coppell (mostly in Dallas County)
Dallas (mostly in Dallas County)
Fort Worth (mostly in Tarrant County)
Frisco (mostly in Collin County)
Grapevine (mostly in Tarrant County)
Haslet (mostly in Tarrant County)
Lewisville (small part in Dallas County)
Plano (mostly in Collin County)
Southlake (mostly in Tarrant County)

Cities Only in Denton County

Towns in Multiple Counties

These towns are partly in Denton County and partly in other counties:

Flower Mound (small part in Tarrant County)
Hebron (small part in Collin County)
Prosper (mostly in Collin County)
Trophy Club (small part in Tarrant County)
Westlake (mostly in Tarrant County)

Towns Only in Denton County

Other Communities

Census-designated places: These are areas that are like towns but are not officially incorporated as cities or towns.
Unincorporated communities: These are small communities that are not part of any city or town.
- Alliance (partly in Tarrant County)
- Bolivar
- Navo
Ghost towns: These are places where people used to live, but now they are mostly empty.
- Alton
- Camey Spur
- Cooper Creek
- Drop
- Elizabethtown
- Green Valley
- Marshall Creek
- Mayhill
- Mingo
- Mustang
- Parvin
- Plainview
- Stony

Population and People

Denton County has grown a lot over the years. In 1850, only 641 people lived there. By 2020, the population had reached 906,422. This makes it one of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S.

**Denton County, 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.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1990	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	232,885	328,849	426,887	485,646	85.14%	75.95%	64.42%	53.58%
Black or African American alone (NH)	13,314	24,980	54,034	95,386	4.87%	5.77%	8.15%	10.52%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	1,326	2,093	3,143	3,582	0.48%	0.48%	0.47%	0.40%
Asian alone (NH)	6,753	17,327	43,091	92,751	2.47%	4.00%	6.50%	10.23%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	N/A	186	411	650	N/A	0.04%	0.06%	0.07%
Other race alone (NH)	234	559	1,176	3,909	0.09%	0.13%	0.18%	0.43%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	N/A	6,363	13,036	41,720	N/2	1.47%	1.97%	4.60%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	19,013	52,619	120,836	182,778	6.95%	12.15%	18.24%	20.16%
Total	273,525	432,976	662,614	906,422	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

In 2010, the population of Denton County was 662,614 people. The county had about 754 people per square mile. By 2020, the population grew to 906,422. This shows that many people are moving to communities outside of big cities like Dallas and Fort Worth.

In 2010, about 75% of the people in the county were White, 8.4% were African American, 0.7% were Native American, and 6.6% were Asian. About 18.2% of the population was Hispanic or Latino. By 2020, the population became even more diverse.

Education in Denton County

Denton County has many schools and colleges.

K-12 Schools

Several school districts serve the students in Denton County. Some districts are entirely within the county, while others cover parts of Denton County and other counties.

School Districts Entirely in Denton County

Argyle Independent School District
Aubrey Independent School District
Denton Independent School District
Lake Dallas Independent School District
Lewisville Independent School District
Little Elm Independent School District
Ponder Independent School District
Sanger Independent School District

School Districts Partly in Denton County

Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District
Celina Independent School District
Era Independent School District
Frisco Independent School District
Krum Independent School District
Northwest Independent School District
Pilot Point Independent School District
Prosper Independent School District
Slidell Independent School District

Private Schools

Denton County also has several private schools:

Denton Calvary Academy
Coram Deo Academy
Lakeland Christian Academy
Liberty Christian School
Selwyn College Preparatory School

Colleges and Universities

The Hurley Administration Building at the University of North Texas.

Most of Denton County is served by North Central Texas College for community college classes. However, some areas are assigned to Collin College or Dallas College.

Denton County is also home to two four-year universities:

University of North Texas (UNT)
Texas Woman's University

Transportation

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) helps people get around the county. They offer bus services and a special on-demand service called GoZone in cities like Denton, Lewisville, and Highland Village. For areas outside these cities, SPAN Transit provides transportation.

The DCTA also runs the A-train. This is a commuter train that goes from Denton to Carrollton. In Carrollton, passengers can switch to the Green Line train, which is run by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). From there, you can connect to other DART train lines in downtown Dallas.

Denton County has two airports: the Denton Municipal Airport and the Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke. The large Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is just a few miles south of the county.