Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the
U.S. state of
Texas within
Dallas County. According to the
2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 191,615. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated by the
U.S. Census Bureau and colloquially referred to as the
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
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Mustangs at Las Colinas |
Irving contains the
Las Colinas area, including the
Mustangs at Las Colinas, which is the largest equestrian sculpture in the world. Irving has the headquarters of
ExxonMobil,
Michael's Stores, and
Zale Corporation, and the national headquarters for the
Boy Scouts of America. Irving is home to the
Dallas Cowboys until a new stadium is finished in
Arlington, TX in 2010.
Part of
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which serves the cities of
Dallas and
Fort Worth, is inside the city limits of Irving.
Irving was founded in
1903 by J.O. "Otto" Schulze and Otis Brown. It is believed that literary author
Washington Irving was a favorite of Netta Barcus Brown, and consequently the name of the townsite, Irving, was chosen. Irving originally began in
1889 as an area called Gorbit, and in
1894 the name changed to Kit. Irving was incorporated
April 14,
1914, with Otis Brown as the first mayor.
By the late nineteeth century the Irving area was the site of
churches, two
cotton gins, a
blacksmith shop and a general store. The Irving district
public school system dates back to the 1909 establishment of Kit and Lively schools. Population growth was slow and sometimes halting, with only 357 residents in 1925, but a significant increase began in the 1930s.
By the early 1960s the city had a population of approximately 45,000. A number of
manufacturing plants operated in Irving, along with
transportation,
retail and
financial businesses. The
University of Dallas in Irving opened in 1956, and
Texas Stadium was completed in 1971 as the home park of the
Dallas Cowboys. Irving's population reached 155,037 in 1990 and is currently (2004) estimated at 194,547. Former Irving City Council member Mayor
Herbert Gears was elected to a three-year term in June, 2005.
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Location of Irving, Texas |
Irving is located at (32.847128, -96.966255).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 175.3
km² (67.7
mi²). 174.1 km² (67.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (0.65%) is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 191,615 people, 76,241 households, and 46,202 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,100.4/km² (2,850.2/mi²). There were 80,293 housing units at an average density of 461.1/km² (1,194.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.2%
White, 10.2%
African American, 0.7%
Native American, 8.24%
Asian, 0.13%
Pacific Islander, 13.4% from
other races, and 3.20% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 31.2% of the population.
There were 76,241 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were
married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 39.4% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,956, and the median income for a family was $50,172. Males had a median income of $35,852 versus $30,420 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $23,419. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Most of Irving is served by the
Irving Independent School District (IISD). Other portions are served by the
Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (CFBISD), and
Coppell Independent School District (CISD).
The major high schools serving the Irving area are:
*Irving High School (IISD)
*MacArthur High School (IISD)
*
Nimitz High School (IISD)
*The Academy of Irving ISD (IISD)
*
Ranchview High School (CFBISD)
Irving is home to
Cistercian Preparatory School, a highly-selective day school for boys, grades 5 through 12.
North Lake College, a campus of the
Dallas County Community College District, is also in Irving, as is the
University of Dallas.
DeVry University has an Irving campus, as well.
Irving is the location of
Texas Stadium, the home park of the
Dallas Cowboys of the
National Football League, though the team will soon be moving to a new stadium in
Arlington, Texas.
Irving Independent School District (IISD)
high schools play
football and other sports at Irving Schools Stadium. Irving sponsors a citywide high-school age
ice hockey team, the Irving Wolfpack of the D/FW Junior Varsity GOLD league.
Irving is one of 13 member-cities of the Dallas region's transit agency,
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Currently, Irving receives bus service, but by the early
2010s or late
2000s the DART
Purple Line will provide light-rail service connecting Irving with
Plano,
Carrollton,
Richardson,
Garland,
Downtown Dallas,
Oak Cliff,
Pleasant Grove, and
North Dallas.
North Irving is bisected by
Texas State Highway 114, with other main roads in city including the
Belt Line Road that encircles the inner metroplex and Story Road. There is a free-to-use people mover system called the
Las Colinas APT System that serves Las Colinas for limited hours on weekdays.
*
City of Irving*
Irving Convention & Visitors Center*
Historic Images from the Irving Archives, hosted by the Portal to Texas History*
Irving Archives Digital Collections 
