ZIP Code 75050

Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the DallasFort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it the fifteenth most populous city in the state. The city was first established as Dechman by Alexander McRae DeChman in 1863. During World War II the North American Aviation Plant B produced the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the P-51C and K Mustang variants. After the war, Vought Aircraft took over the plant. This later became Ling Temco Vought (LTV) and then eventually returned to the Vought moniker. The plant was the production site for the F-8 Crusader and the A-7 Corsair II aircraft of the 1950-1989 time period. In 1953, the mayor and city council of Grand Prairie attempted to annex nearly 70 square miles (unincorporated and largely undeveloped land in southern Vehement counties. The legal pressure from cities like Duncanville and Irving wound up overturning the annexation attempt. Grand Prairie is located along the border between Tarrants and Dallas counties, with a small portion extending south into Ellis County. It has a total area of 81 square kilometers (2.2 square miles), which includes 72 square km (1.8 square miles) of which is parkland. The U.S. Postal Service named the post office "Grand Prairie" after the T&P Railroad designation "Grand prairie".

History

The city of Grand Prairie was first established as Dechman in 1863. The first church in the area was the Good Hope Cumberland Sabbath School, established in 1870 by Rev. Andrew Hayter. Grand Prairie has had a long history with the defense and aviation industry. During World War II the North American Aviation Plant B produced the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the P-51C and K Mustang variants. After the war, Vought Aircraft took over the plant. This later became Ling Temco Vought (LTV) and then eventually returned to the Vought moniker. The plant was the production site for the F-8 Crusader and the A-7 Corsair II aircraft of the 1950-1989 time period. The present-day Vought plant on Jefferson Avenue is part of a small strip within the Dallas city limits, it was originally in Grand Prairie. In 1953, the mayor and city council of Grand prairie attempted to annex nearly 70 square miles (180 km²) of then-unincorporated and largely undeveloped land in southern Dallas and Tarrant counties. Vehement debate ensued, and the legal pressure from cities like Arlington, Duncanville and Irving wound up overturning part of the annexation attempt. The city was eventually incorporated as a city in 1909. The name of the city was changed to Grand Prairie after the U.S. Postal Service couldn't read the writing on the form completed to open the post office. In order to alleviate the confusion, the Postal Service named thePost Office "Grand Prairie".

Geography

Grand Prairie is located along the border between Tarrant and Dallas counties. The city is bordered by Dallas to the east, Cedar Hill and Midlothian to the southeast, Mansfield to the southwest, Arlington to the west, Fort Worth to the northwest, and Irving to the north. The West Fork of the Trinity River and a major tributary, Johnson Creek, flow through Grand Prairie. Grand Prairie has a long history of flooding from Johnson Creek. In the 1980s, a major Army Corps of Engineers project was begun to straighten the channel, which has reduced the damage of flooding. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 81.1 square miles (210.0 km²), of which 72.1square miles (186.8 km²) is land and 9.0sq miles (23.3km²), or 11.08%, is water. Grand prairie is part of the humid subtropical region. It is located on the Texas-Oklahoma border and is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. It has a population of 1,816,000 (as of the 2010 census). The city's population is expected to rise to 1,200,000 by the end of the year, according to the Texas Department of Geography and  Meteorological Service. The area has an average annual rainfall of 1.7 inches (4.2 m).

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 196,100 people, 62,679 households, and 46,391 families residing in the city. The city's population is expected to rise to 196,000 by the end of the decade. It is the largest city in the state with a population of more than 100,000. The population of the city is projected to reach 200,000 in the 2020 United States census, up from 194,000 at the 2010 census. It has the highest population of any city in New York state, surpassing the city's previous high point of 191,500 in the 1950s. It also has the lowest population growth rate of any New York City city, at 0.7%. The city is home to the University of New York at St. John's, which was founded in 1788. It was the first city to win the U.N. World Cup in 1900. It won the World Series in 1904, and the last in 1904. It hosted the Winter Olympics in Helsinki in 1924 and 1924, and hosted the Summer Olympics in 1928. It hosts the Winter Paralympic Games in 2008 and the Winter Games in 2010. It's home to a number of sports teams, including the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets. The New York Yankees, New York Mets, and New York Rangers are among the teams that play in the City of Brotherly Love. The City is also the home of the New England Red Sox.

Government

Grand Prairie as of 2012 has 320 municipal police officers. The Parkland Health & Hospital System (Dallas County Hospital District) operates the E. Carlyle Smith, Jr. Health Center in Grand Prairie. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), of the U.S. Department of Justice, runs the Grand Prairie Office Complex. The BOP operates the Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC), which calculates federal sentences, keeps track of the statutory "good time" accumulated by inmates and lump sum extra " good time" awards, and detainers. The city of Grand Prairie 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. According to the 2007-2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $275.5 million in revenues, $236.4 million in expenditures, $1,003.2 million in total assets, $424.9 million in liabilities, and $305.9million in cash and investments. Grand Prairie has a population of 2,856. The City of Dallas has a total population of 3,857. The Grand Prairie Police Department has a force of 320 officers. It is located on the grounds of the Grand prairie Armed Forces Reserve Complex, which is home to the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. The Police Department is part of the Dallas County Sheriff's Office.

Economy

Airbus Helicopters, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Airbus, has its headquarters in Grand Prairie. American Airlines moved its headquarters from New York City to the Dallas/Fort Worth area in 1978. The airline finished moving into its Fort Worth headquarters facility on January 17, 1983, when the airline left its Grand Prairie facility. According to the city's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were: Airbus, American Airlines, Texas Instruments, and Texas Instruments. The city's unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in the year ending December 31, 2013. The unemployment rate for the city was 3.7 percent in 2013. It was 3 percent for the state of Texas in the same year. The average income for the Grand Prairie area in 2013 was $50,000. It is 3.1 percent for Hispanics. The highest rate of unemployment was for the Hispanic population at 3.8 percent. The lowest rate was for whites at 2.9 percent, and the lowest rate for blacks at 1.9%. The city has a population of 1.2 million. It had a population growth rate of 0.8 per cent in 2013, and 0.9 per cent for the year 2014. It has an unemployment rate of 3.3 per cent. It's the highest rate for Hispanics in the state. The top employers were Airbus, Texas Instrument, andTexas Instruments. It also has a large number of non-profit organizations, such as the Texas Association of Governments and Texas Tech University.

Attractions

Prairie Lights is a 2-mile-long (3.2 km) seasonal display, featuring more than three million lights on more than 500 lighted displays. Traders Village describes itself as the largest flea market in Texas, open on weekends from 7 A.M. until dusk. The National Recreation and Parks Association bestowed its highest national award, the Gold Medal Award, to the Grand Prairie, Texas Parks and Recreation Department at the 2008 NRPA's Congress and Exposition in Baltimore. Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark is one of the largest indoor waterparks in Texas and is a first-of-its-kind, opened January 2018 along with a recreation center nearby that opened later that year. The Grand Prairie AirHogs minor league baseball team and their stadium, The Ballpark, were established in Grand Prairie in May 2007 and started play in May 2008. The team ceased operations after the 2020 season. The historic Uptown Theatre in downtown Grand Prairie reopened in 2008 after a year of renovations. It is now a playhouse and venue for concerts. Ripley's Believe It Or Not / Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax is the largest museum in North Texas, with more than 2,000 pieces of memorabilia, including famous paintings and photographs of famous people. Grand Prairie is once again a finalist for the award in 2016, and is expected to win the award again in 2017. The city is home to the Texas State Fair, which runs through the end of the year.

Education

Most of Grand Prairie's K12 student population attends schools in the Grand Prairie Independent School District. Other portions of the city reside within the Arlington, Cedar Hill, Irving, Mansfield, and Midlothian school districts. In Texas, school district boundaries do not follow city and county boundaries because all aspects of the school district government apparatus are separated from the city or county government entirely. The Mansfield ISD is the fastest growing ISD in Tarrant County, and the population growth in far southwest Grand Prairie is a major factor in the district's growth. Dallas County residents are zoned to Dallas College (formerly Dallas County Community College District or DCCCD) Tarran County Residents are zoning to Tarrat County Junior College. Ellis County residents Are zoned for Navarro College. The Grand Prairie ISD operates six elementary schools within the city limits. The Arlington ISD has the second highest portion of Grand prairie's K 12 student population. The Mansfield ISD contains the thirdhighest portion of the Grand prairies' K12 population. Grand Prairie residents are located generally south of the intersection of Camp Wisdom and Lake Ridge, and west of Joe Pool Lake to the Tarrant and Ellis County line in southwest Grand prairie. The city limits of Grand Prairie are home to three of the six Mansfield schools currently open in the MansfieldISD. The grand prairies also have three elementary schools that are currently open within Grand Prairie city limits: Anna May Daulton Elementary, Louise Cabaniss Elementary; and Cora Spencer Elementary.

Infrastructure

Interstate highways 20 and 30 run eastwest through the northern and southern parts of the city. Texas State Highways Spur 303 (named Pioneer Parkway) and 180 (Main Street) also run east west. Amtrak's Texas Eagle (Chicago-San Antonio) makes stops at Dallas Union Station 12 miles to the east. In April 2022, Grand Prairie launched "Via Grand Prairie", an "on-demand, shared public transportation" which connects to DART's West Irving station. The city declined membership in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1984. The AASHTo is a federal agency that provides transportation services to the state of Texas. It has a contract with the Texas Department of Transportation to provide services on behalf of the state. It also provides services for the Texas Rangers, Texas Rangers FC, and Texas Rangers Lonestar Rangers. It is a member of the Texas State Highway Association (TSHA) and the Texas Association of Counties (TAC). The city is home to the Texas Museum of History and Science, which was founded in 1872. The museum is located in the former Texas State Capitol building, which dates back to the early 19th century. Grand Prairie was the site of the first U.S. Civil War-era Fort Worth and Fort Worth Railroad stations, which were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was also the birthplace of the American Civil Rights Movement, which began in the mid-19th century, and later the Texas Democratic Party.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Grand Prairie, Dallas County, Texas = 32.3. 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 87. 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 12. 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 Grand Prairie = 5.7 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 196,100 individuals with a median age of 32.3 age the population grows by 28.70% in Grand Prairie, Dallas County, Texas population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,680.91 residents per square mile of area (1,035.10/km²). There are average 2.98 people per household in the 54,933 households with an average household income of $51,350 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.70% of the available work force and has dropped -1.22% 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 28.86%. The number of physicians in Grand Prairie per 100,000 population = 225.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Grand Prairie = 39.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 0.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 83. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 234. 96 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 34.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 25, 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 Grand Prairie, Dallas County, Texas which are owned by the occupant = 57.60%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 22 years with median home cost = $136,920 and home appreciation of -5.61%. 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 $17.84 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 $4,277 per student. There are 15.8 students for each teacher in the school, 667 students for each Librarian and 474 students for each Counselor. 5.76% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.07% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.16% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).