Grand Prairie is a city located in Dallas County Texas. With a 2020 population of 200,240, it is the 17th largest city in Texas and the 132nd largest city in the United States. Grand Prairie is currently growing at a rate of 1.04% annually and its population has increased by 2.11% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 196,100 in 2020. Spanning over 81 miles, Grand Prairie has a population density of 2,771 people per square mile.
The average household income in Grand Prairie is $81,239 with a poverty rate of 11.49%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $1,142 per month, and the median house value is $174,300. The median age in Grand Prairie is 33.4 years, 32.8 years for males, and 34.1 years for females.
Grand Prairie is located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis Counties in Texas as part of the Mid-Cities area of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW or Metroplex). DFW is the 7th largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 6.8 million spread over 13 counties.
Population Growth
The North Texas population is experiencing a strong population boom and has reached about 7 million. The 16-county area added about 97,000 between 2014 and 2015 alone and this trend has continued for the last decade. The population growth in Grand Prairie is expected to continue as the growth has been fueled by a strong economy and quality of life. Grand Prairie was recently ranked as the 7th happiest city in the United States.
Grand Prairie was originally settled by settlers who came for the Republic of Texas land grants offered by investors in the mid-19th century. The city was established first as Dechman by Alexander Dechman in 1863. The post office opened in 1877 under the name Deckman instead of Dechman as postal workers had difficulty reading the form. There was also confusion about a T&P Railroad designation “Grand Prairie” as the name was based on maps from the 1850s labeling the area between Fort Worth and Dallas as “the grand prairie of Texas.” To clear up the confusion, the post office was then named “Grand Prairie.”
By 1909, Grand Prairie was incorporated as a city with a population of 994. Since World War I, Grand Prairie has had a history involving aviation and defense. Grand Prairie experienced the greatest increase in population between 1940 and 1970. The population grew from just 1,600 in 1940 to 14,500 in 1950 and 30,300 in 1960. The city council of Grand Prairie tried to annex undeveloped, unincorporated land in 1953 that was strongly opposed by Irving and Arlington; the measure eventually failed and Grand Prairie’s boundaries remained unchanged.
