Denton County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 906,422, making it the seventh-most populous county in Texas.^[1] The county seat is Denton.^[2] The county, which was named for John B. Denton, was established in 1846. Denton County constitutes part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. In 2007, it was one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.^[3]

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Denton County
County
The Denton County Courts Building, built 1998
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°12′N 97°07′W
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	950/sq mi (370/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	4th, 13th, 26th, 32nd
Website	dentoncounty.gov

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Before the arrival of settlers, various Native American peoples, including the Kichai and the Lenape, infrequently populated the area.^[4] The area was settled by Peters Colony landowners in the early 1840s.^[5] Until the annexation of Texas, the area was considered part of Fannin County.^[6] On April 11, 1846, the First Texas Legislature established Denton County.^[7] The county was named for John B. Denton, who was killed while raiding a Native American village in Tarrant County in 1841.^[8] Originally, the county seat was set at Pinckneyville. This was later changed to Alton, where the Old Alton Bridge currently stands, and then moved finally to Denton.

By 1860, the population of the county had increased to 5,031.^[9] On March 4, 1861, residents of the county narrowly voted for secession from the Union, with 331 votes cast for and 264 against.^[10] The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad reached Lewisville, located in the southern portion of the county, by the early 1880s.^[5] The Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square was built in 1896, and currently houses various government offices, as well as a museum.^[11]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 953 square miles (2,470 km²), of which 878 square miles (2,270 km²) are land and 75 square miles (190 km²) (7.8%) are covered by water.^[13] Denton County is located in the northern part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, about 35 miles south of the border between Texas and Oklahoma.^[14] It is drained by two forks of the Trinity River.^[15] The largest body of water in Denton County is Lewisville Lake, which was formed in 1954 when the Garza–Little Elm Reservoir was merged with Lake Dallas. The county is on the western edge of the eastern Cross Timbers and also encompasses parts of the Grand Prairie portion of the Texas blackland prairies. Portions of Denton County sit atop the Barnett Shale, a geological formation believed to contain large quantities of natural shale gas. Between 1995 and 2007, the number of natural gas wells in the county increased from 156 to 1,820, which has led to some controversy over the pollution associated with hydraulic fracturing.^[16]

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 can be of any race.

According to the 2010 United States census,^[20] there were 662,614 people, 224,840 households and 256,139 housing units in the county. The population density was 754.3 people per square mile (291.2 people/km²). By the 2020 census, its population increased to 906,422,^[19] representing continued population growth among suburban communities outside of the principal metropolitan cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. Denton County ranked 29th on the U.S. Census Bureau's list of fastest-growing counties between 2000 and 2007, with a 41.4% increase in population.^[3]

In 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 75% White, 8.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 6.6% Asian, and 3.0% from two or more races. About 18.2% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[21] The 2020 census determined the racial and ethnic makeup was 53.58% non-Hispanic white, 10.52% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 10.23% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.43% some other race, 4.60% multiracial, and 20.16% Hispanic or Latino American of any race,^[19] reflecting state and national demographic trends of greater diversification.^[22][23]

A Williams Institute analysis of 2010 census data found about 5.2 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.^[24]

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) operates fixed-route bus services,^[40] on-demand GoZone service,^[41] and ACCESS paratransit service^[42] in the county that includes Denton, Lewisville, and Highland Village. SPAN Transit covers areas outside of Denton and Lewisville.

DCTA also operates the A-train, a commuter rail service that runs from Denton to Carrollton, at which station passengers can switch to the Green Line train owned and operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Passengers can transfer to other DART lines (denominated by different colors) at the downtown Dallas DART station.

The county is home to the Denton Municipal Airport and the Northwest Regional Airport in Roanoke. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located a few miles south of the county.

• Dick Armey, former U.S. House Majority Leader and a chief architect of the Contract with America.^[43]
• Joan Blondell, film and television actress, attended UNT (then North Texas State Teacher's College) in 1926–1927.
• Pat Boone, American pop singer, briefly attended UNT.
• Bowling for Soup, American rock band, based in Denton since 1996 and mentioned the county in their song Ohio (Come Back to Texas)
• Terry Bradshaw, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback
• Mason Cox, professional Australian rules footballer, playing for Collingwood in the AFL
• Phyllis George, 1971 Miss America, sportscaster and former First Lady of Kentucky
• Joe Greene, defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, 1969–1981; 1969 defensive rookie of the year; 1972 and 1974 defensive player of the year; NFL 1970s all-decade team; Hall of Fame
• Jim Hightower, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner
• Norah Jones, UNT jazz major
• Henry Lee Lucas, serial killer, known as the "Confession Killer," committed a 1982 murder in Denton that ultimately led to his arrest^[44]
• Meat Loaf, American singer and actor, attended UNT^[45]
• Gordon McLendon, radio broadcaster and pioneer, B-movie producer, and conservative political financier
• Laina Morris - the Overly Attached Girlfriend
• Bill Moyers, White House press secretary in the Johnson Administration (1965–67), attended UNT
• Anne Rice, author, attended TWU and UNT, married in Denton
• Ann Sheridan, the "Oomph Girl," popular actress and singer, born and raised in Denton
• Sly Stone, the musician and frontman of Sly and the Family Stone
• Rex Tillerson, former CEO of ExxonMobil and 69th United States Secretary of State, resident of Bartonville
• Von Erich family, multigenerational professional wrestling family, known for a series of premature deaths sometimes referred to as the Von Erich curse
• Tex Watson, central member of the "Manson family" and leader of the Tate-LaBianca murders in August 1969.

• Denton County Sheriff's Office (Texas)
• Denton County Times
• List of museums in North Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Denton County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Denton County