Overview
Grapevine is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. As of the
2000 census the city population was 42,059, though the latest U.S. Census
Bureau projection puts the city's population over 47,000. The city is named
for wild mustang grapes prevalent in the area (the high school football team
is named the Mustangs). In recent years several wineries have opened in
Grapevine, and the city has been very active in maintaining its historic
downtown area. Part of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which serves
the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, is located inside the city limits of
Grapevine. On April 1, 1934 Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and Henry Methvin
killed two young highway patrolmen near the town.
The first recorded white settlement in what would become the city of
Grapevine occurred in the late 1840s and early 1850s. Growth during the 19th
century was slow but steady; by 1890 the town had about 800 residents, along
with such amenities as a newspaper, a public school, several cotton gins, a
post office and a railroad. Growth continued early in the 20th century, and
on January 12, 1914 the post office changed the town name to the one-word
title Grapevine, after the area had been known by several other names.
Population actually fell during the period between the World Wars as the
economy stagnated, though the city was officially incorporated by 1936.
Population growth and economic development resumed to some extent in the
decades immediately after World War II. But it was the opening of
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 that spurred enormous
development in the city and nearby towns. Census figures show the
unmistakable and typical pattern for cities north of the airport: 2,821 in
1960, 7,023 in 1970, 11,801 in 1980, 29,202 in 1990, and 42,059 in 2000.
There were 15,712 households out of which 42.1% had children under the age
of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 9.4% had
a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families.
22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone
living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.2% under the age of 18,
7.5% from 18 to 24, 36.6% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.8% who
were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100
females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
were 99.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $71,680, and the median
income for a family was $84,940. Males had a median income of $53,786 versus
$38,844 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,549. About
3.1% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Most of Grapevine is served by the Grapevine-Grapevine Independent
School District. Other parts are served by Carroll, Coppell,
Hurst-Euless-Bedford, and Northwest ISDs.
Grapevine High School has been named both a National Blue Ribbon School and
a New American High School. It was ranked by Newsweek as the 100th-best high
school in the nation in 2005.