Dawn cobb

The city of Denton recently unveiled the new Statistical Trends and News of Denton (STAND) report, which offers monthly updates on demographics, labor markets as well as residential and commercial growth, among other information.

The report is a compilation of facts and statistics from several departments including building inspections, economic development, finance, fire, planning, police, utility and others. The information can be found at http://tinyurl.com/STANDreport. A little preview will be offered here each month as well as in the monthly Denton Business Chronicle .

In the demographics category, statistics from the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development, the U.S. Census Bureau and other entities are used. Population in the city for 2007 is estimated at 115,506, reflecting a 43.4 percent increase from 2000 to 2007. The city’s median age for residents is 27.9 and the median family income is $56,105. Median values reflect the exact midpoint of a statistic, meaning half is less and half is more. In Denton County, the median age for residents is 32.2 and the median family income is $81,272.

In the labor market, the top five private employers are now:

Peterbilt Motors —1,500 employees

Denton Regional Medical Center —800 employees

Presbyterian Hospital —750 employees

Jostens —600 employees

Sally Beauty Supply —600 employees

The top employers in the city are, of course, the two universities, the Denton school district, the county government and Denton State School;

University of North Texas —7,764 employees

Denton Independent School District —3,113 employees

Texas Woman’s University —1,586 employees

Denton County —1,523 employees

Denton State School —1,500 employees

The numbers of new houses in Denton continue to increase, though at a slightly slower pace than last year, to date. As of June, a total of 326 new single-family dwelling permits had been issued, down from the 403 issued during the same period last year. According to census bureau figures, Denton has approximately 15,396 occupied rental units with a median rent of $707. In Denton County, a total of 63,125 rental locations are occupied with a median rent of $822.

Commercially speaking, Denton is faring significantly stronger this year to date. As of June, a total of 18 new commercial permits had been issued, up from the 10 issued as of the same period last year.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Crews work on the foundation for The Children’s Courtyard off Interstate 35E in Corinth. The facility will cover 14,838 square feet on 3.7 acres, according to Corinth city officials. Construction work began in May.

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New features include an average response time for police and fire, calculated each month.

For police, the average response time is 10.47 minutes. In June, police handled 6,322 calls for service.

For Denton’s fire department, the average response time is 5.4 minutes with a total calls for service at 818 for June. Daily calculations for police and fire for Denton and area cities are reported by staff writer Donna Fielder.

The STAND report also includes unemployment, sales tax and foreclosure rates, and other statistics regularly featured in this column.

Look for a monthly recap on the report here each month.

DAWN COBB can be reached at 940-566-6879. Her e-mail address is dcobb@dentonrc.com.