A rivalry between the two towns ensued as the area began to grow around the Santa Fe Railroad depot.

The Craddock food company and later the Byer-Rolnick hat factory (now owned by Resistol) moved into the area.

Later that year, Firewheel Town Center, a Main Street-style outdoor mall, owned by Simon Property Group, opened in October 2005.

The southeast side of Garland suffered a major blow on the night of December 26, 2015, after a large EF4 tornado struck the area, moving north from Sunnyvale.

[12] Exactly 6 years later, a mass shooting took place at a convenience store in Garland, resulting in the deaths of 3 people.

[13][14] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 57.1 sq mi (147.9 km2), all land.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007–2011 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the city was $52,441, and for a family was $57,293.

The majority of Garland's local population are affiliated with a religion,[29] being part of the largest Christian-dominated metropolitan area in the United States.

[30] As of 2020, the Catholic Church is the largest single Christian denomination in the city and wider Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area.

Following, Baptists were the second-largest Christian denomination, and the largest Protestant group in the city limits.

Other prominent Christian denominations were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Pentecostalism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, and Episcopalianism.

In 1997, the Taiwanese UFO religion Chen Tao moved many of its members to Garland, where they believed the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would occur.

After the war, Kraft Foods bought the Continental Motors Plant to retool for its manufacture.

Some accounts contend the name was given because the headbands in the company's hats were more resistant to scalp oil.

In 1938, it moved to a larger facility in Garland, where Resistol hats continue to be manufactured today.

Today, Garland had a variety of industries, including electronics, steel fabrication, oilfield equipment, aluminum die casting, hat manufacture, dairy products, and food processors.

A hospital formerly owned by Baylor Scott & White Health has become a new VA Medical Center[38] and the City of Garland has announced an ambitious streetscapes masterplan for the surrounding medical district with the goal of attracting a new community hospital provider.

[39] The Plaza Theatre was refurbished and is utilized for business conferences, concerts, receptions, and stage productions.

[40] The Atrium at the Granville Arts Center is a 6,500-square-foot (600 m2) ballroom encased in glass on two sides and opening onto an elegant outdoor courtyard.

The Atrium provides civic, community and commercial organizations the opportunity to house banquets, receptions, trade shows, and conventions.

[43][44] Other historic areas of the city include the Garland Landmark Museum, housed in the former 1901 Santa Fe depot.

Travis College Hill Historic District, a residential neighborhood in downtown Garland, was the first site in Garland history to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior through its National Park Service.

Two months later, the downtown square and surrounding buildings became the second site in Garland added to the listing.

[49][50] The city of Garland is a voluntary member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments association, the purpose of which is to coordinate individual and collective local governments and facilitate regional solutions, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and enable joint decisions.

[52] The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Dallas II District Parole Offices in Garland.

[65] Located at 2559 S. Jupiter Road, the heliport is operated by SKY Helicopters Inc.,[66] which was initially awarded a lease of the facility in January 1993.

Garland is an original member city of the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD).

This provides a natural habitat for a wide variety of birds and reduces the sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents of the water to a drinkable level.

GP&L was founded in 1923 to provide Garland residents not-for-profit public utility services, locally controlled by its citizens.

GP&L provides services to over 69,000 customers, making it the fourth-largest municipal utility in Texas and the 41st-largest in the nation.