Residents are served by the Denton County Transportation Authority, which provides commuter rail and bus service to the area.

[15] Fires occurred in ten Texas communities that day, including Dallas and Pilot Point, and were quickly attributed to a slave insurrection.

"[15] In February 1861, a statewide referendum was held and Texans voted to join the Confederate States of America.

The arrival of the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1881 gave Denton its first rail connection and brought an influx of people to the area.

[19] One Freedman Settlement, Quakertown, thrived just south of what is now Texas Woman's University until around 1920, when the city government forcibly removed the residents to make way for a park.

[17] In May 2006, Houston-based real estate company United Equities purchased the 100-block of Fry Street and announced that several of the historic buildings would be demolished and the businesses displaced to accommodate a new mixed-use commercial center.

[13] Part of the city is atop the Barnett Shale, a geological formation believed to contain large quantities of natural gas.

[51] [55] Along with much of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Denton has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 21st century, becoming the seventh-fastest growing city in the U.S. with a population over 100,000 between 2010 and 2011.

In addition to a rodeo, the event features several local country rock performances, pageants, and food contests.

Hosted by the North Texas State Fairgrounds since 1948, the fair brings in over 150,000 people during its nine-day run.

[73] The city's live music venues are largely supported by Denton's college-town atmosphere, although show attendance is bolstered by area residents.

[76] In 2007 and 2008, Denton's music scene received feature attention from The Guardian, Pop Matters, and The New York Times.

[79] The city-sponsored Denton Arts and Jazz Festival attracts over 200,000 people each year for live music, food, crafts, and recreation at Civic Center Park.

It is Texas's longest-running documentary film festival and attracts thousands of tourists over a few days each year.

[83] The Denton Square, bordered by Oak, Hickory, Locust, and Elm Streets, is a cultural and political hub of the city.

At its center is the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square, which includes local government offices and a museum showcasing area history and culture.

[84] Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the former county courthouse was restored for the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986.

[85] The positive response to the renovation sparked a downtown revitalization program that generated new jobs and reinvestment capital.

[99] Denton Independent School District (DISD) provides the public primary and secondary educational system in the majority of the city.

[101] Small portions of the city extend into the Argyle, Krum, Ponder, and Sanger school districts.

Denton is also host to several private schools with religious affiliations and alternative education models.

[12] The high school residential program Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, for gifted students, is in Denton.

[107] Its College of Music, the first school to offer a degree in the field of jazz studies, is internationally recognized and known for producing successful artists.

Starting in the 2019–2020 school year, North Central Texas College partnered with First State Bank to open a branch campus in downtown Denton.

Located in the former Denton Record-Chronicle building, the campus focuses on accounting, business, biology, early childhood education, kinesiology, psychology, and general studies.

First aired in 1969, the station primarily plays a mixture of jazz and blues and covers local sports and news.

[117] In response to the previously mentioned, 2014 city referendum prohibiting hydraulic fracturing (fracking) that passed with 59% of the vote,[98] Texas enacted a law specifying "the exclusive jurisdiction of this state to regulate oil and gas operations in this state and the express preemption of local regulation of those operations",[118] though it allows some "commercially reasonable" rules.

[119] Denton's city council put out a statement affirming it will "continue to enforce our current regulations to protect the health and safety of our residents, but we do not know how the operators or courts will react".

The two transit companies, along with the Trinity Rail Express (TRE) of Fort Worth, offer regional passes to be used on any of the three systems.

All Connect services (not the A-train) are free of charge for students at the University of North Texas who swipe their ID at the bus entrance.