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Richardson as of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 91,803, while according to a 2007 estimate, the population had grown to 101,400. Richardson is a part of Dallas' Silicon Prairie, and is home to the Telecom Corridor, which is a very large technology business center that includes offices for 5,700 companies, including 600 technology companies, such as Nortel, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Tellabs, Texas Instruments, and AT&T. It is also the corporate headquarters of Fossil, Inc. In 2006, Richardson was selected as the 15th best place to live in the United States by Money magazine.[3] In 2007 the Morgan Quitno 14th Annual America's Safest and Most Dangerous Cities Awards were announced, and Richardson was named the 69th safest city in America. In the same study Richardson ranked the 5th safest city in Texas. Richardson attracts families because of the reputation of its school system being one of the best in the state. The Richardson Independent School District was selected by D magazine as one of the "Top 10 Public High Schools", as J.J. Pearce High took the number 2 spot, and Berkner came in at number 8. An individualized education program is maintained in all grades. The district's educational philosophy stresses a student-centered approach to learning through the use of a widely diversified curriculum. There are a number of excellent private schools and Richardson is the home of the University of Texas at Dallas. |