The Colony is home to the 5 Star Athletic Complex, which was completed in 2003. The Colony was named the Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Sports Town of Texas in that same year. The city is home to Pizza Inn's corporate headquarters, as well as an Edward Don distribution center and a variety of small and medium-sized businesses. As of March 2009, The Colony is home to 20 fast food businesses, 15 liquor stores, over a half-dozen nail salons, 5 discount or resale shops, and a Wal-Mart supercenter. Unfortunately, one major commercial project has stalled due to the developer filing for bankruptcy, while several other building projects (residential and commercial) have been put on hold indefinitely.
Located on the southeast side of the city, across from 121 Toll Road, is Austin Ranch, a mixed-use development consisting of retail businesses, apartments and condominiums.
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,531 people, 8,462 households, and 7,141 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,942.1 people per square mile (749.9/km²). There were 8,812 housing units at an average density of 645.0/sq mi (249.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.46% White, 5.18% African American, 0.71% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.30% from other races, and 2.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.26% of the population.
There were 8,462 households out of which 53.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.6% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 38.0% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 2.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 males there were 98.8 females. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 females.
The median income for a household in the city was $64,080, and the median income for a family was $66,203. Males had a median income of $44,208 versus $30,530 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,903. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.