With a current population of 120,000, Abilene is located in central Texas in Taylor County. Abilene is ranked by Business Outlook Magazine as seventeenth in the nation for their public education system and has the highest rank in the city of Texas. The Abilene culture is based around an array of local universities and colleges, the surrounding agricultural community and the many evangelical churches it has.

Abilene is home to the newly restored Paramount Theater, The Grace Museum, The Abilene Philharmonic, the Center for Contemporary Arts, the Abilene Zoo, the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Frontier Texas, the 87th Armored Division Museum, Taylor County Museum, Five different public and private libraries, twenty-six public parks and six television stations. The city inspired the 1963 song ‘Abilene’ and also played a big role in Richard Kelly’s 2007 film Southland tales. Also in Abilene is an annual West Texas Fair and Rodeo which lasts for ten days every September. Each month of May also brings The Western Heritage Classic Fair which features campfire cook-offs, ranch rodeos, sheepdog trials, Cowboy Poets Society and a farrier competition.