The fastest-growing city in the U.S. is in Texas, and it’s not the one you’re thinking of

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PRINCETON — At the start of the decade, fewer than 18,000 people called Princeton, a mostly rural town about an hour northeast of Dallas, home.

But as hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the Dallas-Fort Worth region in the years since, Princeton’s population more than doubled. Just over 37,000 people lived in Princeton as of July 1, 2024, estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show.

Last year, it grew by 30 percent alone, making it the fastest-growing city or town in the country.

Though Texas’ population growth has slowed, many parts of the state are still booming, and setting the pace for the rest of the U.S.

Of the 15 fastest growing cities and towns in the country, seven are in Texas — Princeton, Fulshear, Celina, Anna, Fate, Melissa and Hutto.

The state’s growth is not concentrated in historically smaller, rural towns. Several of Texas’ most populated cities are getting bigger too.

Houston, the state’s most populous city, added 43,217 residents — bringing the total population to nearly 2.4 million. New York City is the only city in the country that saw a bigger population increase than Houston. San Antonio, Texas’ second-largest city at 1.5 million, added nearly 24,000 residents.

Georgetown and San Angelo were among seven cities that now have more than 100,000 residents.

In a further sign of Dallas-Fort Worth’s transformation into a mega region, Fort Worth’s population surpassed 1 million people in 2024, making the region the only urban area in the country with two cities with more than 1 million residents. Dallas saw only a slight uptick, with 1.3 million people calling it home. That means just 318,000 people separate the two.

Five of the country’s fastest-growing cities and towns, including Princeton, are in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

To Princeton Mayor Eugene Escobar, the reason why so many people moved there is simple: It’s cheaper to buy a home there than in neighboring cities and suburbs.

The typical home in Princeton is valued at around $325,000, according to Zillow — compared with more than $500,000 in nearby McKinney or $685,000 in Frisco. Escobar purchased his home in 2017 for $240,000.

“It's affordability,” Escobar said. “That’s really the driving factor.”

With growth comes change. When Escobar moved here in 2013, there were two stoplights, he said. He could drive to neighboring McKinney in five minutes. Farmland abutted his backyard. Now, it takes about 20 minutes to get to McKinney. And homes sit behind Escobar’s house.

“Nobody expected this to be Princeton,” Escobar said.

The number of rooftops has grown. Princeton added twice as many homes between 2020 and 2023 as it did in the entire previous decade, Census data show. Sprawling single-family subdivisions, apartment buildings and townhomes have sprouted. Signs off of U.S. 380, the main road through town, advertise newly built homes starting at $200,000. Some 10,000 homes are in the pipeline, Escobar said.

For Princeton officials, homes have gone up too quickly for the city’s infrastructure to keep up. Last year, the City Council issued a pause on new residential construction to avoid putting further strain on water and sewage infrastructure as well as fire and police protection. Escobar said the council will likely revisit the moratorium over the summer and doesn’t expect the moratorium to last much longer.

City officials are planning for Princeton’s future growth while trying to maintain its small-town vibes. Now, it’s a bedroom community with many residents commuting to McKinney and Frisco to work and shop. Major retailers like Walmart as well as chain restaurants have opened locations in Princeton, but the city could use more shopping and eating options, officials said. Princeton leaders have also focused on improving public amenities, including a $109 million bond program to beef up the city’s parks. While other cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth region get increasingly built out, Princeton officials still see the city as a blank slate.

“We have the ability to dictate what future generations are going to enjoy in Princeton and frame that identity today,” City Manager Michael Mashburn said.

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