There was only one grocery store, longhorn cattle down the road, and no nighttime lights when Suzanne D. Amico relocated from Dallas an hour north to Celina, Texas. Teenagers flocked to the neighborhood pizzeria following Friday night football games, farmers in overalls congregated for morning coffee, and on Sunday, neighbors joined in prayer at church.
D Amico, who has lived in Celina for almost 30 years and raised her kids there, remarked, “It felt like we were on another planet.” Not only were we outside the city, but we had entirely left behind everything that we at the time thought was even vaguely civilized.
However, D Amico’s little piece of small-town America is rapidly disappearing. Similar to rural areas nationwide, Celina is experiencing a housing boom, making it the fastest-growing city in the United States in 2023. Today, golf carts speed through planned towns where tractors previously plowed, local shops are being replaced by big box chains, and fields have been replaced by densely populated residences.
Although the suburbanization trend is not new, it has been accelerated in recent years by rising home prices, which have driven homebuyers nationwide to move farther from urban centers to places like Celina where land is more affordable and available and local barriers for developers are typically lower.
For the first time in at least ten years, the population in rural areas has been increasing since the epidemic began, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture research. According to Census data, the proportion of cities more than 30 miles from a major center rose by 26% between 2019 and 2023, making it one of the 500 fastest-growing cities in the nation.
Celina is at the vanguard of that movement. The town’s population grew by 27% in 2023, and according to Census data, it has grown from about 7,000 people to over 43,000 last year. The city anticipates having more than 100,000 residents by 2029, with more than 200 newcomers each week.
Affordability is a major consideration for families who are relocating right now, according to Ryan Tubbs, the mayor of Celina, who also noted that the town has been drawing residents from more costly states like California and more affluent areas of Dallas. You can purchase a much larger quantity of home.
The development boom has given residents of Celina, which is roughly 40 miles north of Dallas, a haven from skyrocketing housing costs, enabling newcomers to live the suburban lifestyle they desire at a lower cost than they might elsewhere. However, the influx has resulted in increased expenses, a danger to their livelihoods, and a loss of feeling of community for some lifelong inhabitants.
Builders have been forced to go further north into Collin County, which contains Celina and other rapidly expanding municipalities like Princeton, Prosper, and Anna, due to a lack of available undeveloped property in the Dallas area. According to Bryan Swindell, head of PulteGroup’s Dallas Division, homebuilders there are selling 2,000-square-foot homes for $400,000 to $500,000, whereas comparable properties in suburbs closer to downtown Dallas would cost $700,000 to $1 million.
The cost of living in Southern Collin County is simply skyrocketing. According to Swindell, builders have begun working north since areas like Frisco and McKinney just don’t have any more vast tracts of property. Ten developers and builders bid on a piece of property when it goes up for sale.
With over 1,000 densely populated residences, the majority of the new developments being constructed are master-planned communities, which allows builders to create more affordably. Pools, parks, bike paths, playgrounds, and occasionally even their own school are among the many communities’ independent features.
The migration is being followed by chain stores and big box retailers. The town received its second Starbucks last year, and it will soon receive its first Walmart and Costco.
The neighboring town of Princeton, Texas, the third-fastest-growing city in the nation, suspended all new residential construction in September to allow the city to increase its water and road infrastructure and assemble the required police force, while Celina has been scrambling to keep up with the rate of growth.
‘It’s happening’
LaCinda Russell has lost money as a result of her growth. Although her family has lived close to Celina for three generations, she doesn’t think she will ever be able to purchase a property there because of the more than 50% spike in home prices in the area over the last five years. She and her best friend have been residing in the home that her friend’s family constructed over twenty years ago; it feels like a haven of comfort in a sea of change.
A big crane is drilling a well outside her window on property that she anticipates being developed into a subdivision after the elderly woman who has owned it for decades dies. Along with a well-liked burger place and snow cone stand off the town center, the town recently lost the pizzeria where her classmates used to congregate after football games.
I’ve witnessed companies come and go. Russell remarked, “I’ve seen people come and go.” When you can’t afford to keep up that lifestyle, sentimentality dies, and that’s what we’re witnessing here. Around here, people who have owned land for hundreds of years are being forced to give it up.
With some of the best soil in the nation for farming and cattle grazing, this increase has also put people who depend on the land in danger. According to USDA data, between 2012 and 2022, Collin County lost 115,000 acres of farmland, and the number of farms with more than 500 acres was almost halved over that period. During that time, 35 million acres of agriculture were lost nationwide.
“Dallas is where it’s at, and we’re building houses and developments on top of it because North Texas has some of the most fertile soil in the country,” said Kelcey Kasper, a sixth-generation rancher whose family has lived in Collin County since the 1860s. There won’t be any more land for agricultural production in the long run if we continue to grow like we are. Our meals will have to be provided by someone else. That seems like a very ominous future.
About 30 miles east of Celina, Kasper now farms cattle and crops hay, but he worries that the development there will soon affect his village and endanger his ability to carry on the family heritage. Over the past ten years, developers and investors have been purchasing properties in the area, forcing the majority of farmers and ranchers to lease their land.
I plan to stay here as long as I can, but because property values are rising, I might not always be able to farm and raise livestock here, Kasper said. The land is disappearing, so it’s difficult to continue earning a living out here.
However, for newcomers like Jasmine Hughes, that loss is a gain. She is one of the many people who moved to the area in search of a more economical way of life for herself and her six kids. Her rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Dallas was $1,900 a month, and she had trouble finding anything more spacious within her budget. She now pays $2,500 a month to rent a three-bedroom home in a large community with better schools and more outside space.
Hughes, who relocated to the neighborhood last year, stated, “I just needed something that was more affordable.” We relocated out here for that reason. It’s more practical to move into a home with three or four bedrooms so that my children and I can all live comfortably and sleep.
The major road outside her subdivision now contains a Starbucks, a McDonald’s, a car wash, and a dentist office, all within the last year. She sees that growth as a chance to further her career; she has begun teaching fitness classes and operates a daycare that she hopes to grow.
Hughes expressed his excitement, saying, “I just see so much opportunity for me and my family.” Although I can understand why some of the residents don’t want Celina to change all that much, it is happening.
Growth has not slowed down, according to local officials, despite a number of practical difficulties. Over the next five years, the city plans to invest $757 million in initiatives, such as an emergency dispatch center, new parks, and water infrastructure. The school district plans to add one to two new elementary schools each year for the foreseeable future.
Keeping Celina relatively affordable has also been a challenge for local officials with the typical home now selling for around $550,000. As land prices go up in Celina, developers like Plute s Swindell are looking even further north to be able to build homes in the $300,000 price range.
‘A mixed blessing’
Luke Thigpen moved to Celina in 2019to start a church and has been renting while trying to save up to buy a home for around $400,000. But it has been a challenge as home prices have continued to rise year after year.
He sees the growth as an opportunity, especially when it comes to expanding his congregation, but he worries about the tensions a wave of newcomers could create in a community known for having a strong tradition of Christian values.
People see diversity coming in and they automatically put their guard up. They want to protect what they find are good values in life and that s understandable, Thigpen said. You have other cultures that are moving in and it s just simply an understanding that some people see the world differently, some people celebrate life differently and you have to make room for that.
For D Amico, after nearly three decades in Celina, she s seen both pros and cons from the growth. Her husband s construction business has thrived and the value of the land they ve purchased over the years has soared.
We ve seen full fields of five-foot tall sunflowers, full fields of winter wheat, head-high corn and it s hard to see it gone now, she said. My husband is a builder so it s kind of a mixed blessing for us, but I do hate to see the fields go away.
A 2,500-acre ranch down the road from her home was recently sold to a developer who plans to put thousands of housing units on it. Soon, a thoroughfare will be cutting through the open land 500 yards from her back fence.
I know it s going to kill my silence, the quietness around my house, she said. I ve had 27 years of it, so I can t really complain, but it has become very precious to me now.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!