The fastest population growth in North Texas is happening in a ring of smaller cities north of the established suburbs, along U.S. 75, U.S. 380 and the Dallas North Tollway corridor, according to the latest Census Bureau estimates for cities and towns.
Four of the five fastest-growing U.S. cities with at least 20,000 residents are Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, the Census Bureau said when it released the estimates. Celina ranked first in the nation, growing 24.6% in a year to 64,427 residents as of July 1, 2025. Princeton ranked third at 18.1%, Melissa fourth at 14.5% and Anna fifth at 10.2%.
The only city in the top five outside North Texas was Fulshear, near Houston.
The estimates, released in May, cover July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, and are the most recent official figures. The next set is due in spring 2027.
Where the people went
Together, the 21 North Texas cities and towns this newsroom covers had about 3.96 million residents in July 2025, up 64,204 in a year and about 417,700 since the 2020 census.
Fort Worth added 19,512 people, the second-largest numeric gain of any U.S. city, and passed 1.02 million residents. Celina's 12,710 new residents were the fourth-largest gain in the country, and McKinney's 8,504 ranked 10th.
Closer in, the larger established suburbs are close to flat. Plano's estimate dipped by 367 people to 293,028, Allen's by 289 to 113,447, and Dallas's by 1,808 to 1,329,491. Richardson and The Colony each grew 0.5%. Frisco grew 0.8%, adding 1,796 people to reach 236,955, after adding more than 36,000 since 2020.
The five-year view
Measured from the April 2020 census, the change in the outer ring is larger still. Celina's population nearly quadrupled, from 17,099 to 64,427. Princeton grew 156%, Melissa 116% and Anna 106%, so each more than doubled in five years. Van Alstyne grew 82% and Aubrey 85%. Prosper added more than 15,000 residents, a 51% increase.
In Grayson County, Sherman grew 4.1% in the year and has added 8,724 people since 2020. Denton passed 169,000.
Every city we cover
Ranked by growth from July 2024 to July 2025, with the change since the 2020 census:
- Celina: 64,427 (+12,710, +24.6% in a year; +276.8% since 2020)
- Princeton: 43,524 (+6,668, +18.1% in a year; +156.1% since 2020)
- Melissa: 29,969 (+3,791, +14.5% in a year; +115.6% since 2020)
- Van Alstyne: 8,012 (+795, +11.0% in a year; +82.2% since 2020)
- Anna: 35,245 (+3,249, +10.2% in a year; +105.7% since 2020)
- Sherman: 52,417 (+2,068, +4.1% in a year; +20.0% since 2020)
- McKinney: 236,001 (+8,504, +3.7% in a year; +20.8% since 2020)
- Little Elm: 62,727 (+1,902, +3.1% in a year; +36.2% since 2020)
- Aubrey: 9,066 (+254, +2.9% in a year; +84.5% since 2020)
- Gunter: 2,574 (+64, +2.5% in a year; +25.1% since 2020)
- Prosper: 45,605 (+1,094, +2.5% in a year; +51.2% since 2020)
- Denton: 169,431 (+3,196, +1.9% in a year; +21.1% since 2020)
- Fort Worth: 1,028,117 (+19,512, +1.9% in a year; +11.9% since 2020)
- Denison: 26,822 (+247, +0.9% in a year; +9.6% since 2020)
- Frisco: 236,955 (+1,796, +0.8% in a year; +18.2% since 2020)
- Howe: 3,686 (+26, +0.7% in a year; +2.1% since 2020)
- Richardson: 118,542 (+570, +0.5% in a year; -0.8% since 2020)
- The Colony: 46,196 (+222, +0.5% in a year; +3.7% since 2020)
- Dallas: 1,329,491 (-1,808, -0.1% in a year; +1.9% since 2020)
- Plano: 293,028 (-367, -0.1% in a year; +2.6% since 2020)
- Allen: 113,447 (-289, -0.3% in a year; +8.4% since 2020)
Reading the numbers
These are estimates, not counts. The Census Bureau builds them from births, deaths, migration and housing data, and it revises earlier years each time it releases a new set, so last year's figures may differ from what was published a year ago. The estimates follow each city's legal boundaries, so land a city annexes counts toward its growth.
Cities' own planning departments often publish different, and usually more recent, numbers based on new utility hookups or certificates of occupancy.
Sources
U.S. Census Bureau, "Vintage 2025 City and Town Population Estimates" release, May 14, 2026: census.gov U.S. Census Bureau, Texas city and town population estimates, 2020-2025 (sub-est2025_48): www2.census.gov
