The fastest-growing city in the United States, and a town that had to hit the brakes.
Curious how Princeton stacks up against nearby options? Let's talk through current inventory, new-build timelines, and off-market opportunities tailored to you.
Per the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2024 estimates, Princeton grew about 30% in the single year ending July 1, 2024, to just over 37,000 residents. That was the fastest growth of any city or town in the country. Then the growth outran the pipes: on Sept. 23, 2024 the city council imposed a temporary moratorium on new residential development because water, wastewater, roads, fire and police could not keep up. That is the whole story of Princeton in two sentences. It sits on US-380 east of McKinney, it is overwhelmingly new construction, prices are softening, and infrastructure (not land) is the binding constraint.
Overwhelmingly new-construction, fast-growing exurb on US-380, with infrastructure catching up behind it
Summers are hot and sunny with highs in the mid-to-upper 90s°F. Winters stay mild - expect 50°F afternoons mixed with the occasional cold snap. North Texas averages 229 sunny days, roughly 41 inches of rain, and minimal snow each year.
Match your wish list - from walkable districts to gated communities - with these buyer favorites. Mali can share recent closings, HOA nuances, and off-market conversations for each pocket.
Understanding Princeton's community composition helps buyers match lifestyle preferences with neighborhood character. The figures below reference recent American Community Survey estimates and city planning reports.
Total Population
Just over 37,000
Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimate (July 1, 2024). Today’s figure is almost certainly higher.
One-Year Growth
≈+30%
In the year ending July 1, 2024, per the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2024 estimates. It was the fastest growth of any city or town in the United States.
Median Household Income
≈$105,200
ACS 2024 5-year estimate, margin of error ±$9,799. In a town adding people this fast, the income profile is a moving target.
Median Age
32.4
ACS 2024 5-year estimate (±1.3 years). A young town, consistent with a first-time-buyer new-construction market.
Homeownership
≈76%
Share of occupied housing units that are owner-occupied, ACS 2024 5-year as published by Data USA.
Princeton High SchoolHigh
Princeton ISD’s high school campus.
Lovelady High SchoolHigh
Listed as a high school campus on Princeton ISD’s own campus directory. Its programmatic role was not verified, so we do not characterize it here. Ask the district.
Banschbach, Clark, Mattei and Southard Middle SchoolsMiddle
Four middle school campuses, a direct reflection of how fast the district is adding capacity. Per-campus grade spans were not published on the district’s directory and are not guessed here.
Carrell, Godwin, Green, Harper, James, Lacy, Lowe, Mayfield and Smith Elementary SchoolsElementary
Nine elementary campuses (Smith is also referred to as Leta Horn Smith Elementary in some sources), plus the Canup and Perkins Early Childhood Centers. Princeton ISD is opening new campuses, so re-verify this list before each school year, and check any specific address against the district’s attendance-zone lookup.
Moving to Princeton means lining up the right vendor team, understanding seasonal weather shifts, and comparing neighborhoods before touring. Mali guides you through scouting trips, remote video tours, and negotiation strategy so your Princeton plan comes together smoothly.
Get a free comparative market analysis to discover what your home is worth in today's Princeton market.
Every North Texas suburb brings unique advantages. Whether you're weighing school ratings, commute times, or neighborhood character, Mali will map your priorities against current market inventory.
Every public campus inside Princeton city limits, with the letter grade and score the Texas Education Agency published for it in 2025. Enrolment and grades come straight from TEA's accountability download and the federal school directory, so nothing here is a third-party score that nobody refreshes.
Attendance boundaries are set by the district, not the city, and they get redrawn as new campuses open. A campus being the closest one is not the same as being the assigned one. Confirm the assignment for the exact address with the district before you write an offer - and if the school is a reason you are buying, ask Mali to put the district's written confirmation in your file.
Collin County · 12 campuses in town
Princeton ISD · Grades PreK
Princeton ISD · Grades PreK-5
Princeton ISD · Grades K-5
Princeton ISD · Grades PreK-5
Princeton ISD · Grades PreK-5
Princeton ISD · Grades PreK-5
Princeton ISD · Grades PreK-5
Princeton ISD · Grades 6-8
Princeton ISD · Grades 6-8
Princeton ISD · Grades 6-8
Princeton ISD · Grades 9-10
Princeton ISD · Grades 9-12
Princeton homes are taxed by 4 separate governments, and the combined 2025 adopted rate is 1.88% per year of appraised value. That is the number before any exemption and before the special districts below - which is why the figure on a listing page and the figure on your first tax bill are so rarely the same.
| Taxing unit | Rate per $100 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Princeton ISD | 1.207200 | 64% |
| City of Princeton | 0.440226 | 23% |
| Collin County | 0.149343 | 8% |
| College district | 0.081220 | 4% |
| Combined | 1.877989 | 100% |
Collin County has no hospital district, which is the main structural reason its cities run below their Dallas County neighbours rather than anything about how Princeton budgets.
Starts at the Princeton median single-family value.
No exemption
$5,450
What an investor or second-home owner pays.
With homestead
$3,691
Effective rate 1.2719% of market value.
You keep
$1,759
Per year, once the exemption is filed and granted.
| Unit | Exemption | Taxed on | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton ISD | $140,000 | $150,200 | $1,813 |
| City | none adopted | $290,200 | $1,278 |
| County | $14,510 | $275,690 | $412 |
| College district | $58,040 | $232,160 | $189 |
Every school district in Texas must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value. Cities, counties and college districts may each adopt up to 20% on top, and several here adopt nothing at all - which is why this has to be worked out one unit at a time rather than netted against the combined rate. Year one is billed at full market value; the 10% appraisal cap starts the January after your exemption is granted.
Collin County has 28 special districts levying their own rate on top of everything above - 23 Municipal Utility Districts, 3 Municipal Management Districts, 1 Water Control & Improvement Districts, 1 Fresh Water Supply Districts. Adopted 2025 rates run from 0.41 to 1.20 per $100. At the top of that range a district adds more than half again the entire Princeton stack, and none of it is reduced by a homestead exemption.
These follow subdivision boundaries, not city limits, so two houses a mile apart in Princeton can differ by a full point. They are most common in newer master-planned communities, because that is what the bonds paid to build.
A Public Improvement District is not a taxing unit. It is an assessment a city levies on the specific parcels that benefited from the roads, water and amenities its bonds paid for - set per parcel, absent from every rate table and every listing-site tax estimate, and not reduced by a homestead exemption because it is not a tax. It typically runs the life of the bonds, often 20 to 40 years, and can frequently be paid off in a lump sum. In a new-build community that is the difference between the budget you built and the payment you owe, and the option period is when you find out.
HOA dues are a private contract with the neighbourhood association. They are not on the tax bill, not collected by the county, not deductible, and not touched by any exemption - and a community can have an HOA and a MUD and a PID at once, which is the combination that catches people out. Ask for the dues, the transfer fee, the reserve study and any special assessment in writing, and read them alongside the tax bill rather than instead of it.
Answers to common questions about living, buying, and relocating to Princeton, Texas.
It was, per the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2024 population estimates: Princeton grew about 30% in the single year ending July 1, 2024, reaching just over 37,000 residents, the fastest growth of any city or town in the United States. If you see a much lower figure (25,229) quoted elsewhere, that is the ACS 2024 5-year estimate, which averages 2020 through 2024 and simply cannot keep pace with growth like this. Both numbers are accurate for what they measure; the 37,000 figure is the current one, and today’s population is almost certainly higher still.
Yes, and the dates matter, so here they are precisely. On Sept. 23, 2024, Princeton’s city council imposed a temporary moratorium on new residential development, because water, wastewater, roads, fire and police could not keep up with the growth. It was then extended repeatedly: a 180-day extension carried it through July 12, 2025, and on June 23, 2025 the council approved a further 160-day extension running to Nov. 30, 2025. Everything in that paragraph is past tense on purpose. We could not confirm the moratorium’s status in 2026, and the city’s own site does not state it, so we will not tell you whether Princeton is or is not pausing development today. Call the City of Princeton and ask about current permitting status before you rely on any new-construction timeline.
HB 2559, signed in June 2025, changed the rules that made Princeton’s long-running moratorium possible. Under the new law, a municipal moratorium of this kind expires automatically after 90 days absent a public hearing and written findings, and a city is barred from re-imposing one within two years of a previous moratorium. In plain terms: the tool Princeton used from September 2024 through November 2025 is far harder to use now. What that means for the pace of new permits in Princeton today is a question for the city. Ask them directly rather than assuming.
Princeton ISD, and it is growing as fast as the city is: reports indicate 8,000+ students, with additional elementary campuses planned. The district’s directory lists Princeton High School and Lovelady High School; four middle schools (Banschbach, Clark, Mattei and Southard); nine elementary campuses (Carrell, Godwin, Green, Harper, James, Lacy, Lowe, Mayfield and Smith, the last also called Leta Horn Smith in some sources); and two early childhood centers, Canup and Perkins. Per-campus grade spans were not published on the district’s page, so we do not guess them. ISD boundaries do not follow city limits, so check any specific address against the district’s attendance-zone lookup, and re-verify before each school year, because new campuses are opening.
Redfin’s median sale price for all home types in Princeton was about $325,000 in May 2026 (trailing three months), down 7.3% year over year, at roughly $156 per square foot. Median days on market was about 76, and 383 homes sold that month, up from 301 a year earlier. April 2026’s median was $319,825, down 8.6% year over year. One caution: Princeton is a heavy new-construction market, and builder incentives distort recorded prices. The direction, softening, is more trustworthy than any single number, and it means buyers here have leverage right now.
The ACS 2024 5-year estimate puts the mean commute for Princeton workers at 32.2 minutes (±2.1), roughly 20% above the DFW metro average of 27.9 minutes. Princeton is a commuter town and the drive is genuinely long. There is no freeway: everything west, toward McKinney, Plano and the Dallas North Tollway, moves on US-380, which is the town’s biggest congestion complaint and is under long-running TxDOT widening and bypass work. There is no rail service. We deliberately do not quote a minutes-to-Dallas number, because no credible source supports one. Drive US-380 westbound yourself at 7:30am on a weekday, and decide after that.
It is a town in the middle of being built. Housing is overwhelmingly new construction, the median age is 32.4, and about 76% of households own rather than rent. Amenities are thin: J.M. Caldwell Sr. Community Park is the main city park (the city has broken ground on enhancements), and Lavon Lake is just south of town, though Princeton is not on the water. There is no historic district and no signature annual festival to point you to. Retail and dining largely mean a drive west on US-380 into McKinney. Buy in Princeton for price and for the house, not for a finished town.
Buyers who need a short commute, walkable amenities today, or certainty about what gets built next door. There is no freeway, no rail, and a public record of the city having to halt residential development because infrastructure could not keep up. If you need to be in Dallas daily, or you want a town that is already finished, Mali will point you somewhere else in the county rather than sell you a house you will regret. If you can live with the drive, Princeton’s price and its softening market are a real opportunity.
Have more questions about Princeton? Contact Mali at yourealtordfw@gmail.com or call (972) 408-6939.