The 5 Fastest-Growing Cities in the Nation Are in Texas—as NYC Continues To Shrink

Midsize cities on the fringes of major metros experienced a population boom last year, with Texas emerging as home to the five fastest-growing enclaves in the nation, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For the second time in recent years, Celina, TX, located 40 miles north of Dallas, topped the census rankings of population growth for cities with at least 20,000 residents. Meanwhile, the nation's largest cities, including New York, saw population declines.

From July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, Celina's population climbed 24.6%, reaching 64,427. For context, during the same period, the national population growth rate registered just 0.5%.

Damon Williamson, a broker with The Agency Dallas, says that the primary draw for the city's more distant suburbs such as Celina is their vast potential for new construction.

"The main reason for the extra boom and development is almost purely related to builders being able to get lot costs less expensive in those cities moving further out," Williamson tells Realtor.com®.

On the buyer side, Williamson says interest in Celina is fueled by the search for better value. Individuals, particularly those working remotely, are increasingly shopping for homes in less centrally located communities with fewer amenities to save money on housing and get "more bang for their buck."

"They're going to be willing to make that extra drive because it makes a big difference on their monthly that they're budgeting for," he adds.

Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones notes that the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, which includes Celina, is one of the fastest-developing corridors in the country.

"It has benefited from the forces driving growth across the region: affordability relative to closer-in suburbs, new master-planned communities, and improving road infrastructure connecting it to major employment centers," she says.

This marks a comeback for Celina, which was crowned the nation's fastest-growing city in 2023, only to be dethroned by Princeton, TX, the following year.

"Topping the list twice suggests this isn't a one-cycle story," notes Jones. "The city still has significant undeveloped land and continues to attract builders, meaning the growth runway remains long even as neighboring cities begin to fill in."

The 'Goldilocks zone'

In the current ranking, the 2024 leader Princeton came in third, with a growth rate of 18.1%, trailing Fulshear, TX, at 21%. Melissa, TX, ranked fourth (14.5%), followed by Anna, TX (10.25%).

The latest census report reflects a widening gap in how American cities are evolving. While major hubs face stagnation, midsize cities are thriving.

"Big-city growth slowed significantly between 2024 and 2025, with some major hubs even seeing small declines,” says Matt Erickson, a statistician in the Census Bureau's Population Division. "In contrast, midsized cities found a ‘Goldilocks zone’ where domestic and international migration, paired with new housing, helped prevent the sluggish growth seen in small towns and larger metropolitan centers."

Texas is the ultimate poster child for this trend, offering a combination of factors few other states can match at the same scale, from plentiful and relatively cheap land to permissive zoning and friendlier regulatory environment compared with coastal areas.

"That makes it easier and faster to deliver new housing at prices the middle market can afford," says Jones.

The four fastest-growing cities in the U.S., led by Celina, are all in the suburbs of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro, while the fifth is outside Houston. In fact, across the 15 fastest-growing cities highlighted by the census report, eight were clustered in the Lone Star State.

"The cities on this list generally sit within driving distance of a major job center, offer newer housing stock at lower price points, and have the land to keep building," says the analyst Jones.

It also helps that Texas continues to attract corporate relocations and employer expansions, generating a steady influx of households looking to put down roots.

Some of the best-known examples of companies relocating to Texas in recent years include Tesla, Oracle, Chevron, Charles Schwab, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Caterpillar. (Realtor.com also moved its headquarters from California to Austin, TX, in 2025.)

Pace vs. volume

While Celina and its neighbors win on speed, other cities lead in volume.

In terms of raw numbers, Charlotte, NC, led the nation by adding 20,731 residents from July 2024 to July 2025, marking the biggest numeric population gain, followed by Fort Worth, TX (19,512); San Antonio, TX (14,359); and Celina (12,710), with Seattle rounding out the top five (11,572).

Meanwhile, the largest metros, particularly those in the Northeast, experienced the steepest population growth slowdowns, with New York City losing 12,196 residents from 2024 to 2025, the greatest numeric decrease in the nation.

"New York's outflow reflects structural pressures that have been building for years," points out Jones. "Housing costs remain among the highest in the nation, and unlike Texas, the supply response has been constrained by zoning restrictions and a slow, expensive permitting process."

The overall cost of living, including taxes, childcare, and utilities, makes it increasingly difficult for middle-income households to stay as they grow their families.

Boomtown housing prices

While the narrative surrounding midsize, suburban communities is largely one of affordability, with buyers being pushed further out in search of attainable homeownership, don't expect across-the-board bargains when shopping for homes in the fastest-growing cities.

Across the 15 ranked municipalities, Celina recorded the second-highest median listing price in April, at $570,656, dwarfing the Dallas metro's median of $430,000.

Fulshear was only slightly more pocketbook-friendly, with its median at roughly $551,000, while third-place finisher Princeton was among the more affordable boomtowns, at nearly $303,000.

The priciest city in the rankings was Queen Creek, AZ (No. 12), where the median exceeded $720,000.

Looking at housing unit growth, California continued to lead all states in total housing stock by a wide margin with roughly 15 million units, followed by Texas (12.8 million) and Florida (10.8 million), while Wyoming (283,800) and Alaska (331,200) retained the smallest stock.

Jones say that while Texas is building rapidly, its hew housing units are absorbed by a population growing faster than almost anywhere else in the country.

"The risk for Texas is less an absolute shortage and more a localized supply-demand mismatch," she says. "If in-migration continues to outpace building in specific corridors, particularly around DFW and Austin, land constraints in the most desirable locations could begin to push prices up meaningfully."

The outer-ring cities on this list are, in part, a response to that pressure, as builders and buyers move farther afield to find affordable land.

"As long as Texas continues to permit and build aggressively, a statewide shortage is unlikely, but affordability pressure in specific submarkets is a real and growing risk," cautions Jones.