Living in Celina, Texas: The Complete 2026 Relocation Guide

Photo: Downtown Celina by Erod1997, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped from the original.

If you are thinking about living in Celina, Texas, you are looking at the fastest-growing city of its size in America. The U.S. Census Bureau ranked Celina No. 1 among cities with at least 20,000 people, after it grew 24.6% in a single year to an estimated 64,427 residents (July 2025). Yet the heart of town is still a brick downtown square with a 1914 hotel building, a Christmas tree lighting and a spring crawfish festival. As of November 2026, Redfin puts Celina's median sale price at $494,651 for the three months ending October 2026, down 8.3% from a year earlier.

This OnDemand Realty guide covers what life in Celina actually looks like in 2026: home prices, 2026 property tax rates, schools, master-planned communities, commutes, parks, downtown events, what is being built next, and a step-by-step checklist for your move.

Key Takeaways

• Celina is growing faster than any U.S. city its size. The population nearly quadrupled from 16,739 in the 2020 Census to an estimated 64,427 in July 2025, a 276.8% jump (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
• Buyers have the upper hand right now. Realtor.com counted 2,492 active listings in October 2026, up 23.58% from a year earlier, and called Celina a buyer's market. Redfin shows homes selling about 4% below list price after roughly 105 days.
• Tax rates dipped slightly for 2026. The city cut its rate to $0.571677 per $100 (Community Impact), and Celina ISD trimmed its rate to $1.2088 (Celina ISD). A typical Collin County address in Celina ISD pays a combined base rate of about 2.01%.
• Two school districts serve the city. Celina ISD earned a B (85) and Prosper ISD earned an A (91) in the 2026 TEA ratings. Your address decides which one you get.
• The tollway is almost here. NTTA expects the Dallas North Tollway extension from US 380 to FM 428 to open in late 2027.

Celina, Texas at a Glance

Sources: U.S. Census QuickFacts, U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 release, Redfin, Realtor.com, TEA Texas School Report Cards, plus the city, county and school district tax sources cited below.

Data note: We checked Redfin and Realtor.com on November 12, 2026. Redfin uses a rolling three-month window ending October 2026. Realtor.com reports October 2026 figures. Census income, housing and commute figures are American Community Survey five-year estimates (2020-2024) reported in QuickFacts.

A Short History of Celina and Its Small-Town Character

Celina's story starts in 1879, when settler John T. Mulkey named the new community after his hometown of Celina, Tennessee, according to the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas. A post office opened in 1881. When the St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway arrived in 1902, the whole town moved about a mile north to meet the tracks, which is where today's downtown sits. Celina incorporated in 1907, and by 1915 it had Celina Pike, the first road in the county built only for automobiles.

For most of the 20th century, Celina stayed small. The Handbook counts 1,051 residents in 1950 and 1,861 in 2000. Even by the 2010 Census, the city had just 6,028 people.

That history still shows. The historic square has brick storefronts, the Nelson Hotel building (marked "Est. 1914" on its facade, as you can see in our photo) and a bright "Celina, Texas: Life Connected" mural. The Celina Economic Development Corp. estimated that downtown drew about 867,000 visitors in 2024. Many newcomers tell us the square is what sold them on Celina. You can live in a brand-new house and still get a small-town Main Street feel on weekends.

Who Lives in Celina

Census figures paint a picture of a young, family-focused, well-educated city (U.S. Census QuickFacts):

• Families: 31.7% of residents are under 18, and the average household has 3.31 people.
• Homeowners: 92.7% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
• Income and education: The median household income is $170,894, and 64.3% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
• Diverse and growing: About 21% of residents were born outside the U.S.

People are also coming from far away. Redfin's migration data for April through June 2026 shows that Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago sent the most homebuyer searches into Celina from other metros (Redfin).

Home Prices and the Celina Housing Market in 2026

What homes cost

Celina's home prices have cooled from their peak, and buyers have more choices than they have had in years.

• Redfin (three months ending October 2026): median sale price of $494,651, down 8.3% year over year; $179 per square foot, down 7.3%; 342 homes sold in October, down 2.8% (Redfin).
• Realtor.com (October 2026): median listing price of $573,475, down 3.62% year over year; median sold price of $487,937, down 4.14%; $207 per square foot (Realtor.com).

The gap between listing and sold prices is normal in a new-construction market. Larger homes in master-planned communities pull up the list price, while sold prices reflect what buyers actually paid.

How fast homes sell

Redfin gives Celina a Compete Score of 22 out of 100, which it calls "not very competitive." The average home sells about 4% below list price and goes pending in around 104 days, while the most in-demand homes sell near list price in about 47 days. Only 7.8% of homes sold above list, and 58.4% had a price drop (Redfin).

Realtor.com shows a median of 72 days on market and a 95% sale-to-list ratio in October 2026, and it classifies Celina as a buyer's market (Realtor.com).

What this means for you

If you are buying, you can negotiate. Builder incentives, price cuts and seller-paid closing costs are all on the table in a market with 2,492 active listings. If you are selling a resale home, you are competing with new builds, so pricing right from day one and presenting the home well matter more than ever.

Renting first

Not ready to buy? Realtor.com lists a median rent of $1,965 per month in October 2026, down 4.61% from a year earlier, with about 450 rental properties on the market (Realtor.com).

Property Taxes in Celina for 2026

Property taxes are one of the biggest costs of living in Celina, Texas, so it pays to understand your bill before you buy. Celina is split between Collin and Denton counties (Community Impact), and Celina ISD reports separate average bills for its Collin County and Denton County homeowners (Community Impact). Parts of Celina are also served by Prosper ISD instead of Celina ISD. That means two homes in Celina can have different combinations of taxing units.

2026 adopted tax rates (per $100 of value)

Sources: Community Impact, City of Celina, Celina ISD, Community Impact, Prosper ISD, Community Impact, Collin County, Community Impact, Collin College, Denton County FY 2027 Adopted Budget.

Combined base rates by area (calculated)

• Collin County, Celina ISD: about $2.013 per $100. Community Impact reports the same $2.013111 combined rate for residents who pay Celina ISD, the city, Collin County and Collin College.
• Collin County, Prosper ISD: about $2.005 per $100.
• Denton County, Celina ISD: about $1.964 per $100 for the city, Denton County and Celina ISD.

These are base rates only. Many master-planned communities in North Texas also carry a public improvement district (PID) assessment or a municipal utility district (MUD) tax, which can add meaningfully to the bill. Always check the exact taxing units on a home's tax statement or appraisal district record before you make an offer.

What a $500,000 home might pay

Here is a rough example for a $500,000 homestead in Collin County and Celina ISD, using the state's required $140,000 school homestead exemption:

• City of Celina: about $2,858
• Collin County: about $757
• Collin College: about $406
• Celina ISD (on $360,000 after the exemption): about $4,352
• Estimated total: about $8,370 a year, before any local-option exemptions, PID or MUD charges

These are OnDemand Realty estimates from the 2026 adopted rates, not a tax bill. The city's own presentation estimated that the average Celina homeowner's monthly city tax bill would fall from $289.95 to $277.48 in FY 2026-27, partly because the average taxable home value dropped from $603,648 to $582,454 (Community Impact). Community Impact also noted that Celina's rate remains relatively high compared with other North Texas cities, because rapid growth means the city is still catching up on staffing and infrastructure.

Schools in Celina: Celina ISD and Prosper ISD

Celina ISD

Celina ISD earned an overall B rating with a score of 85 out of 100 in the 2026 TEA accountability ratings for the 2025-26 school year. The district enrolled 6,337 students across eight schools (TEA Texas School Report Cards). The score dipped from 87 the year before. Student achievement rose from 87 to 88 and school progress held at 78, while the closing-the-gaps score fell from 88 to 79 (Community Impact).

At the campus level, TEA rated:

Prosper ISD

Parts of Celina, including Mustang Lakes and parts of Light Farms, are zoned to Prosper ISD. Prosper ISD earned an A with a score of 91 out of 100 in 2026 and enrolled 33,583 students across 32 schools (TEA Texas School Report Cards).

Tip: School lines in fast-growing areas change often. Use the city's Resident Dashboard, which shows the school district for any Celina address, and confirm the exact campus with the district before you buy.

Master-Planned Communities in Celina

Much of Celina's growth has come through large master-planned communities with pools, trails and on-site amenities. Here are four we verified directly with the developers.

Light Farms

Light Farms, by Republic Property Group, covers 1,070 acres at the southern gateway to Celina with 3,059 single-family lots. Amenities include five pools, more than 25 miles of hike and bike trails, over 240 acres of open space and an 11-acre lake with a sand beach. The developer says students attend Prosper and Celina ISDs, and the community is home to two on-site Prosper ISD elementary schools.

Mustang Lakes

Mustang Lakes is zoned to Prosper ISD and lists new homes from the $500s to more than $3.5 million. The community has 14 stocked lakes, a 12,000-square-foot private amenity center, a fitness center and 18 miles of trails. Builders include American Legend Homes, Britton Homes, Coventry Homes, David Weekley Homes, Highland Homes, Huntington Homes, Perry Homes and Tradition Homes.

Cambridge Crossing

Cambridge Crossing is located in Celina ISD. It offers a 6,700-square-foot private amenity center, eight miles of trails, a lap pool and a resort-style pool with cabanas, with a second amenity center planned.

Ten Mile Creek

Ten Mile Creek, by Corson Cramer Development, is a newer Celina ISD community with easy access to downtown Celina. Three homebuilders are building there, including Grenadier Homes.

Before you fall in love with a community, ask about HOA dues, any PID or MUD assessment, and which school campuses serve that phase. Those details can change the monthly cost of two similar homes by hundreds of dollars.

Commute and Roads

Celina sits on Preston Road (State Highway 289) and FM 455, about 15 miles northwest of McKinney and 12 miles north of Frisco (Handbook of Texas). The Census puts the average commute at 33.3 minutes (QuickFacts).

The Dallas North Tollway extension

The biggest change coming to Celina is the Dallas North Tollway. NTTA's Phase 4 project will extend the tollway 13.7 miles north of US 380 (NTTA). According to NTTA's May 2026 progress report:

• Phase 4A runs from US 380 to FM 428 and is expected to open in late 2027. All bridge decks from US 380 to Light Farms Way were complete.
• Phase 4B runs from FM 428 to the Grayson County line, with an opening date still to be determined.

City leaders want the tollway corridor to attract employers, corporate campuses and mixed-use development, much as the tollway did in Plano and Frisco (Community Impact).

Estimated drive times from downtown Celina

Calculated by OnDemand Realty using OpenStreetMap routing from the downtown square. Rush-hour times will be longer.

Parks, Recreation and Health Care

Celina is adding parks to keep up with its growth. Community Impact reported that work began in September 2025 on the first 40-acre phase of Wilson Creek Park, a planned 100-acre park with baseball diamonds, multiuse fields, pickleball courts, playgrounds and a nine-hole disc golf course. The first phase costs about $12.2 million. The same update described Ousley Park, a 9-acre park under construction along the Doe Branch corridor near downtown (Community Impact). At Old Celina Park, the city built an all-inclusive, farm-themed playground for children ages 2 to 12, with a water feature and multi-use court, which Community Impact reported was nearing completion in fall 2025 (Community Impact).

Many residents also use the private amenities in their communities, from Light Farms' lake and beach to the stocked lakes in Mustang Lakes.

For health care, Methodist Celina Medical Center opened on March 17, 2025, as the city's first hospital. The $237 million, 240,000-square-foot hospital opened with 51 beds and sits on 40 acres beside the northern reach of the Dallas North Tollway.

Downtown Celina Events

Downtown is where Celina comes together. Two of the city's signature events, both free, are run by the city through Life in Celina:

• Christmas on the Square: Set for Wednesday, December 2, 2026, starting at 5 p.m. The evening includes holiday vendors, a Santa's Workshop craft area and the lighting of Celina's 30-foot Christmas tree at 8 p.m. Free shuttles run from Celina High School (City of Celina).
• Celina Cajun Fest: The 14th annual festival took over the square on May 9, 2026, with crawfish, gumbo, Cajun and zydeco music, live gator shows and headliners Eli Young Band and William Clark Green (City of Celina).

Downtown is also getting a major upgrade. A four-story parking garage with nearly 400 free spaces opened in October 2025 (Community Impact). The $59 million Downtown Center, which will house city offices, a 26,209-square-foot Celina Public Library and a rooftop community space, is expected to open in February 2027 (Community Impact).

Growth, Shopping and New Projects

Celina's growth is now pulling in the retail that residents have been waiting for. On November 10, 2026, the City Council approved an incentive agreement for Celina Towne Crossing, a $90 million, 359,000-square-foot shopping center on about 45 acres at the northeast corner of Preston Road and the Outer Loop. It will be anchored by Celina's first Target, a 145,000-square-foot store that must be delivered by June 1, 2029, under the agreement (Community Impact). The site is near a Walmart Supercenter, Costco, Lowe's and The Home Depot, which opened in August 2026 (Community Impact).

The city's FY 2026-27 budget of $529.1 million adds 49 full-time positions, including nine firefighter-paramedics so the fire department can move to four-person crews (Community Impact). City Manager Robert Ranc noted that commercial development has not yet caught up with residential growth, which is one reason property taxes carry so much of the load today.

Pros and Cons of Living in Celina, Texas

Pros

• A real historic downtown with free, family-friendly events
• Newer homes, master-planned amenities and lots of choice in a buyer's market
• Highly educated, family-oriented community with high homeownership
• Methodist Celina Medical Center close to home
• The tollway extension, expected in late 2027, should shorten trips south
• New retail on the way, including Celina's first Target

Cons

• Combined tax rates around 2% before any PID or MUD charges
• Constant construction and traffic while roads and services catch up
• Longer commutes to Dallas and DFW Airport than closer-in suburbs
• Resale homes compete with builder incentives, which can soften values
• Shopping and dining are still growing, so some errands mean a drive to Prosper, Frisco or McKinney
• Some Celina ISD campuses earned C ratings in 2026, so check your specific schools

Your Celina Relocation Checklist

1. Confirm your address details. Enter the address in the city's Resident Dashboard to see the school district, electric provider, trash day, fiber provider and HOA contact.
2. Set up water, sewer and trash. The City of Celina provides these services for the addresses it serves. Submit the New Utility Application on the Utility Billing Forms page or start service online through Celina Utility Customer Service. Trash and recycling are collected weekly by Community Waste Disposal, which also offers new residents a one-time cardboard pickup (City of Celina).
3. Choose electricity. If your home is in the Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative area, you will get service from GCEC. If it is in the Oncor area, you can choose a retail provider at Power to Choose (City of Celina).
4. Set up gas and internet. Atmos Energy serves most of Celina with natural gas. The city lists GCEC Telecom fiber, Suddenlink, Verizon and Spectrum as internet providers in various areas.
5. File your homestead exemption. Once you own and live in the home, file Form 50-114 with the Collin Central Appraisal District or the Denton Central Appraisal District. The school exemption alone removes $140,000 of value from school taxes, plus another $60,000 if you are 65 or older or disabled (Texas Comptroller).
6. Get your Texas driver license. New residents should follow the Texas DPS moving to Texas steps.
7. Register your vehicle. Get a Texas inspection, then register with your county tax office. See the TxDMV new to Texas guide, and find locations through the Collin County Tax Assessor-Collector or the Denton County Tax Assessor-Collector.
8. Register to vote. Use VoteTexas.gov, then check local details with Collin County Elections or Denton County Elections.
9. Enroll your kids. Contact Celina ISD or Prosper ISD based on your zoned district.
10. Mark the calendar. Plan your first Christmas on the Square or Cajun Fest through Life in Celina.

Frequently Asked Questions About Living in Celina, Texas

Is Celina, Texas a good place to live?

For many families, yes. Celina offers newer homes, strong amenities, a historic downtown and a highly educated community. The trade-offs are higher property tax rates, ongoing construction and longer commutes to Dallas.

How much does a house cost in Celina in 2026?

Redfin reports a median sale price of $494,651 for the three months ending October 2026, down 8.3% year over year. Realtor.com's median listing price was $573,475 in October 2026.

What school district is Celina, Texas in?

Celina is served by two districts. Celina ISD earned a B (85) in the 2026 TEA ratings. Prosper ISD, which serves parts of Celina including Mustang Lakes and parts of Light Farms, earned an A (91).

What is the property tax rate in Celina, TX?

For 2026, the city rate is $0.571677 per $100. A home in Collin County and Celina ISD pays a combined base rate of about $2.01 per $100, including Collin County and Collin College. PIDs and MUDs can add more.

Is Celina in Collin County or Denton County?

Both. The city is split between Collin and Denton counties. Check the appraisal district record to see which county applies to a specific home.

When will the Dallas North Tollway reach Celina?

NTTA expects the section from US 380 to FM 428 to open in late 2027. The next section, to the Grayson County line, does not have an opening date yet.

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Ready to Make Celina Home?

Whether you want a lake view in a master-planned community or a home a few minutes from the downtown square, OnDemand Realty can help. We can compare neighborhoods, check school zones and tax units, and help you negotiate in today's buyer-friendly market. Start your search at www.ondemanddfw.com.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Market figures come from third-party sources (Redfin, Realtor.com, U.S. Census Bureau, TEA, NTTA and local governments) and may change or be revised. Tax examples are estimates calculated by OnDemand Realty from 2026 adopted rates and do not include every exemption or special district. Drive times are estimates without traffic. School boundaries, tax rates and development plans change. Verify all details for a specific property with the appropriate district, appraisal district or city before you buy.