New U.S. Census Bureau estimates show some of the nation’s fastest-growing cities are in North Texas, including several communities in or near KETR’s Northeast Texas service area.
The Texas Tribune reports that Celina was the fastest-growing city in the country from July 2024 to July 2025, growing by 24.6% and adding more than 12,700 residents. But the broader local story stretches east across the Dallas-Fort Worth outer ring.
Among the 15 fastest-growing cities in the U.S., six were in the Dallas-Fort Worth region: Celina, Princeton, Melissa, Anna, Forney and Greenville. Greenville is squarely within KETR’s core listening area, while Princeton, Melissa, Anna and Forney sit along the western and northwestern edge of the station’s regional footprint.
The numbers point to a continuing shift in North Texas growth away from Dallas and some older suburbs and toward farther-out communities where new housing, schools and commercial development are expanding quickly. The Tribune reported that Dallas, Arlington, Plano, Irving and Garland all lost population in 2025, while outer-ring communities continued to add residents.
For Northeast Texas, the trend raises familiar questions: how fast-growing communities handle roads, schools, public safety, housing demand and the pressure of becoming less rural while still trying to preserve a local identity.
