New U.S. Census Bureau numbers show Texas still growing fast even as national migration cools, with Celina, Princeton and other Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs leading the charge. The data name winners and losers across Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth and El Paso, and include insights from state demographer Lloyd Potter, Celina Mayor Ryan Tubbs and Cullum Clark of the George W. Bush Institute. This piece walks through the shifts, what residents are choosing and why parts of Texas keep expanding while some big cities dip.
Overall migration into Texas has slowed alongside a national drop in international arrivals, but the state remains one of the fastest-growing in the country. The Census release shows that while fewer people are packing up and moving compared with the pandemic era, Texas continues to add significant population in many places. That uneven growth is reshaping housing markets and local planning priorities across the state.
At the top of the list is Celina, a bedroom suburb roughly an hour north of downtown Dallas that led the nation with a 24.6% rise in population between July 2024 and July 2025. The city added more than 12,700 residents in that period and has nearly quadrupled since 2020, making it one of the fastest-growing places among U.S. cities with over 20,000 people. Mayor Ryan Tubbs, who moved to Celina from Allen in 2017, points to schools, safety and family-oriented neighborhoods as big draws.
“It attracts a lot of like-minded young families that want to be in new communities,” Tubbs said, describing the town’s appeal for people seeking modern neighborhoods near Frisco and McKinney. Typical home values in Celina sit north of $500,000, a price that Tubbs notes looks cheaper when compared with neighboring suburbs that have already baked in rapid appreciation. Those perceptions of value and newer amenities are central to why families keep choosing outer-ring suburbs.
Eight of the 15 fastest-growing U.S. cities are in Texas, mostly Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs such as Princeton, Melissa, Anna, Forney and Greenville, while Fulshear and Hutto show big gains near Houston and Austin. At the same time, some of the state’s largest cities are adding tens of thousands of residents rather than exploding overnight; Fort Worth passed 1 million and remained a big winner in raw numeric growth. That mix is creating a two-track urban map: fast suburban expansion alongside steadier metropolitan cores.
Not every major Texas city is on the up. Of the state’s 15 largest cities, Dallas, El Paso, Arlington, Plano, Irving and Garland lost residents in the last year, a change tied in part to slower international migration and lower birth rates. Lloyd Potter, the state demographer, connected El Paso’s decline to the drop in border-area international migration, noting that thousands moved out of El Paso County in 2025. Potter also cautioned against alarm: “Texas is still growing more than any other state,” he said, emphasizing that the state’s long-term trend remains upward.
Part of the suburban boom is driven by housing stock and newer development patterns: outer suburbs are still building single-family neighborhoods, parks and schools, while some core cities face slower redevelopment and limited space for new construction. Experts say that affordability relative to nearby hot suburbs and the chance for modern amenities are decisive for movers, especially younger families looking for room to grow. Cullum Clark of the George W. Bush Institute points to those supply and perception differences as central to the trend.
“The newness is the attraction,” Clark said, noting how freshly built communities can outcompete older neighborhoods on features and perceived safety. Celina’s leadership is trying to parlay the housing boom into local jobs by recruiting employers rather than remaining purely residential, a common strategy among fast-growing suburbs. That competition for headquarters, campuses and distribution centers is shaping local economic development across the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
Numeric gains across Texas are striking: Fort Worth added about 19,512 residents, second nationally only to Charlotte, while San Antonio added 14,359 and Houston and Fulshear each picked up roughly 11,000 people. McKinney added about 8,500, and Austin pushed past 1 million residents, eclipsing San Jose, California, in population. Those figures show that growth comes in different flavors: big-city increases, booming suburbs and fast-rising smaller towns all contribute to the state’s totals.
Roughly 65 Texas cities added at least 1,000 residents between 2024 and 2025, with most of that growth concentrated in the so-called Texas Triangle connecting Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Economists and planners say migration decisions hinge on job prospects, housing costs and community amenities, and that uncertainty in the broader economy can slow moves even when long-term growth resumes. For local officials, the challenge is balancing infrastructure and services with rapidly rising demand in places that are still building themselves up.
