Where a real historic downtown square and storied small-town roots meet the corridor’s fastest growth, more home for the money, and a shot at a Prosper ISD address at a Celina price
Celina, in Collin and Denton counties along Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway, was the fastest-growing U.S. city of its size in 2025, with an estimated 64,400 residents. You’ll find PID master plans inside city limits, a MUD community in the ETJ and a historic square. Here are 9 areas with dated price context.
Builder pricing varies
Republic Property Group’s 1,070-acre plan, with four pools, a fitness center, sport courts, trails, campgrounds, a dog park and 200-plus resident events a year.
It sits in Celina’s ETJ, outside city limits, in Collin County MUD No. 1, so the MUD tax replaces a city tax. HOA dues include front-yard maintenance. Mostly Prosper ISD; confirm by lot.
About $1.0M median
Built on a former thoroughbred ranch, with the 12,000-square-foot Club at Mustang Lakes, a 20-acre central park with a private lake and 14 stocked lakes.
Redfin’s three-month median was about $1.0 million, and June–July 2026 resales ran about $635,000 to $1,075,000. Inside city limits with a PID. Prosper ISD.
60-foot homes from the $580s
Coventry, Highland, Perry and UnionMain on 40- to 74-foot lots, with a fishing lake, a 6,700-square-foot amenity center, resort and lap pools, pickleball and about 8 miles of trails.
Inside city limits with a PID; HOA dues of $160 to $168 a month include front-yard maintenance. UnionMain’s 60-foot homes start in the $580s. Celina ISD, with an elementary on site.
From about $305K
A 3,200-acre master plan with Lennar, Pulte, Mattamy, M/I, UnionMain, Beazer and others, plus a 27-acre city sports park.
In fall 2026, Pulte listed homes from $304,990, Lennar from $326,999 and Beazer’s 60-foot homes from $508,990. Celina ISD. Its special district status wasn’t confirmed; check the record.
Townhomes from about $393K
Tellus Group’s plan of about 2,000 lots, with “The River” lazy-river amenity complex, two amenity centers, fishing piers and 47-plus acres of open space.
American Legend lists homes from $499,990, and Highland’s 70-foot homes start in the $810s. Inside city limits with a PID, but addresses use Prosper 75078. Prosper ISD, with an elementary on site.
Single builder: M/I Homes
Hillwood’s 400-acre plan of about 1,300 homesites, with M/I Homes building plans of about 1,950 to 4,000 square feet.
Inside city limits with a PID; HOA dues are $1,095 a year. It’s split between Celina ISD and Prosper ISD, with Prosper ISD’s Lilyana Elementary on site, so check every lot.
From about $370K
Corson Cramer’s 236-acre community south of the Outer Loop, with a resort-style pool, dog park, trails and planned walkable retail.
Grenadier lists homes from about $370,000, William Ryan from about $413,000 and American Legend’s 60-foot homes from about $528,000. Confirm the school district and any special district.
Resale only
Hillwood’s 250-acre, 900-home community, which opened in 2018 with prices from the mid-$200s.
Its builders have sold out, so it’s resale only now. Bluewood PID. Celina ISD, with O’Dell Elementary on site.
Priced individually
Older homes and small multifamily around the historic square, within walking distance of its restaurants, the Silos and the Friday Night Market.
A $7.5 million public-private project will add a building at 102 N. Ohio St. and renovate the Mayer Building. Inside city limits; Celina ISD; generally no PID.
Swipe or drag sideways to see them all.
Redfin’s three-month median ending August 2026 was about $498,700, down 9.3 percent, with homes selling in a median 86 days.
Sales volume rose as new construction kept coming.
The Census Bureau estimated 64,427 residents in July 2025, up 24.6 percent in one year.
That was the fastest growth of any U.S. city of 20,000 or more.
Most new communities inside city limits carry a PID; Light Farms, in the ETJ, pays a MUD tax instead of a city tax.
Read the seller’s special-district notice.
Celina ISD serves most of the city; south Celina, including Light Farms, Mustang Lakes and Mosaic, is Prosper ISD.
Confirm the district for every address.
Celina counted 16,739 residents in the 2020 census; the Census Bureau estimated 64,427 for July 1, 2025, and the city estimated 63,937 inside city limits as of January 1, 2026. It lies mostly in Collin County, with western communities such as Mosaic in Denton County. Price figures are dated snapshots: Redfin’s three-month median ending August 2026, Redfin neighborhood data and individual 2026 sales, and 2026 builder starting prices; they are context, not values. Builder lineups and prices change often. Light Farms’ developer page lists more than one MUD rate, and its 2026 rate was pending; Cambridge Crossing’s combined tax rate varies by source; Mustang Lakes’ developer, Legacy Hills’ and Ten Mile Creek’s special districts and the Ten Mile Creek school district weren’t confirmed; Mosaic’s acreage varies by source. PID assessments vary by lot and can often be prepaid. Area boundaries are approximate. School districts are listed at the district level only and must be confirmed by address. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Celina eats in two places: the historic square, with barbecue, a brewery, a steakhouse in old grain silos and a monthly night market, and Preston Road, where Costco, Walmart and a wave of new chains opened in 2026. Here’s a 2026-checked list of 28.
Ohio St. at Walnut & Pecan
Celina’s original square, lined with locally owned restaurants, a brewery and boutiques, plus the restored grain Silos a block away.
The Friday Night Market brings 60-plus vendors one Friday a month.
107 S. Colorado St.
Cinnamon rolls, cookies, coffee and lunch, tied to Swirls Bakery; open from 8 a.m., later on Fridays and Saturdays, and closed Tuesdays.
306 W. Walnut St.
Wood-fired coffee a block off the square.
565 S. Preston Rd., Ste. 100
A regional coffee shop that opened in late July 2026.
127 N. Ohio St.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, from chicken-fried steak to cream pies, with a patio and full bar.
241 W. Pecan St.
A family-owned Mexican grill with a full bar; closed Sundays.
224 W. Pecan St.
Handmade Texas pit barbecue and breakfast, Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m.
218 W. Walnut St.
A small regional burger spot that opened on the square in August 2026.
501 W. Walnut St., Ste. 100
Smash burgers, boozy shakes, pool and darts in the former Jimbo’s Pizza space; 18 and older after 8 p.m.
300 N. Oklahoma Dr.
Steakhouse fare and a cigar lounge inside restored 115-year-old grain silos, with The Yard live-music venue; Wednesday through Sunday evenings.
304 W. Walnut St.
A farm-to-table restaurant with a gift market, open from 11 a.m.
212 N. Oklahoma Dr.
28 rotating taps, daily food trucks, an 18-hole putting course and trivia; Wednesday through Sunday.
3505 S. Preston Rd., Ste. 120
Opened April 15, 2026, on the new Preston Road retail corridor.
3520 S. Preston Rd.
Celina’s first Chipotle, with a drive-up pickup lane, opened July 7, 2026.
3515 S. Preston Rd., Ste. 100
A sandwich franchise owned by a Celina resident, opened March 2026.
3505 S. Preston Rd.
Hawaiian plate lunches, opened March 2026.
Dallas Pkwy. at W. Frontier Pkwy.
New York-style and fusion pies on the Celina side of Frontier Parkway.
309 W. Pecan St.
Women’s clothing, home décor and gifts in the 1914 Nelson Hotel building, with an espresso bar.
141 N. Ohio St.
A monthly downtown market since 2014, 6 to 9 p.m.; upcoming dates are October 9 and November 6.
204 E. Pecan St.
Local produce, honey and eggs, open daily.
3445 S. Preston Rd.
Opened August 26, 2026, with gas, a pharmacy and a tire center.
1771 N. Preston Rd.
Celina’s first Walmart, opened April 29, 2026, at the Outer Loop.
675 E. Sunset Blvd.
A supermarket with a pharmacy and fuel center, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
3525–3540 S. Preston Rd.
Home Depot and Academy Sports + Outdoors opened in late August 2026, alongside Lowe’s.
Dallas North Tollway area
An H-E-B is planned in Legacy Hills; a second site at Preston and the Outer Loop has no announced date. The nearest H-E-B is in Prosper.
Preston Crossroads
Construction is targeted to finish in early 2027.
3515 S. Preston Rd., Ste. 130
Listed as opening in 2026, but not confirmed open.
313 W. Pecan St.
A $7.5 million public-private project will renovate the Mayer Building for 5,000 square feet of restaurant space and add a new building on Ohio Street.
Celina has two hubs: the historic square, where most restaurants are locally owned, and Preston Road, where Walmart, Costco, Home Depot and new chains opened in 2026.
The square’s Friday Night Market runs one Friday a month.
Compiled October 2026. Listings are from business websites, Community Impact, the Dallas Morning News, CultureMap, the Celina EDC and review and project-tracking sites, and were not confirmed with owners; call ahead to confirm hours and that a business is still open. Capo’s opening date is from a project tracker; Blaze Pizza wasn’t confirmed open; H-E-B and Sprouts dates are targets, not announcements; and the Mayer Building project is a plan. Several square businesses, including Heyday, Mangiamo, Toast Coffee + Kitchen and Kolache Shoppe, appear in 2026 listings but weren’t verified, so they aren’t listed. Haraz Coffee House and Desi District weren’t confirmed open. Jimbo’s Pizza has closed. Kroger Marketplace and H-E-B on Frontier Parkway are in Prosper, not Celina. Businesses listed are for general local reference and are not endorsements; I receive no compensation from any business named. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
From “Rollertown” on the Prairie to the Nation’s Fastest-Growing City
Settlers on the Blackland Prairie of northwest Collin County founded the first Celina a few miles south of today’s town and named it for Celina, Tennessee.
The Handbook of Texas says Celina “was established in 1879 and named by John T. Mulkey for his native town, Celina, Tennessee.” The city and the Celina Museum date the founding to 1876, with a small settlement forming in October 1879 southwest of the present town, and a 1976 state marker says 1870. Whatever the year, settlers came for the fertile blackland soil of northwest Collin County.
A post office opened in 1881, and by 1884 Old Celina had about 150 residents, a school, a Methodist church built in 1880, a cotton gin and gristmill, and several general stores. The town struggled as the decade went on; the Handbook records just 50 residents in 1892. Its earliest landmark survives as Old Celina Cemetery, where the oldest grave dates to 1884 and about 600 people are buried.
Baptists built a church east of town in 1882, and in 1896 the tuition-free Alla School opened in memory of a doctor’s daughter.
In 1882 a Baptist congregation built a church about three miles east of Old Celina, on land owned by Abiel D. and Edmond Stelzer. That congregation, known as Crossroads Baptist Church, would follow the town to its new site in 1902 and become First Baptist Church of Celina. Its burial ground, Crossroads Cemetery, received a state marker in 2006 and holds an infant’s grave from 1875.
Dr. Moses and Mary Jane Hubbard founded a school in 1895 to honor their daughter Alla, who had died young. The Alla School opened in 1896 with 108 students, nine grades, no tuition and no age limit, paid for entirely by the Hubbards. It merged with Celina ISD in 1958, and today’s Celina High School stands on the old Alla School hilltop, where a 1983 state marker tells the story.
When the Frisco railroad came through in 1902, Celina picked up its buildings and moved about a mile north to meet it.
The St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway, known as the Frisco, built through Collin County in 1902, creating Prosper and Frisco along the way. Rather than be bypassed, Celina moved to the tracks, about a mile north of the original site, according to the Handbook of Texas. The Celina Museum says businesses and houses were placed on rollers and pulled to the new site by traction engines in February 1902.
The moving method earned Celina the nickname Rollertown, according to the city. A townsite company bought part of the late William Willock’s pasture, took down the fences, laid out streets and sold lots, and merchants put up a row of wooden storefronts facing the railroad. By 1910, a 1976 state marker says, only the cemetery remained at the old townsite.
Celina opened a two-story brick school in 1906 and incorporated as a city in 1907.
In 1906 a two-story brick Celina School opened on the site of today’s Celina ISD Administration Building on Colorado Street. It cost $10,850, opened with 203 students and six teachers and had an auditorium that seated about 1,000 people, according to the city’s magazine and the Celina Museum. For a town of a few hundred residents, it was a confident statement about the future.
The next year, 1907, Celina incorporated as a city, according to the Handbook of Texas; the names of its first mayor and council weren’t found. The new town grew quickly around the railroad, which carried the cotton and grain of the surrounding Blackland Prairie farms to market, and the 1910 census counted 724 residents in the young and growing city.
Businessman J. Fred Smith laid out the square and ringed it with brick buildings, inspired by the City Beautiful movement.
A Collin County Historical Commission marker on Ohio Drive says that in 1910 local businessman J. Fred Smith, influenced by the City Beautiful movement, acquired land, laid off the square and built brick buildings around it. He also laid gravel streets and concrete sidewalks, built a power plant and street lights and dug a well, giving the young railroad town the services of a much larger city.
A November 1911 Texas Magazine article said the upbuilding of Celina in the previous eight months “probably has no parallel in the United States.” Smith later became the first mayor of University Park, according to a city document. Celina celebrated the square’s centennial on October 15, 2011, and the square remains the heart of the city’s biggest community events today.
A 1914 brick building became the Nelson Hotel for railroad travelers, and Celina Pike gave Collin County its first road built for cars.
Early settler Richard Tinsley Peterman built a brick building near the square in 1914, with a grocery downstairs and rental space upstairs, according to a 1991 state marker. Charlie Spergon Nelson moved to Celina in 1917 and bought the building in 1922. His family lived downstairs and ran the Nelson Hotel for railroad travelers on the second floor until 1976.
By 1915 Celina had two banks, a newspaper, a municipal water works and Celina Pike, the first road in Collin County built only for automobiles, according to the Handbook of Texas. The grain silos on Oklahoma Drive, now restored as a restaurant and music venue, are described as more than a century old, though their exact build date wasn’t found.
Utilities arrived in the 1920s, the population dipped in the Depression and Celina settled into decades as a farm town of about 1,000.
Lone Star Gas organized the Farmers Gas Company in 1921 to serve small towns including Celina, Texas Power and Light began service in 1924, and the Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative was organized in 1937. Celina counted 1,126 residents in 1920, but hard times on the farm and the Great Depression pulled the population down to 948 in 1930 and 994 in 1940.
Growth after World War II was slow: the Handbook records 1,051 residents in 1950, and the census counted 1,204 in 1960 and 1,272 in 1970. In 1958 the Alla School district consolidated with Celina ISD, and in 1977 the district opened its first dedicated high school building. For most of the century, Celina stayed a quiet farm town on the prairie.
Coach G.A. Moore Jr. led Celina to six state football titles, including four straight from 1998 to 2001.
G.A. Moore Jr. coached Celina from 1972 to 1976, going 52-5-2, and won the town’s first state title in 1974, a Class B co-championship after a 0-0 tie with Big Sandy. He returned to the Bobcats in 1988 and went 163-22 over his second stint, winning state titles in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 and turning Friday nights into a town ritual.
The four straight titles tied the state record, Celina went 16-0 in each of its last three of those seasons, and Moore left with a 57-game winning streak. He finished his career with a 429-97-9 record and eight state titles, six of them at Celina, and retired after 2011 as the winningest coach in Texas high school football history at the time. He died in 2025.
Celina became an official Texas Main Street City in 1996, and its population passed 6,000 by 2010.
The Texas Historical Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated Celina an official Main Street City in 1996, according to the city. Local groups restored a former newspaper office that still holds its original printing press, and the Celina Area Heritage Museum opened on Pecan Street. In 2026, Celina Main Street was named an accredited Main Street America program.
Population grew slowly at first, from 1,737 in 1990 to 1,861 in 2000, then jumped to 6,028 in 2010 as the first master-planned communities arrived along Preston Road. The Friday Night Market and Cajun Fest, now two of the city’s signature downtown traditions, took root on the square during the 2010s, drawing visitors from across the fast-growing northern Dallas suburbs.
The Census Bureau named Celina the nation’s fastest-growing city for 2023 and again for 2025, and big-box retail arrived in 2026.
Celina grew 26.6 percent in 2023 to 43,317 residents, the fastest rate of any U.S. city of 20,000 or more, more than 53 times the national rate, according to the Census Bureau. After Princeton, Texas, held the title for 2024, Celina reclaimed it: from July 2024 to July 2025 it grew 24.6 percent to an estimated 64,427, up from 16,739 in the 2020 census.
Retail followed the rooftops. Celina’s first Walmart opened April 29, 2026, at Preston Road and the Outer Loop, and Costco opened August 26, 2026. Downtown, the city approved a $7.5 million project to add a building on Ohio Street and turn the Mayer Building into restaurant space, and a new Downtown Center is expected to open in early 2027, ahead of a larger rebuilt square.
Compiled from the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas (Celina entry), Texas Historical Commission and Collin County Historical Commission marker text via the Historical Marker Database, the Celina Museum, the City of Celina and its Celina150 heritage site, Celina ISD, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the U.S. Census Bureau, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the Celina Record and 2024–2026 local reporting. Sources differ on Celina’s founding year (1870, 1876 or 1879) and on the details of the 1902 move; the dates shown follow the Handbook of Texas and the city. John T. Mulkey’s role as first postmaster, the build date of the grain silos and the 1930, 1960 and 1970 population counts (from census tables via secondary sources) weren’t independently confirmed. Downtown project dates are projections. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
A Monthly Night Market, Cajun Fest, Fireworks and a Halloween Square
Local farmers, makers and artisans, 60-plus vendors, food pop-ups and live music, 6 to 9 p.m. Free. 2026 dates ran March 6 through November 6; next: October 9 and November 6, 2026.
Run by the City of Celina.
Free vendor parking at 395 N. Louisiana Dr.
A crawfish boil, gumbo, Cajun and zydeco music, alligator shows and a free kids zone, 2 to 9 p.m. Free entry; VIP, lawn seats and crawfish platters are sold. The 14th annual festival ran May 9, 2026, headlined by Eli Young Band. 2027 date not yet announced.
Run by the City of Celina; award-winning in 2022 through 2025.
Free shuttles from Moore Middle School and Collin College–Celina.
Celina’s Independence Day celebration, with water slides, an obstacle course, patriotic music, food and fireworks at dark, 5 to 10 p.m. Free. Held every year since at least 2013; 2026 ran June 27 with a drone show. Next: late June 2027.
Run by the City of Celina.
Bring lawn chairs or blankets for the fireworks.
German music and dancing, a Dachshund Dash, keg rolling, stein races and a brat-eating contest. Free in 2026. Held since 2019; the city took it over from the Chamber in 2026, when it ran October 3. Next: early October 2027.
Trick-or-treating at 60-plus vendor booths, a high school theater haunted house, pumpkin decorating and a kids zone, 4 to 9 p.m. Free. Held since 2019; 2026: Saturday, October 24.
Run by the City of Celina.
Free shuttles from Moore Middle School and Collin College–Celina.
The lighting of a 30-foot Christmas tree, live reindeer, photos with Santa, snow slides and local choirs, 5 to 9 p.m. Free. Held 2020 through 2022 and in 2025; a December 2, 2026, listing hasn’t been confirmed by the city.
Run by the City of Celina.
Includes a toy drive.
Celina’s signature events are city-run, free and mostly on the historic square, from the monthly night market to Cajun Fest, Halloween and Christmas.
The city plans to rebuild and enlarge the square, with construction scheduled for 2028 and 2029, so event layouts may change.
Check the city’s events page before you go.
Timing shown is the usual pattern for each event; exact dates, times and locations change from year to year and should be confirmed with organizers. Event details are from City of Celina calendars and news releases, the city’s Life in Celina site, Eventeny listings, the Celina Record and Community Impact; each event listed was found in at least two years. The Friday Night Market’s founding year wasn’t confirmed, and the 2026 Christmas on the Square date is from an event listing, not the city. The Celina Balloon Festival appears to have ended after 2015, and an Easter egg hunt, Veterans Day ceremony, Turkey Trot and Juneteenth event weren’t verified, so none is shown. Community events in Light Farms, Mosaic and other neighborhoods are generally for residents. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
What to know about Celina schools:
The ratings: Check TXschools.gov for each district’s current status.
Nearby: Collin College’s Celina Campus, at 2505 Kinship Pkwy., offers transfer courses, nursing, allied health and IT programs. Texas treats homeschools as private schools.
Want the full breakdown? Read our complete Celina schools guide →
Most of Celina is in Celina ISD, rated B (85) in TEA’s preliminary 2026 ratings; south Celina, including Light Farms, Mustang Lakes and Mosaic, is in Prosper ISD, rated A (91). Both are building fast, and their tax rates are nearly identical. Confirm the district by address.
Citywide
Celina ISD serves most of the city. South Celina, including Light Farms, Mustang Lakes, Mosaic and part of Lilyana, is in Prosper ISD.
Lilyana is split between the two districts, and edge parcels can differ. Check the district on the appraisal record and with each district’s attendance tools.
District-wide
Celina ISD earned a B (87) for 2025 and a B (85) in TEA’s preliminary 2026 ratings. It had about 6,300 students in 2025–26 and projects more than 20,000 within a decade.
Voters approved a $2.3 billion bond in May 2025, with about 72 percent in favor, for new campuses, renovations, buses and technology.
Across Celina
Celina High School (3455 N. Preston Rd.), Moore Middle School (300 E. G.A. Moore Pkwy.), Willard Middle School (1305 Old Glendenning Rd., opened August 2026) and Lykins, Martin, Bothwell, O’Dell and Vasquez elementary schools.
Grade levels are shifting: in 2026–27, Willard serves grades 5 and 6 and Moore grades 7 and 8. Three more elementary schools are planned for 2027–28, and a second high school around 2029–31.
District-wide
Prosper ISD earned an A for 2025 and an A (91) in TEA’s preliminary 2026 ratings, with about 34,000 students.
Voters approved $2.4 billion for new schools in November 2023, plus technology and a performing arts center; a stadium proposition failed.
South Celina
Elementary schools in Celina include Light Farms (2015), Boyer (2018), Sam Johnson (2020), Lilyana and Dan Christie (2023) and Virgie Smothermon (2025, in Mosaic). Jim Bridges Middle School opened in fall 2026 on Frontier Parkway.
High school assignment, to Walnut Grove, Prosper or Richland, depends on the zone, and middle school zones changed for 2026–27. Confirm with Prosper ISD.
2026–27
Celina ISD adopted $1.2088 and Prosper ISD $1.2011 per $100. Neither has a bond or tax election on the November 3, 2026, ballot.
On a $500,000 homestead, the school share is about $4,352 in Celina ISD and $4,324 in Prosper ISD, after the $140,000 state exemption.
Celina High School
Celina’s football program has won multiple state championships, including four straight from 1998 to 2001 under G.A. Moore Jr.
Friday nights are a town tradition. Ask the district about athletics, fine arts and career and technical education pathways.
2505 Kinship Pkwy.
Collin College’s Celina Campus opened in August 2021, with transfer courses, vocational nursing, allied health, IT and drafting programs.
Both school districts are in Collin College’s service area; ask each about dual credit. A $600 million Collin College bond is on the November 3 ballot.
Celina area
Private and charter schools serve the Celina area; confirm each school’s grades, location and admissions directly.
Texas treats homeschools as private schools.
South Celina is Prosper ISD, and Lilyana is split between the two districts.
Check the school district on the appraisal record and each district’s attendance tools.
On a $500,000 homestead, the school share runs about $4,352 in Celina ISD and $4,324 in Prosper ISD.
That’s a difference of about $28 a year.
Celina ISD earned a B (85) and Prosper ISD an A (91) in TEA’s preliminary 2026 ratings.
Check TXschools.gov for each district’s final status.
Celina ISD projects more than 20,000 students within a decade, with three elementary schools due in 2027–28.
Expect attendance zones to change as campuses open.
Accountability ratings are shown at the district level only; campus ratings are intentionally not shown, and campuses are listed by name and location only. Ratings change every year; use TXschools.gov for current ratings. The 2026 ratings, Celina ISD B (85) and Prosper ISD A (91), are preliminary, from TEA’s August 2026 release. Enrollment is from TEA and district budgets; sources differ, and no official 2026–27 count was found for Celina ISD. Celina ISD’s grade configuration is changing in 2026–27 and 2027–28, and district pages differ on elementary grade spans; some campus addresses, opening years and planned-campus dates weren’t confirmed. Prosper ISD campus locations, which campuses serve each Celina neighborhood and the middle and high school zones for 2026–27 should be confirmed with the district. Football championship years are from secondary sources and should be confirmed with the UIL. Private and charter schools weren’t verified for this list. Celina ISD’s split between operating and debt rates for 2026–27 wasn’t published. School tax examples are illustrations, not quotes. School district and campus assignment is determined by address and must be confirmed with the district. School information is provided for general reference only and is not a recommendation regarding any school, district, neighborhood or property. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Median Sales Price
What Celina homes actually sold for each month. With resales in established areas trading alongside new builder closings in master plans such as Mustang Lakes, Light Farms and Ten Mile Creek, the mix of what sold moves this line as much as the market does.
Celina’s median moves with which homes sold: resales or new master-plan builds. Redfin’s three-month median ending August 2026 was about $498,700, down about 9 percent from a year earlier. Read the trend, not one month.
A resale near the downtown square, a new Mustang Lakes build and a Light Farms home in a MUD can all land on this one line. The chart is not your comp. Your comps match your size, age, lot, condition and school district.
Texas is a non-disclosure state, so portal prices are models. This is MLS. Ask for the actual comparable sales, plus whether the address is in Celina ISD or Prosper ISD and whether a PID or MUD applies.
Days on market describes how buyers behaved. Redfin reported a median of about 86 days to sell in the three months ending August 2026, with homes selling at about 96.6 percent of list and about 55 percent of listings cutting price.
The first two weeks bring the most traffic a listing will ever get. If they pass without an offer, that is pricing information. Acting in week three beats acting in week ten.
When homes sit longer, there’s usually room to negotiate on price, repairs or closing costs. A listing that has waited a while is usually where the negotiating room is, and builders often compete with rate buydowns and closing-cost help; ask what’s on the table.
Under 10 showings means buyers are deciding quickly. Rising counts mean people are walking through and walking away, which is a different problem from nobody looking at all.
This separates a pricing problem from a presentation problem. Plenty of showings and no offer usually means something specific is putting people off, and that is fixable without dropping the price.
High showings-to-pending means you can be selective without losing homes. Read it against days on market: low on both is a hot market, high on both means the leverage is yours.
Check how many homes closed before you read anything into the price or days-on-market charts. A month heavy with closings in one master plan can move the median more than the market did, up or down depending on that builder’s price points.
Your competition includes builders across Celina’s master plans, many offering rate buydowns, plus resales in Prosper, Little Elm and Anna. Price against true comparables and have your permit and repair records ready for buyers.
Inventory runs from older homes near the square to new construction. Confirm the school district, any PID or MUD and the full tax bill early, because they affect your monthly cost more than the price chart does.
Charts supplied by NTREIS via 10K Research and Marketing and update automatically. Data reflects residential activity reported to the MLS and may be revised as late-reported sales come in. Some Celina-area homes, including Mosaic, use Prosper mailing addresses, and some Celina addresses lie outside city limits, so MLS city fields may not match the city boundary. The median, days on market, sale-to-list ratio and price-drop share are Redfin’s for the three months ending August 2026. These charts do not separate new construction or resale, the Celina ISD and Prosper ISD parts of the city, or homes inside and outside PIDs and MUDs. Market statistics describe the area as a whole and are not a substitute for a comparative market analysis on a specific property. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so publicly available sale prices elsewhere are estimates rather than recorded figures. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Pick a purchase year and the price fills in. If you own here, type over it with what you actually paid. This calculator runs on the Collin County index, the federal repeat-sales measure for the county that holds most of Celina. A home bought in 2015 is worth about twice its price on the index, with the biggest jump between 2020 and 2022 and a slight dip in 2025.
Bought here? Tap the number and enter what you paid.
Federal house price index growth, indexed to the purchase year, where the purchase year equals 100.
From 2015 to 2025 the Collin County index about doubled, with a 43 percent jump between 2020 and 2022.
It slipped 0.75 percent in 2025, and Celina’s median sale price was down about 9 percent through August 2026.
Redfin’s three-month Celina median ending August 2026 was about $498,700; the city’s average taxable home value was $582,454.
Type over the prefilled price with what you actually paid.
Owners who bought before 2021 carry large gains; many who bought from 2022 on, especially new construction, have little or none.
Indexes are county-wide, so value any specific property from true comparables.
A $500,000 homestead inside city limits pays about $8,250 a year in Celina ISD or $8,230 in Prosper ISD, before any PID.
In Light Farms, a MUD tax replaces the city tax, for about $9,800.
Growth rates are the FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index, annual values 2009 through 2025: Collin County, Texas (FRED series ATNHPIUS48085A, base 2000 equals 100, last updated 31 March 2026), the State of Texas (TXSTHPI) and the United States (USSTHPI). State and national figures are annual averages of published quarters. The Collin County series recorded 152.85 in 2015, 290.83 in 2022, a peak of 310.46 in 2024 and 308.14 in 2025. FHFA describes county indices as developmental and subject to revision, and the annual series does not cover 2026. Denton County, which holds western Celina, followed a similar path (297.21 in 2025). No city-specific index was used. The prefilled dollar figures are derived and illustrative, not published: they apply the Collin County index to a $500,000 anchor near Redfin’s three-month Celina median ending August 2026 ($498,665). The index is built from conforming loans and excludes jumbo lending and all-cash purchases. Equity figures assume a 30-year fixed mortgage at that year’s Freddie Mac annual average rate (2025 approximately 6.6 percent), held to today, with no refinancing, no extra principal and no additional borrowing. They exclude closing costs, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, improvements and selling costs. The tax example uses 2026 adopted rates per $100: City of Celina 0.571677, Celina ISD 1.2088, Prosper ISD 1.2011, Collin County 0.151414 and Collin College 0.08122 (reported; the adoption vote wasn’t reviewed). The Light Farms figure uses Collin County MUD No. 1’s 2025 rate of 0.89, because its 2026 rate hadn’t been posted; MUD areas outside city limits pay no city tax. It assumes a $500,000 appraised value for an owner under 65 with no homestead cap benefit, applying the $140,000 school exemption and Collin County’s 5 percent and Collin College’s 20 percent homestead exemptions; the city offers no general homestead exemption, per the Collin County Tax Office’s 2025 exemption table. Denton County-side homes, such as Mosaic, pay Denton County’s 0.183394 instead of Collin County and Collin College, about $8,090 in Prosper ISD. For an owner 65 or older in Celina ISD, the first-year figure is about $7,230, using the $60,000 school over-65 exemption, Collin College’s $100,000 and the $30,000 over-65 exemptions of the city and Collin County; school, city, county and college taxes are then subject to a ceiling or freeze. PID installments, which vary by lot and community, are not included. It is an illustration, not a quote. The homestead appraisal cap limits increases in a homestead’s taxable appraised value to 10 percent a year and ends on sale. This is an illustration for general reference, not an appraisal, a comparative market analysis, a valuation or investment advice. Past appreciation does not predict future appreciation. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Celina grew 24.6 percent in one year to an estimated 64,427 residents (Census, July 2025), and the three-month median sale price was about $498,700, down 9.3 percent. The trade-offs are real: construction everywhere, PIDs and a MUD on top of taxes, and Preston Road traffic until the tollway arrives.
Estimated Off-Peak Drive Time from the Celina Square
Around Town and Beyond
Estimated minutes off-peak from the downtown square. These are planning estimates, so check a live map before relying on any of them.
Homes took a median 86 days to sell in the three months ending August 2026, at about 96.6 percent of list.
About 55 percent of listings had a price drop.
Methodist Celina Medical Center opened in March 2025 with 51 beds and an emergency department.
Walmart opened in April 2026 and Costco in August.
Old Celina Park has ball fields, a fishing pond, trails and an all-inclusive playground.
The historic square hosts the Friday Night Market and Cajun Fest.
A Downtown Center with a new library is expected in early 2027, and Fire Station No. 4 opens about the same time.
The Dallas North Tollway is set to reach FM 428 by late 2027.
The city projected about 2,400 new-home permits for FY2026, and Preston Road carries most traffic.
Many communities add a PID installment; Light Farms pays a MUD tax. DART doesn’t serve Celina.
Light Farms’ 2026 MUD rate wasn’t posted in early October.
On November 3, voters decide a $817.5 million Collin County bond and a $600 million Collin College bond.
Drive times are planning estimates from the downtown square, not live traffic, and weren’t checked against a live map; check one before you rely on them. Rush-hour times can run much longer, and times will change when the Dallas North Tollway extension opens. Population is the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025, estimate. Market figures are Redfin’s for the three months ending August 2026. Hospital details are from Methodist Health System; sources differ on its emergency and ICU bed counts. Park details are from the City of Celina and Visit Celina. Downtown Center, fire station and tollway dates are projections from the city, Community Impact and the North Texas Tollway Authority; sources differ on the Downtown Center’s budget and completion date. The permit projection is from the city’s budget. PID installments vary by community, phase and lot. Bond details are from Collin County and Collin College. No crime, school ranking or flood zone claims are made. This information is provided for general reference and is not a representation about any specific property, commute or future development outcome. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Answered with verified specifics, from two counties, PIDs, a MUD and a new 2026 city rate to utilities, the hospital, the tollway and a rebuilt downtown.
Both. Most of Celina, including Light Farms in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, is in Collin County. Western areas along the Dallas North Tollway, such as Mosaic, are in Denton County.
The county decides your appraisal district and part of your tax bill. Collin County homes are appraised by the Collin Central Appraisal District and pay Collin County’s $0.151414 plus Collin College’s $0.08122 per $100. Denton County homes are appraised by the Denton Central Appraisal District and pay Denton County’s $0.183394, with no college district tax.
Mailing addresses don’t settle the question; Mosaic homes use Prosper 75078 addresses. Check the county and every taxing unit on the appraisal record for the address.
The City Council adopted $0.571677 per $100 on September 8, 2026, down from $0.576401. About $0.263 goes to operations and $0.308 to debt service.
The new rate equals both the no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates, so no election was needed. Even so, property tax revenue rises about 13 percent, almost all of it from new homes and buildings added to the rolls. The city says the average monthly city property tax bill falls from about $290 to about $277, partly because its average taxable home value dipped.
The fiscal 2026–27 budget totals $529.1 million. Homes in Light Farms, outside city limits, pay a MUD tax instead of the city rate.
Inside city limits in Celina ISD and Collin County, about $8,250 a year for an owner under 65, using 2026 adopted rates. That’s roughly $2,858 to the city, $4,352 to Celina ISD after the $140,000 school exemption, $719 to Collin County and $325 to Collin College.
In Prosper ISD, the total is about $8,230. A Denton County home such as Mosaic runs about $8,090 in Prosper ISD. In Light Farms, where a MUD tax replaces the city tax, the total is about $9,820 at the MUD’s 2025 rate.
Most master-planned communities add a PID installment on top. Treat these figures as illustrations and ask for the tax certificate on any home.
Homes in Celina’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, such as Light Farms, are outside city limits and don’t pay the city property tax. Light Farms pays Collin County MUD No. 1 instead, and the city still bills water and trash, while a MUD contract tax pays for fire protection.
A 2023 state law, Senate Bill 2038, lets many ETJ owners petition for release. Celina’s ETJ covers about 76 square miles, and a city official told reporters that about 90 percent of it is under development agreements that block release.
Light Farms’ MUD says the city may annex the district after December 31, 2027. If that happens, owners would pay the city rate. Ask about annexation plans before you buy.
Its 2025 rate was $0.89 per $100, down from about $0.928 in 2024. That breaks down to $0.2015 for operations, $0.2120 for water, sewer and drainage debt, $0.4255 for road debt and a $0.051 contract tax.
On a $500,000 home, that’s about $4,450 a year, compared with about $2,858 at the city rate. The district held a hearing on its 2026 rate on September 28, 2026, but hadn’t posted the adopted rate in early October.
The board meets the fourth Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Celina Police Department, 3025 S. Coit Rd. Check ccmud1.org for the adopted rate before you budget.
A public improvement district charges a fixed annual installment to repay the cost of roads, utilities and other improvements. It’s separate from your property tax rate, is billed by the county tax office around October 1 and is due January 31.
In packets published by MuniCap, the city’s PID administrator, a 60-foot lot in Mustang Lakes paid about $1,655 for 2025, a 50-foot lot in Wilson Creek Meadows about $1,806, and Cambridge Crossing lots about $2,915 to $3,586. Mosaic, Lilyana, Legacy Hills and others have their own schedules.
Installments vary by community, phase and lot, and many can be paid off early. Ask the seller for the PID notice and the current payoff.
Most of Celina is in Celina ISD, which earned a B (85) in TEA’s preliminary 2026 ratings. South Celina, including Light Farms, Mustang Lakes, Mosaic and part of Lilyana, is in Prosper ISD, which earned an A (91).
The tax difference is small: Celina ISD adopted $1.2088 and Prosper ISD $1.2011 per $100, about $28 a year apart on a $500,000 homestead. Neither district has a bond or tax election on the November 2026 ballot.
Both districts are opening new campuses and adjusting attendance zones as enrollment grows. Confirm the district on the appraisal record and the campus with the district before you write an offer.
The city provides water, sewer and trash billing. Contact Utility Customer Service at 142 N. Ohio St., 972-382-3345 or [email protected]. City Hall is open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
New accounts pay a $200 security deposit and a $25 nonrefundable setup fee. You can apply with the city’s new utility application or start service and pay online through the city’s payment portal.
Light Farms homes in the MUD are also billed by the city for water. Electricity, natural gas and internet are separate; check each provider’s address tool before move-in day, and use the city’s Resident Dashboard to find your trash day.
Community Waste Disposal collects trash and recycling under the city’s contract, and service is billed on your city utility bill. Look up your collection day on the city’s Resident Dashboard by entering your address.
For missed pickups or bulk items, call CWD at 972-392-9300, option 2. Bulk pickups are quoted for a fee, and CWD asks for three photos of the items. Extra carts are ordered through the city at 972-382-3345.
New-construction streets can change routes as neighborhoods fill in, so confirm the schedule after you move in. If you’re in an HOA, check its rules on where carts can be kept between pickups.
It depends on the address. Areas served by Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative don’t have retail choice; the co-op is your provider. In Oncor areas, you can pick a retail electric provider on PowerToChoose.org. CoServ also serves parts of the area.
Natural gas is primarily from Atmos Energy. For internet, providers include Optimum, GCEC Telecom fiber, Verizon and Spectrum. Since 2017, the city has required developers to install fiber conduit, and the state recognized Celina as Texas’ first gigabit city in 2022.
Check providers on the city’s Resident Dashboard or with each company before closing, since service can differ from one street to the next in a growing area.
Yes. Methodist Celina Medical Center opened March 17, 2025, at 1500 S. Dallas Pkwy., about three miles from the square. It’s the city’s first full-service hospital, with 51 beds, an emergency department, operating rooms with robotic surgery and a cath lab, and room to grow past 100 beds.
The main number is 945-677-5000. Methodist also runs family health centers at 625 S. Preston Rd., Suite 130, and on the hospital campus at 1530 S. Dallas Pkwy.
Sources differ on the number of emergency and intensive care beds. Call 911 in an emergency, and check your insurance network for the facilities closest to your address.
The North Texas Tollway Authority plans to open the roughly six-mile extension from US 380 to FM 428 by late 2027, weather permitting. It’s estimated at about $460 million, with three main lanes in each direction.
Until then, Preston Road carries most north-south trips, and construction can slow nearby roads. The Collin County Outer Loop’s Segment 3C opened in November 2025, linking the tollway area in Celina to US 75 north of McKinney.
Collin County’s November 3, 2026, bond includes $475 million for roads, including tollway service roads and an Outer Loop service road. Check NTTA’s project page for the latest schedule.
Collin County residents vote on an $817.5 million county bond in four propositions: $296.5 million for courts and detention, $475 million for roads, $6 million for parks and $40 million for an elections and records facility. The county projects its debt rate could rise to about 4.95 cents per $100 by 2031, roughly $27 a year on a $350,000 home.
Voters also decide a $600 million Collin College bond; college officials don’t expect the rate to rise if it passes. Neither Celina ISD nor Prosper ISD has a bond or tax election on this ballot.
Early voting begins October 19; check Collin County Elections for locations and hours, and read the official ballot language before you vote.
File Form 50-114 with the Collin Central Appraisal District or the Denton Central Appraisal District, depending on the county. You qualify if you own and live in the home on January 1; the general deadline is April 30, and late filing is allowed for up to two years.
The exemption takes $140,000 off your school taxable value, plus $60,000 more for owners 65 and older or disabled, who also get a school tax ceiling. The city and Collin County each exempt $30,000 for owners 65 and older, and the city has had a senior tax ceiling since 2018.
After your first year, the homestead cap limits taxable value increases to 10 percent a year. New-construction buyers should expect a jump when the finished home is appraised.
Yes, for now. Redfin’s median sale price for the three months ending August 2026 was about $498,700, down 9.3 percent from a year earlier, with homes selling in a median 86 days at about 96.6 percent of list.
About 55 percent of listings had a price drop, and sales volume rose as builders kept delivering homes. At the county level, the Collin County home price index slipped 0.75 percent in 2025 after peaking in 2024.
With Freddie Mac’s 30-year average at 7.28 percent on October 1, 2026, buyers have room to negotiate on price, closing costs or a rate buydown. For a specific home, recent comparable sales nearby are the true guide.
The 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit home is $832,750, per FHFA. Lender tables put Collin County’s FHA limit at $563,500; confirm it on HUD’s lookup before you rely on it.
At 7.28 percent, a $400,000 loan, 20 percent down on a $500,000 home, runs about $2,737 a month in principal and interest. Add roughly $688 a month in property tax inside city limits, plus insurance, HOA dues and any PID installment.
Ask your lender about state programs from TSAHC and TDHCA, compare builder rate buydowns with a lower price, and make sure the estimate uses the right school district, MUD or PID for the lot.
The city’s Downtown Center, with city offices, a new library of about 26,000 square feet, rooftop space and a 400-space garage, has a $59.05 million construction price and is expected to open in early 2027.
After the move, the current City Hall is to be removed to make room for an enhanced square with an event lawn, with construction scheduled for 2028 and 2029. Private projects include a new building at 102 N. Ohio St., a restaurant in the Mayer Building at 313 W. Pecan St. and the $15 million Trackside Junction.
Dates are projections and can change. Expect construction around the square to affect parking and event layouts for several years.
Celina adopted a home rule charter on May 12, 2007, and uses a council-manager form of government. Voters elect a mayor and six council members, all at large by place, to three-year terms; the council appoints a city manager to run daily operations.
In May 2025, voters approved 10 charter amendments, including term limits and letting the mayor vote on all matters. City elections are held in May: Places 2 and 3 are up in 2027, Places 1 and 6 in 2028, and the mayor and Places 4 and 5 in 2029.
County, school district and state elections are separate. Confirm dates and filing deadlines with the City Secretary.
Usually, yes. Contact Building Services at 112 N. Colorado St., 972-521-1896. Under the city’s November 2025 fee chart, a fence permit is $75, an irrigation permit $200 and each mechanical, electrical or plumbing permit $100. Starting work without a permit doubles the fee.
The city builds to the 2024 International Residential Code with local amendments. Pools, patios, additions and remodels have their own permits and reviews, so check the fee chart and requirements before work starts.
HOA approval is separate from a city permit, and most master-planned communities require architectural review first. Before you buy, ask the seller for permit records on any additions or major repairs.
Yes. The library is at 142 N. Ohio St., inside the current City Hall on the square. It’s open Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Any Texas resident can get a card with a government photo ID; a parent signs for applicants under 18. Cards allow up to 45 items, including 10 DVDs, plus hoopla digital access.
The library is set to move into a new space of about 26,000 square feet in the Downtown Center, expected in early 2027. Check the city’s library page for hours and programs, which may shift during the move.
Answers were verified as of October 7, 2026, from the City of Celina, Collin County, the Collin and Denton Central Appraisal Districts, Collin County MUD No. 1, MuniCap, Celina ISD, Prosper ISD, the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Comptroller, the North Texas Tollway Authority, Methodist Health System, Collin College, FHFA, Freddie Mac, Redfin, Community Impact and other local reporting. Rates, fees, providers and hours change; verify anything you intend to rely on. Tax figures use 2026 adopted rates per $100: City of Celina 0.571677, Celina ISD 1.2088, Prosper ISD 1.2011, Collin County 0.151414, Collin College 0.08122 (reported) and Denton County 0.183394; the Light Farms figure uses Collin County MUD No. 1’s 2025 rate of 0.89, because its 2026 rate hadn’t been posted. Tax figures are illustrations for an owner under 65; the city offers no general homestead exemption, per the Collin County Tax Office’s 2025 table. They exclude PID installments. They are not quotes. PID installments are from MuniCap packets for specific lots and vary by community, phase and lot. The ETJ development-agreement share is from a city official quoted in news reports. Exemption amounts are from the county tax office’s 2025 table and may change for 2026. The FHA limit (from lender tables), hospital bed counts and Downtown Center dates and budget vary by source or weren’t confirmed. Electric, gas and internet availability varies by address. This is general information, not legal, tax, lending, insurance, environmental or engineering advice. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Verified numbers and links for Celina. Two things to check on every address: which county and appraisal district it’s in, and whether it’s inside city limits, in a PID or in Light Farms’ MUD. Start with the green first-week cards; health care is in red and anything outside Celina in purple.
Water, sewer and trash through Utility Customer Service: a $200 deposit plus a $25 setup fee. Apply online or at City Hall, Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
972-382-3345 142 N. Ohio St. Do this firstHomestead and over-65 exemptions, values and protests for Collin County-side homes. File by April 30.
469-742-9200 250 Eldorado Pkwy., McKinney Do this firstFile here instead if the home is on the Denton County side, such as Mosaic.
940-349-3800 3911 Morse St., Denton Do this firstProperty tax bills and vehicle registration; weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The main office in McKinney is 972-547-5014.
469-362-5800 6101 Frisco Square Blvd., Frisco Do this firstProperty tax and vehicle services for Denton County-side homes; opens at 10 a.m. Wednesdays.
940-349-3500 5533 FM 423, Ste. 401, Frisco Do this firstCommunity Waste Disposal collects under the city contract. Find your day on the city’s Resident Dashboard; bulk pickups are quoted from photos.
972-392-9300 Option 2 Do this firstSign up for Everbridge emergency alerts by call, text, email or app, and Notify Me for city news. Residents who may need extra help can join the state’s STEAR registry.
celina-tx.gov Do this firstRegister to vote or update your address; Denton County-side voters use Denton County Elections instead.
972-547-1990 2010 Redbud Blvd., Ste. 102, McKinney City HallCity offices, the City Secretary and public records on the square, Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
945-362-9001 142 N. Ohio St. Public WorksStreets and water lines, weekdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. After-hours water emergencies: 945-362-9968.
945-362-9710 10165 CR 106 PermitsResidential permits and inspections; a fence permit is $75, and work without a permit pays double.
972-521-1896 112 N. Colorado St. CodeReport code issues with photos and track them in the city’s Celina Life Connected app.
celina-tx.gov ParksBall fields, a fishing pond, trails and an all-inclusive playground; programs register through CivicRec.
celina-tx.gov 12670 FM 428 LibraryFree cards for Texas residents with a photo ID. Sunday 12 to 4, Monday–Thursday 10 to 8, Friday–Saturday 10 to 6.
945-362-9334 142 N. Ohio St. SeniorsLunches, fitness, bingo and clubs for members 65 and older; Monday–Thursday 9 to 5, Friday 9 to 3.
972-382-7730 410 E. Main St. CourtCitations and payments; the clerk is open Monday–Thursday and closed Fridays.
945-362-9225 142 N. Ohio St. PoliceNon-emergency calls go to Collin County dispatch. Call 911 for emergencies.
972-547-5350 3025 S. Coit Rd. FireAdministration and the fire marshal (945-362-9468); Fire Station No. 4 is under construction on Punk Carter Parkway.
945-362-9520 Fire administration BusinessSites, incentives and new projects, from Preston Road retail to downtown redevelopment.
celinaedc.com ElectricThe electric provider for co-op areas, where retail choice doesn’t apply; check your address.
gcec.net ElectricIn Oncor areas, shop retail plans at PowerToChoose.org; Oncor handles outages. Text OUT to 66267.
888-313-4747 Outages, 24/7 GasNatural gas service. For a gas leak, leave the area, then call 911 and Atmos at 866-322-8667.
888-286-6700 Customer service InternetFiber is common in newer communities; check the FCC broadband map and each provider.
broadbandmap.fcc.gov Before you digFree utility line locates before you dig for fences or pools; city right-of-way locates: 972-382-9886.
811 Light FarmsThe Light Farms MUD: rates, the notice to purchasers and board meetings, held monthly at 6 p.m.
972-823-0800 ccmud1.org PIDsThe city’s PID administrator posts assessment plans and lot packets for Celina’s PIDs.
municap.com SchoolsServes most of the city; enrollment is online, and attendance zones are on the district site.
469-742-9100 205 S. Colorado St. SchoolsServes south Celina, including Light Farms, Mustang Lakes and Mosaic; confirm the zone by address.
945-678-0000 605 E. 7th St., Prosper CollegeTransfer courses, nursing, allied health and IT, plus dual credit for area high schoolers.
469-905-3590 2505 Kinship Pkwy. HospitalCelina’s first full-service hospital, opened in 2025, with a 24-hour emergency department.
945-677-5000 1500 S. Dallas Pkwy. Primary carePrimary care on Preston Road; a second center is on the hospital campus at 1530 S. Dallas Pkwy.
469-915-4825 625 S. Preston Rd., Ste. 130 Help linesPoison Control 1-800-222-1222; 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; 211 for Texas health and social services.
1-800-222-1222 TollsTollTag accounts and updates on the Dallas North Tollway extension to FM 428, due in 2027.
ntta.org GroceriesThe nearest H-E-B, opened in 2025; a Celina store is planned but has no announced date.
2145 W. Frontier Pkwy., Prosper Before you buyCheck any parcel near a creek or drainage channel, and ask for an elevation certificate.
msc.fema.gov BuyingState down payment and mortgage credit certificate programs, with income and price limits.
tsahc.org tdhca.texas.govLinks, phone numbers and addresses verified October 2026 against the City of Celina (utility billing, public works, building services, service requests, parks, library, senior center, municipal court, police, fire and emergency notification pages), the Collin and Denton Central Appraisal Districts, the Collin and Denton County tax offices, Collin County Elections, Collin County MUD No. 1, Celina ISD, Prosper ISD, Collin College and Methodist Health System, and subject to change; if something has moved, tell me and I will correct it. Celina spans Collin and Denton counties, and Light Farms lies outside city limits in a MUD. Confirm the county, every taxing unit, any PID and the school district before you buy. Conflicts flagged: City Hall is also listed at 972-382-2682, the library at 972-382-8655 and police administration at 945-362-9002 and 972-382-2121; older posts mention CodeRED, which the city has replaced with Everbridge. The utility deposit, building permit fee and Community Waste Disposal details are from earlier city documents and weren’t re-verified this round. Grayson-Collin Electric, CoServ, Oncor, Atmos, NTTA, FEMA, TSAHC and Texas 811 contacts, Denton CAD hours, Denton County Elections contacts, animal services arrangements, urgent care clinics, private schools, internet providers and the H-E-B Celina timeline weren’t verified. CoServ also serves parts of the area. Listings are provided for general reference and are not endorsements; I receive no compensation from any organization named. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Celina, the nation’s fastest-growing city of its size, reached an estimated 64,427 residents in 2025 and spans Collin and Denton counties. Most new homes sit in master-planned communities with PIDs, Light Farms sits outside city limits in a MUD, and the city is split between Celina ISD and Prosper ISD. Two homes at the same price can carry very different yearly costs. I sort out the details that matter here, and the awkward parts are named.
Most of Celina is in Collin County, but western communities such as Mosaic are in Denton County, with a different appraisal district, tax office and exemptions. Collin County homes also pay Collin College’s rate; Denton County homes don’t. I pull the parcel on the right appraisal district before we write an offer.
Light Farms sits outside city limits in Collin County MUD No. 1, which charged $0.89 per $100 in 2025, versus the city’s $0.571677. On $500,000, that’s about $4,450 instead of $2,858. I hand you the MUD notice and check the 2026 rate once the board posts it.
Most master-planned communities inside city limits carry a PID installment; published packets show about $1,655 to $3,586 a year for sample lots in Mustang Lakes, Wilson Creek Meadows and Cambridge Crossing. I get the PID notice and the payoff so you see the full yearly cost, not just the tax rate.
Builders list homes from about $305,000 in Legacy Hills to more than $800,000 in Mosaic, and Redfin showed hundreds of new homes for sale in Celina this fall. I put a resale next to the builder’s offer, compare an incentive with a price cut and push for third-party inspections before drywall and at final.
Redfin’s three-month median ending August 2026 was about $498,700, down 9.3 percent, with homes taking a median 86 days and about 55 percent of listings cutting price. With rates near 7.28 percent, I negotiate on price, closing costs or a rate buydown.
A new home is often taxed on a partial value the first year, then on its full value; the 10 percent homestead cap starts after that. Owners 65 and older get $30,000 exemptions from the city and Collin County, plus school, city and county ceilings. I underwrite on the full-value bill and calendar the May protest deadline.
The Dallas North Tollway is set to reach FM 428 in 2027, Fire Station No. 4 opens about the same time and the city projected about 2,400 new-home permits for FY2026. On November 3, voters decide an $817.5 million county bond. I show you what’s scheduled, not what’s promised.
Celina has real trade-offs: construction everywhere, Preston Road traffic until the tollway opens, PID and MUD costs on top of taxes, no DART service, falling prices for recent buyers and attendance zones that keep changing. If any of that is a dealbreaker, you will hear it from me first.
Confirm the county and appraisal district for the address. Second, check city limits: city tax or Light Farms’ MUD. Third, get the PID notice and payoff. Fourth, confirm the school district: Celina ISD or Prosper ISD. Fifth, budget for the full-value tax bill on new construction. And sixth, price in the November 3 bond votes.
Celina-specific things to raise with all four. Freddie Mac’s 30-year average was 7.28 percent on October 1, 2026, and with builders competing, ask how a builder or seller-paid buydown compares with a price cut. Collin County’s FHA limit is $563,500, just above Celina’s median, so larger new homes may need a conventional loan; the $832,750 conforming limit covers most homes. Ask about TSAHC and TDHCA programs, and make sure any PID installment or MUD tax is in the payment estimate. I recommend these lenders based on their expertise and service. I do not receive compensation for referrals.
Either is fine. I answer my own phone, and you will never be routed to a call center or handed to a junior agent. Send me an address and I will tell you which county and school district it’s in, whether it carries a PID or MUD, what the full tax bill looks like and what’s planned nearby.
Bobby Franklin, REALTOR® · Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team · 214-228-0003 · northtexasmarketinsider.com
Information on this page is provided for general reference and is not legal, tax, insurance, environmental, engineering or lending advice. Tax figures are illustrations for a $500,000 homestead using 2026 adopted rates per $100: City of Celina 0.571677 and Collin County MUD No. 1’s 2025 rate of 0.89, because its 2026 rate hadn’t been posted in early October 2026. They are not quotes. PID installments are from MuniCap packets for specific lots in 2024–2026 and vary by community, phase and lot. Over-65 exemption amounts are from the Collin County Tax Office’s 2025 exemption table and may change. New-home pricing is from builder and aggregator listings in 2026 and changes often; the new-home listing count is Redfin’s. Market figures are Redfin’s for the three months ending August 2026; other sources report different figures. The inspection note is general guidance, not a finding about any property. Tollway, fire station and permit figures are projections from the North Texas Tollway Authority and the City of Celina, and sources differ on the tollway’s opening. The FHA limit is from published tables and should be confirmed with HUD; the conforming limit is FHFA’s 2026 limit. The mortgage rate is Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for October 1, 2026. School district assignment is determined by address. All real estate services are provided through Legacy Realty Group. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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Waxahachie, TX 75165
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