Where brand-new homes cost less than almost anywhere in the corridor. America’s fastest-growing city is still writing its first chapter
Princeton, a Collin County city of about 43,500 residents (Census, 2025) along US 380, runs from an older downtown core to large master plans on every side. Here are 8 areas with dated price context and the PID details that change the yearly cost.
Older homes; priced individually
The older core around US 380 and North Main Street, with ranch-style and infill homes and local spots such as Rivera’s and Paleteria del Barrio a short walk away.
Mostly resale, with no master developer. Late-September 2026 sales ranged from about $217,000 to $310,000. No PID found. Princeton ISD.
New homes from about $359K
A master plan of about 854 acres entitled for roughly 2,400 lots, with Lennar among the active builders.
Lennar’s plans listed from about $358,999 to $433,999 in 2026. The Whitewing Trails PID No. 2 installment was estimated at about $1,285 to $2,297 for 2026, depending on lot size and phase. Princeton ISD.
Mostly resale
About 950 homes on 217 acres, built largely by Lennar, with an amenity center, linear hike-and-bike trails and about 8.5 acres of open space.
The Arcadia Farms PID installment for a 50-foot lot in Phases 1 and 2 is about $1,076 for 2025–26, on a $12,045 assessment. Princeton ISD.
New homes from about $254K
A D.R. Horton community of roughly 1,500 lots across two PIDs, among Princeton’s lower-priced new-construction options.
D.R. Horton listed homes from about $254,490 in 2026. City brochures estimate maximum Winchester PID installments of about $924 to $1,340 a year for a 55-foot lot. Princeton ISD.
New homes; prices vary
Eastridge covers about 568 acres and 2,100 lots, with an amenity center, pool, four neighborhood parks and trails; Southridge was added to the same development agreement.
Among Princeton’s higher PID loads: about $3,285 a year for a 50-foot lot in Eastridge Improvement Area 4 and $3,200 for a 60-foot lot in Southridge Improvement Area 3 for tax year 2025. Princeton ISD.
New homes from about $309K
A Megatel Homes community of about 434 acres built around a swimming lagoon with cabanas and trails.
Move-in homes listed from about $309,000 to $458,000 in 2026. Original estimates put the Sicily PID at about $4,177 a year for a 50-foot lot in Improvement Area 1, Princeton’s highest found. Princeton ISD; verify by address.
Mixed-use; homes vary
A 297-acre mixed-use area around the Princeton Municipal Center and a 9.5-acre city park, with retail, offices, medical and several types of housing.
The Crossroads PID runs about $172 per residential lot a year, the lightest found in Princeton, with the final installment on the 2047 tax bill. Princeton ISD.
Resale and newer homes
A neighborhood with an amenity center, nature trails and about 40 acres of open space.
The Brookside PID was created in 2017; its current per-lot installment wasn’t found, so get it from the seller’s disclosure or the city’s 2026 assessment plan. Princeton ISD.
Swipe or drag sideways to see them all.
Redfin’s three-month median through August 2026 was about $319,300, down 6.1 percent, with homes selling in about 68 days.
Orchard counted about 8 months of supply, up from under 3.
Princeton grew 18.1 percent from 2024 to 2025 to about 43,524 residents, third among U.S. cities of 20,000 or more.
It ranked first the year before.
Nearly every newer neighborhood has a city PID, from about $172 to more than $4,000 a year.
Get the PID notice and payoff for every address.
The council adopted a 2026 rate of $0.472959 per $100 on September 28, up from $0.440226.
Princeton ISD, rated B (81) for 2025, serves the neighborhoods shown; confirm by address.
Princeton counted 17,027 residents in the 2020 census; the Census Bureau estimated 43,524 for July 1, 2025, and ranked Princeton third in growth among U.S. cities of 20,000 or more, after first place in the 2024 estimates. It lies in Collin County. Price figures are dated snapshots: Redfin’s three-month city median ending August 2026, Orchard’s 30-day supply figure and builder prices listed in 2026; they are context, not values. Builder prices change often. PID installments are from MuniCap’s 2025–26 notices and assessment plan updates, city homeowner brochures (Winchester, December 2023) and Sicily’s original estimates; they vary by lot and phase, may be reduced by TIRZ credits in Whitewing Trails and change each year. Brookside’s installment and Brookside’s exact location weren’t confirmed. The city tax rate is from the Princeton Herald’s report of the September 28, 2026, adoption. The city’s residential development moratorium ended in late 2025. Whether any Princeton-addressed areas lie in other school districts wasn’t confirmed. 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.
Princeton eats local, from birria and carnitas along US 380 and FM 982 to downtown Tex-Mex and paleta shops on Main Street, with a 66-acre Princeton Town Center rising. Here’s a 2026-checked list of 15.
300 W. Princeton Dr., Ste. 14
A locally owned diner serving breakfast, burgers and Mexican plates, from hamburger steak to al pastor.
320 N. Main St.
Downtown Tex-Mex with fajitas, combo plates, margaritas and live music.
670 W. Princeton Dr., Ste. 100
Breakfast and brunch plates, including chicken-fried steak, blueberry lemon French toast and crepes.
312 W. Princeton Dr., #1
Hibachi grill plates and sushi rolls.
3097 FM 982
A neighborhood taqueria known for carnitas and chicharrón.
4832 E. US 380
Mexican plates including birria ramen, barbacoa and desserts.
312 W. Princeton Dr., Ste. 2
Birria, pozole and tamales alongside a taco menu.
133 W. Princeton Dr.
Tex-Mex with street tacos and chile relleno near downtown.
3195 FM 982
A food-truck park whose vendors have included Josephine’s Soul Food Kitchen and a coffee truck; the lineup rotates.
406 E. Princeton Dr., #100
Chinese takeout with General Tso’s chicken and pad thai.
406 E. Princeton Dr.
A bubble tea shop with taro milk tea and boba bowls.
130 W. Princeton Dr., Ste. C
Mexican paletas, fresas con crema and frozen treats.
316 N. Main St.
Ice cream, mini pancakes and elote on North Main Street downtown.
Princeton Town Center
A store of nearly 100,000 square feet with a 14-position fuel center, which broke ground July 15, 2026. The city expects about 200 jobs.
US 380 at N. Beauchamp Blvd.
A 66-acre center with announced tenants including Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and PetSmart.
Princeton’s local spots cluster along US 380 (Princeton Drive), on North Main Street downtown and along FM 982, with a Kroger-anchored Princeton Town Center coming in late 2027.
There’s no H-E-B in Princeton; the nearest are in Melissa and McKinney.
Compiled October 2026. Listings are from Yelp and Restaurantji listings with 2026 activity, business pages, the City of Princeton and the Princeton Herald, and were not confirmed with owners or against state sales-tax permits; call ahead to confirm hours and that a business is still open. Several other spots, including Italian, Thai, Indian, Venezuelan and barbecue restaurants and a local coffee shop, were left off until their addresses are confirmed. Food-truck vendors rotate. National chains along US 380 include Walmart, Starbucks, Scooter’s Coffee and Dutch Bros. Princeton Town Center timelines and tenants are the developer’s and the city’s as of July 2026 and may change. No H-E-B is announced for Princeton; the nearest stores are in Melissa (1230 Central Expy.) and McKinney (8700 Eldorado Pkwy.). The nearest Costco and Target weren’t confirmed. Listings are provided for general 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 Wilson’s Switch to the Nation’s Fastest-Growing City
Before settlement, the Princeton area was open Blackland Prairie drained by creeks feeding the East Fork of the Trinity River.
The Handbook of Texas places Princeton in the rich agricultural region of the Blackland Prairie, whose deep, dark soil covers much of Collin County. The East Fork of the Trinity River runs just south and east of town, fed by creeks such as Sister Grove Creek. Lavon Lake would later be built on the East Fork, but for centuries this was open grassland and wooded creek bottoms.
Native peoples hunted and traveled this prairie and its creek bottoms long before Anglo-American settlement. The Handbook says the absence of organized resistance, combined with fertile soil and land grants, drew settlers to Collin County in the early 1840s. The sources reviewed for this timeline don’t name the specific tribes of the Princeton vicinity, so this timeline describes their presence in general terms rather than guessing.
Peters Colony land grants drew the first farm families to the creeks and prairie around the future Princeton.
The Handbook says Peters Colony land grants attracted settlers to the area in the early 1840s. Collin County had only about 150 residents when it was split from Fannin County on April 3, 1846; Buckner served as the first county seat until McKinney took the role in 1848. Early farmers settled near streams on small family farms that grew mostly wheat and corn, hauling goods by wagon.
About three miles from present Princeton, Missouri farmer William Warden received a Peters Colony certificate for 640 acres in 1850 and settled there with his family in 1851, founding what became Climax. Nearby, Jesse Stiff, who came to Texas from Virginia in 1835, settled on several thousand acres. Stiff Chapel Cemetery, about six miles away, carries a state historical marker erected in 1984.
Before rail service, the area was a patchwork of family farms and rural cemeteries, and the Wilson brothers arrived in the late 1870s.
Van Winkle Cemetery at Climax has served area families since the mid-1800s; its earliest marked grave dates to 1867, and it is named for surveyor David Van Winkle. Abraham Recer built an early toll bridge across Sister Grove Creek. Collin County had 903 farms in 1870, and its first railroad, the Houston and Texas Central, linked McKinney and Plano in 1872, though no line yet reached the Princeton area.
The Handbook of Texas and the City of Princeton say T. B. Wilson and his brother George began farming near the site of the future town in the late 1870s. Their land lay in the path of a coming railroad line, and their family name would give the first settlement its name. The Handbook notes that pre-railroad settlements seldom survived if the railroads bypassed them.
In 1881 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad laid track through the Wilson farms, and the stop became known as Wilson’s Switch.
The Handbook says that in 1881 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, known as the Katy, extended its line from Greenville to McKinney, passing through land owned by the Wilson brothers. A 2019 state historical marker adds that the Katy had acquired the bankrupt East Line and Red River Railroad, and that a town first called Wilson’s Switch grew up around a railroad water station.
When residents applied for a post office, the name Wilson was already taken, so they submitted Princeton, in honor of Prince Dowlin, a landowner and promoter of the town. The Handbook dates the post office to 1888, and the cemetery marker gives November of that year. Altoga Cemetery, about five miles northwest, records its earliest burials in 1881, the same year the rails arrived.
Princeton built its first school in 1898, organized its cemetery and incorporated in May 1912.
A state historical marker says the earliest burials on George Wilson’s property date from 1890 to 1894, and a few weeks before his death in 1895, Wilson conveyed three acres around the graves to the Princeton Cemetery Association. The town’s first school building rose just north of the cemetery in 1898. Later, the Odd Fellows lodge managed the cemetery from 1912 to 1926, and it holds 128 veterans.
Nearby farm communities grew at the same time. Climax had two cotton gins, a grain elevator, a school, a church, a hotel and a general store by the mid-1890s. According to the City of Princeton, the town incorporated in May 1912, with John K. Wilson as its first mayor. The Handbook of Texas doesn’t give an incorporation date, so that year rests on the city’s own history.
Princeton grew into a farm trade center with mills, grain elevators, a bank, a newspaper and the state’s largest bois d’arc lumber producer.
The Handbook says Princeton quickly became a retail and commercial center for area farmers, providing mills and grain elevators for wheat, corn, onions and sorghum. It also had a lumber factory that became the state’s largest producer of bois d’arc lumber, the hard, rot-resistant wood of the Osage orange tree, which a secondary source says was used for paving blocks in Texas cities.
By the mid-1920s, the Handbook says, the town provided electricity, water, natural gas and paved roads for about 500 residents and had more than 25 businesses, including a bank and a weekly newspaper. The population was 500 in 1920 and 459 in 1930, according to Texas Almanac figures. Onions and cotton would soon draw hundreds of seasonal workers to the surrounding farms each year.
Onion and cotton harvests drew hundreds of seasonal workers, and a migratory labor camp was built west of town.
The City of Princeton says a migratory labor camp was built in 1940 west of town, where Community Park now stands, for 300 to 400 workers who came for the onion and cotton seasons. A state marker says it was dedicated in 1941 with House Speaker Sam Rayburn attending. A 30,000-gallon water tank went up first, followed by 76 California redwood cabins with concrete floors and oil stoves.
Princeton ISD says that by the 1940s the town shipped about 175 rail-car loads of onions a year, earning the local nickname “Onion Capital of Texas.” The Handbook confirms Princeton was known as an onion-growing center. In 1943 the Noino Study Club, “onion” spelled backward, began turning a dump site on old railroad land downtown into a park. The town had 564 residents in 1940.
In February 1945 the migrant camp became a branch camp for German prisoners of war, who worked area farms and helped build a memorial park.
The Handbook says Princeton was one of about 120 Texas towns to house a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. The City of Princeton says the migrant camp became a camp for German prisoners in February 1945. A local history describes it as a branch of Camp Howze in Cooke County, and area farmers hired and paid for the prisoners’ labor during harvest season.
The city put prisoners to work enlarging the public park, which was dedicated as a living memorial to those who served in World War II. Accounts differ on how long the camp operated, from eight months to the prisoners’ release in early 1946. The site then returned to migrant use. Today it is J.M. Caldwell Sr. Community Park, 500 W. College St., where the old water tower still stands.
A 1948 tornado damaged every business in town, and the same year work began on Lavon Dam, which created a lake that reshaped Princeton.
The City of Princeton says a tornado struck on May 3, 1948, causing about $110,000 in damage in town and about $150,000 including crops. Every business building in town was damaged, and the Methodist church had to be torn down and rebuilt. Residents rebuilt the downtown in the years that followed, while the population held steady at a few hundred people.
That same January, construction began on Lavon Dam on the East Fork of the Trinity River, which Congress had authorized in 1945 for flood control and water supply. The Texas Water Development Board says impoundment began in September 1953. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the lake, and the North Texas Municipal Water District holds its water rights. A later modification raised the dam in 1975.
Lavon Lake and the spread of the Dallas area pushed Princeton past 1,000 residents and then past 3,000.
The Handbook says Princeton’s population held at 564 until Lavon Lake was completed in 1953, about five miles away. The lake’s proximity helped raise the population to about 1,100 by 1972. Census figures show 594 residents in 1960 and 1,105 in 1970, and the school district came to serve the lake’s west side, as Princeton ISD still does today. The lake also gave residents a nearby place to fish and boat.
The growth of the Dallas area and the rise of Plano as Collin County’s business center pushed Princeton to 3,408 residents by 1982, according to the Handbook. By 1988 more than 30 businesses operated in town, which was surrounded by horse and cattle ranches and farms. A new Princeton High School opened in 1986; that building later became Clark Middle School, renamed in 2004 when a newer high school opened.
Princeton roughly doubled each decade, opened a new high school on US 380 and settled a court fight over its city limits.
The census counted 3,477 residents in 2000 and 6,807 in 2010, as subdivisions spread along the US 380 corridor between McKinney and Farmersville. A new Princeton High School opened at 1000 E. Princeton Dr. in 2004 and was renamed Princeton Senior High School in 2021. Southard Middle School opened in 2019. Princeton ISD covers about 60 square miles, including Culleoka, Lowry Crossing and the west side of Lake Lavon.
In 2010, Collin County challenged the city’s claim to a 5.5-mile strip of right-of-way that traced back to a 1971 ordinance. A 2011 district court judgment set the city’s southern limit near FM 982, and the council voted not to appeal. Commercial development shifted toward US 380, which carried most of the town’s new shops, restaurants and services by the late 2000s.
Princeton grew from 17,027 residents in 2020 to first in the nation for growth in 2024, paused new housing for 14 months and broke ground on its first big retail center.
The 2020 census counted 17,027 residents. The Princeton Municipal Center at 2000 E. Princeton Dr. was scheduled to open in April 2022, and voters approved a $108.1 million parks bond in November 2023. The Census Bureau then ranked Princeton the fastest-growing U.S. city of 20,000 or more, up 30.6 percent to 37,019 residents in 2024, and third the following year at about 43,524.
The city adopted a residential development moratorium in September 2024 and extended it until it expired in November 2025, when a new state law, House Bill 2559, limited such pauses. On July 15, 2026, Kroger broke ground on a nearly 100,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace anchoring the 66-acre Princeton Town Center, where Home Depot and Hobby Lobby are also planned for late 2027.
Compiled from the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas (Princeton, Collin County, Climax, Culleoka and Lavon Lake entries), Texas Historical Commission marker text via the Historical Marker Database (Princeton Cemetery, World War II P.O.W. Camp, Van Winkle, Altoga and Stiff Chapel cemeteries), the City of Princeton, Princeton ISD, the Texas Water Development Board, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Princeton Herald, WFAA, the Texas Municipal League and Kroger. Sources disagree on several points: whether the labor camp dates to 1940 or 1941, how long the POW camp operated (eight months or until early 1946), the post office month (October or November 1888), the 2010 population (6,807 per the census or 6,924 per the city) and the 1990 population (2,321 or 2,448). The 1912 incorporation date is from the city. The bois d’arc paving detail, school opening years and the 2010–2011 boundary case are from secondary sources, and the 2022 Municipal Center opening date is from a city event listing. Retail opening dates are developer projections. Population figures are census counts, historical estimates and Census Bureau estimates. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
An Onion Festival, Fishing at the Municipal Center Pond and Fireworks at the Old Camp Site
A celebration of Princeton’s onion-farming heritage with a fun run and 5K, more than 100 craft vendors, a 3-on-3 basketball match, a cornhole tournament and a live auction. Held April 23, 2022, April 26, 2025, and April 25, 2026, the 22nd annual. Next: April 2027.
Hosted by the Princeton Lions Club with Princeton ISD.
Proceeds fund student eyeglasses, scholarships and the Princeton Gives holiday program.
A free catch-and-release fishing event with loaner poles and bait while supplies last, hourly prizes for the heaviest fish, bounce houses and face painting. Held April 22, 2023, May 4, 2024, May 10, 2025, and April 18, 2026. Next: spring 2027.
Run by the City of Princeton.
The 13-foot-deep pond is stocked with bass, bluegill, sunfish and tilapia.
Princeton’s Independence Day celebration, with live music, carnival rides, water activities and a fireworks finale. Free admission and parking, per the city. Held June 29, 2024, and June 27, 2026, when a 250-drone show marked America’s 250th. Next: late June 2027.
Run by the City of Princeton.
The city holds its celebration on a late-June Saturday rather than July 4.
The city’s fall festival, with a trunk-or-treat in partnership with Princeton ISD, costume contests, a petting zoo, a DJ and food vendors. Free; a clear-bag policy applies. Held October 19, 2024, and October 18, 2025, after a 2023 Fall Fest. Next: October 17, 2026, 5–8 p.m.
Run by the City of Princeton.
Empty trick-or-treat bags are allowed under the bag policy.
The city’s holiday celebration, which grew out of a Christmas tree lighting held from 2021 through 2023 with ice skating, crafts and photos with Santa. Free. Held December 6, 2025. Next: Saturday, December 5, 2026.
Run by the City of Princeton.
The 2024 edition was rained out and rescheduled; check the city calendar for weather changes.
Princeton’s big gatherings center on J.M. Caldwell Sr. Community Park, the former WWII camp site, and the Municipal Center pond, from the Onion Festival in April to Freedom & Fireworks in June and North Pole Christmas in December.
Most city events are free.
Check organizers’ sites before you go; venues and dates can change.
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 the City of Princeton, Princeton ISD, the Princeton Lions Club, the Princeton Herald and America250.org, and each event shown has at least two years of documented history. Onion Festival admission fees weren’t confirmed. One listing showed a $5 fee for Freedom & Fireworks; the city lists free admission. Whether North Pole Christmas still includes a formal tree lighting wasn’t confirmed. The city’s Easter egg hunt was left off because no event after 2023 was found. Attendance figures aren’t published. Listings are provided for general reference and are not endorsements. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
What to know about Princeton schools:
The rating: Check TXschools.gov for the district’s current status.
Nearby: Collin College’s Farmersville Campus is the closest community-college campus. Texas treats homeschools as private schools.
Want the full breakdown? Read our complete Princeton schools guide →
Princeton addresses are served mainly by Princeton ISD, rated B (81) in 2026, which has nearly tripled in size since 2016. It now runs 17 campuses, opened two more this year and splits high school between Lovelady (9–10) and Princeton Senior High (11–12).
Citywide
Princeton ISD serves most of Princeton, plus Culleoka, Lowry Crossing and the west side of Lake Lavon. Homes near district edges, especially in the ETJ, could fall in a neighboring district such as Community ISD, so check before you buy.
Check the taxing jurisdictions on the Collin CAD record and the district’s attendance-zone tool before you write an offer.
District-wide
Princeton ISD earned a B (81) in TEA’s 2026 ratings, unchanged from 2025. It enrolled about 11,400 students in 2025–26, nearly triple its 2016 count, and trustees heard in September 2026 that enrollment grew by more than 1,300 in a year.
The district’s financial accountability rating was an A (92) for 2024–25.
17 campuses
Nine elementaries serve K–5: Lacy, Godwin, Harper, Smith, Lowe, Mayfield, Green, James and Carrell. Students then attend Clark, Southard, Mattei or Banschbach Middle, Lovelady High School for grades 9–10 and Princeton Senior High School for 11–12.
Pre-K is offered at the Canup and Perkins early childhood centers.
District-wide
Carrell Elementary and Banschbach Middle opened in 2026, after Green and James Elementary in 2024 and Perkins Early Childhood Center in 2025. Two more elementary schools are under construction.
Harper Elementary closed kindergarten and first grade to new enrollment in fall 2026, so recheck zoning before you buy.
District-wide
Voters approved a $797 million bond in May 2023 to keep building campuses for the district’s growth. Princeton ISD has no bond or tax election on the November 3, 2026, ballot, only two trustee seats.
Future campus names and opening years are tentative until the district confirms them.
2026–27
Princeton ISD’s 2026 rate is $1.2011 per $100, down from $1.2072. On a $320,000 homestead, after the $140,000 state exemption, the school share is about $2,162, roughly half of the total bill.
Owners 65 and older or with a disability get another $60,000 school exemption and a school tax ceiling.
804 Mabel Ave.
Use the district’s attendance-zone tool under Enrollment on princetonisd.net to confirm the campus for any address; zones change often during growth.
Central office: 804 Mabel Ave., 469-952-5400.
District-wide
Princeton ISD offers career and technical education, band, choir, dance and visual arts, gifted and talented services, bilingual and ESL programs, UIL academics and speech and debate.
Home of the Panthers; football is played at Jackie Hendricks Stadium, renovated in 2025.
Collin County
The nearest campus is Collin College’s Farmersville Campus, east on US 380. The college’s $600 million bond on the November 3 ballot includes a new workforce building there.
The college says it doesn’t anticipate a tax rate increase if the bond passes.
Princeton area
Private and charter schools also serve the Princeton–McKinney area; confirm grades, tuition and admissions directly with each school.
Texas treats homeschools as private schools.
Most Princeton addresses are Princeton ISD, but homes near district edges could fall in a neighboring district, so confirm the district and campus for every home.
Check the Collin CAD record and the district’s attendance zones.
On a $320,000 homestead, the school share runs about $2,162 at Princeton ISD’s $1.2011 rate.
Owners 65 and older pay less, then a ceiling applies.
Princeton ISD earned a B (81) in 2026, the same as 2025.
Check TXschools.gov for current status.
Enrollment grew by more than 1,300 students in a year, and one elementary has closed early grades to new enrollment.
Recheck boundaries before you buy.
Accountability ratings are shown at the district level only; campus ratings are intentionally not shown, and campuses are listed by name only. Ratings change every year; use TXschools.gov for current ratings. The 2026 rating covers the 2025–26 school year: Princeton ISD B (81), per TXschools.gov and the Princeton Herald, released August 14, 2026. Enrollment is the Texas Tribune’s 2025–26 figure (TXschools.gov shows 11,375); the one-year growth figure was reported to trustees in September 2026. The 2026 school tax rate is from the Collin County Tax Assessor’s 2026 rate sheet; the operations and debt split wasn’t published. Campus names and grades are from Princeton ISD’s campus directory; campus opening years, campus addresses and planned campuses are from secondary sources or weren’t confirmed. Bond details are from the Princeton Herald. Which Princeton-area addresses lie in Community ISD or other districts wasn’t confirmed, and those districts’ ratings aren’t shown. Private and charter schools weren’t verified for this list. Tax figures are illustrations, not quotes. Bobby Franklin, REALTOR®, TREC #0805459, Legacy Realty Group – Leslie Majors Team.
Median Sales Price
What Princeton homes actually sold for each month. With older homes near downtown, Arcadia Farms resales and new builder closings in Whitewing Trails and Winchester Crossing all trading in the same city, the mix of what sold moves this line as much as the market does.
Princeton’s median moves with which homes sold: resales or new builder homes. Redfin’s three-month median ending August 2026 was about $319,300, down about 6.1 percent from a year earlier. Read the trend, not one month.
An older home near downtown, an Arcadia Farms resale and a new Whitewing Trails build in a PID 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 a PID applies, since installments run from about $172 to more than $4,000 a year.
Days on market describes how buyers behaved. Redfin reported a median of about 68 days to sell in the three months ending August 2026, even as August sales jumped 39 percent to 433 homes. Buyers are active, and there’s room to negotiate.
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 new community can move the median more than the market did, up or down depending on that builder’s price points.
Your competition includes builders across Princeton’s master plans, many offering rate buydowns, plus resales in McKinney, Anna and Farmersville. Price against true comparables and have your permit and repair records ready for buyers.
Inventory runs from older homes near downtown to new construction. Confirm the school district, any PID 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. Princeton ZIP codes reach beyond city limits, so MLS city fields may not match the city boundary, and these charts don’t show the PID installments most newer neighborhoods carry. The median, days on market and August sales count are Redfin’s figures through August 2026. These charts do not separate new construction or resale, homes with and without a PID, or the Princeton ISD and Community ISD parts of the area. 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 Princeton. 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 Princeton’s three-month median through August 2026 was down 6.1 percent.
Redfin’s three-month Princeton median through August 2026 was about $319,300.
Type over the prefilled price with what you actually paid.
Owners who bought before 2021 carry large gains; many who bought new from 2022 on have little or none.
Indexes are county-wide, so value any specific property from true comparables.
A $320,000 homestead with no PID pays about $4,344 a year; PID installments add more in many newer neighborhoods.
Owners 65 and older pay about $3,378 the first year; city, county and school ceilings then apply.
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. No city-specific index was used. The prefilled dollar figures are derived and illustrative, not published: they apply the Collin County index to a $320,000 anchor near Redfin’s three-month Princeton median through August 2026 ($319,284). Many Princeton homes are newer than the early years shown, so the earliest figures describe the county market, not a specific Princeton home. 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 rates per $100: City of Princeton 0.472959 (adopted September 28, 2026), Princeton ISD 1.2011, Collin County 0.151414 (adopted September 14, 2026) and Collin College 0.08122. It assumes a $320,000 appraised value for an owner under 65 with no homestead cap benefit and no PID or MUD, applying no city homestead exemption (the city offers none), Collin County’s 5 percent, Collin College’s 20 percent and the $140,000 school exemption: about $4,344. For an owner 65 or older, the first-year figure is about $3,378, adding the city’s $25,000, Collin County’s $30,000, Collin College’s $100,000 and the school’s $60,000 over-65 exemptions; the city, county and school district apply tax ceilings. The city’s $25,000 over-65 amount is from a 2019 survey, and the county’s over-65 amount wasn’t re-verified for 2026. Most newer Princeton neighborhoods carry public improvement district assessments, from about $172 to more than $4,000 a year, and some parcels pay MUD or emergency services district taxes; none are included here, so check the property’s tax statement. 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.
Princeton grew from 17,027 residents in 2020 to an estimated 43,524 in 2025; the Census Bureau ranked it first in the nation for growth in 2024 and third in 2025. Redfin’s three-month median through August 2026 was about $319,000, down 6.1 percent from a year earlier. The trade-offs are real: PIDs in most newer neighborhoods, no city homestead exemption and retail still catching up.
Estimated Off-Peak Drive Time from Downtown Princeton
Around Town
Estimated minutes off-peak from US 380 and Main Street. These are planning estimates, so check a live map before relying on any of them.
Redfin’s three-month median through August 2026 was about $319,300, down 6.1 percent, with homes selling in about 68 days.
Orchard counted about 8 months of supply, and most listings had price cuts.
Princeton grew 30.6 percent in 2024, first in the nation among cities of 20,000 or more, and 18.1 percent in 2025, third.
Princeton ISD added more than 1,300 students in a year.
Voters approved a $108.1 million parks bond in 2023, and Lavon Lake sits about five miles away.
The Onion Festival, now in its 22nd year, celebrates the town’s farm roots each April.
A Kroger Marketplace, Home Depot and Hobby Lobby anchor Princeton Town Center, which broke ground in July 2026 for a late-2027 opening.
Princeton ISD opened two new campuses in 2026.
Most newer neighborhoods carry PIDs of about $172 to more than $4,000 a year, and the city offers no general homestead exemption.
There’s no H-E-B in town yet.
Collin County’s $817.5 million bond and Collin College’s $600 million bond are on the November 3 ballot.
Avelo flights start November 11 at McKinney National Airport.
Drive times are planning estimates from downtown Princeton, not live traffic, and weren’t checked against a live map; check one before you rely on them. Rush-hour times on US 380 can run much longer, and some routes use toll roads. Population and growth rankings are from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2024 and 2025 estimates. Market figures are Redfin’s three-month figures ending August 2026 and Orchard’s 30-day figures from early October 2026; the comparison with other Collin County cities uses Redfin medians from different months. Parks bond and Lavon Lake details are from the Princeton Herald, the Handbook of Texas and the Texas Water Development Board. Princeton Town Center tenants and timelines are the developer’s and the city’s and may change. PID amounts are from MuniCap and city documents and vary by lot. School figures are from Princeton ISD and TEA. Bond details are from Collin County and Collin College. Airline details are from Avelo and McKinney National Airport. 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 PIDs, the senior tax freeze and the end of the building moratorium to Princeton Town Center, Lavon Lake and the Onion Festival.
Princeton is in Collin County, so file the residence homestead exemption with the Collin Central Appraisal District, generally by April 30 of the year after you move in; late filings are accepted for up to two years.
The exemption takes $140,000 off your school taxable value and adds Collin County’s 5 percent and Collin College’s 20 percent exemptions. The City of Princeton offers no general homestead exemption, so the full value is taxed at the city rate.
Owners 65 or older or with a disability get another $60,000 off school value, a $25,000 city exemption and tax ceilings that freeze the school, city and county portions. The homestead also starts the 10 percent appraisal cap the following year.
For a home inside city limits and Princeton ISD, the 2026 stack is about $1.906 per $100 before exemptions. The council adopted a city rate of $0.472959 on September 28, 2026, made up of $0.267959 for operations and $0.205 for debt, up from $0.440226.
Princeton ISD’s rate is $1.2011, down from $1.2072. Collin County adopted $0.151414, its first rate increase in more than three decades, and Collin College’s rate is $0.08122.
The city’s finance chief estimated the city portion on the median homestead, valued at $307,881, at about $1,456. Many newer homes also pay a PID installment, and some parcels pay MUD or emergency services district taxes, so check the tax statement for any address.
About $4,344 a year for an owner under 65 in a home without a PID or MUD, using 2026 rates. That’s roughly $2,162 to Princeton ISD after the $140,000 school exemption, $1,513 to the city, $460 to Collin County after its 5 percent exemption and $208 to Collin College after its 20 percent exemption.
An owner 65 or older pays about $3,378 the first year, adding the city’s $25,000, the county’s $30,000, the college’s $100,000 and the school district’s $60,000 senior exemptions. Tax ceilings then cap the school, city and county portions.
That works out to an effective rate of about 1.36 percent before any PID installment, which can add anywhere from about $172 to more than $4,000 a year. Treat these figures as estimates rather than quotes.
Most newer ones. The city lists at least 11 public improvement district programs, including Arcadia Farms, Brookside, Crossroads, Eastridge, Serenity, Sicily, Southridge, Westridge, Whitewing Trails, Winchester and Windmore. MuniCap administers them, and installments appear on your county tax bill.
Amounts vary widely by neighborhood, phase and lot size. Recent figures range from about $172 a year in Crossroads and $1,076 in Arcadia Farms to $1,285 to $2,297 in Whitewing Trails, about $3,285 in Eastridge and an original estimate of about $4,177 in Sicily’s first improvement area.
Sellers must give a PID disclosure, and owners can usually prepay the balance. Some Princeton-area parcels also pay MUD or emergency services district taxes, so read the full tax statement.
After years of rapid growth, the City Council adopted a residential development moratorium on September 23, 2024, covering city limits and the ETJ. It was extended in January and June 2025 and expired on November 30, 2025, after about 14 months. Projects under existing development agreements could continue, and commercial development wasn’t affected.
A new state law, House Bill 2559, took effect September 1, 2025. It requires two public hearings and a three-fourths council vote for a moratorium, caps its length and bars a new one in the same area for two years after the last one expires.
The city began accepting new plats and permits again in December 2025, so new phases and communities are moving forward.
The Census Bureau estimated Princeton at 43,524 residents on July 1, 2025, up 18.1 percent in one year. That ranked Princeton third among U.S. cities of 20,000 or more, behind Celina and Fulshear.
A year earlier, Princeton ranked first in the nation, growing 30.6 percent to 37,019 residents. The 2020 census counted 17,027, and the 2010 census counted 6,807, so the population has grown more than sixfold in 15 years.
Growth shows up in the schools, too: Princeton ISD enrolled about 11,400 students in 2025–26, nearly triple its 2016 count. Commercial websites often publish different population numbers, so cite the Census Bureau’s estimate when you need an official figure.
Yes, modestly. Redfin’s three-month median sale price through August 2026 was $319,284, down 6.1 percent from a year earlier, at about $155 per square foot. Homes sold in a median of 68 days, and sales jumped 39 percent in August to 433 homes.
Orchard counted about 8.35 months of supply in early October, up from about 2.8 a year earlier, with homes selling for about 94 percent of list and roughly 61 percent of listings cutting their price. More than six months of supply generally favors buyers.
Builders compete with incentives, including below-market rate offers. Ask for incentives in writing, compare a rate buydown with an equal price cut and add PID installments to any payment estimate.
Most Princeton addresses are in Princeton ISD, which covers about 60 square miles, including Culleoka, Lowry Crossing and the west side of Lake Lavon. Homes near district edges, especially in the ETJ, could fall in a neighboring district such as Community ISD, which lists Copeville, Josephine, Lavon and Nevada.
To check, look at the taxing jurisdictions on the property’s Collin CAD record, then confirm the campus with Princeton ISD’s attendance-zone tool under Enrollment on princetonisd.net.
Zones shift often as new campuses open. In fall 2026 Harper Elementary closed kindergarten and first grade to new enrollment, so confirm the current assignment for any home before you write an offer. Districts also set different tax rates, which affects the yearly bill.
Princeton ISD earned a B (81) in the Texas Education Agency’s 2026 accountability ratings, released August 14, 2026, unchanged from its 2025 rating. Its financial accountability rating was an A (92) for 2024–25.
The district runs 17 campuses: nine elementaries, four middle schools, two early childhood centers, Lovelady High School for grades 9–10 and Princeton Senior High School for grades 11–12. Carrell Elementary and Banschbach Middle opened in 2026, and two more elementaries are under construction.
Voters approved a $797 million bond in 2023. For campus-level reports, visit TXschools.gov, and confirm school assignment for any address with the district.
Not yet, and none has been announced. The nearest H-E-B stores are in Melissa, at 1230 Central Expressway, and in McKinney, at 8700 Eldorado Parkway.
In town, the Walmart Supercenter at 701 W. Princeton Dr. is the main grocery option today. Princeton’s biggest grocery addition is a nearly 100,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace at Princeton Town Center, which broke ground July 15, 2026, and is expected to open in late 2027.
Locally owned restaurants line US 380, North Main Street downtown and FM 982, from taquerias and Tex-Mex to hibachi, breakfast cafes and paleta shops. Check hours and confirm a business is open before you go, since new spots open and close often in a fast-growing town.
Kroger held a ceremonial groundbreaking on July 15, 2026, for a nearly 100,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace with a 14-position fuel center and a Murray’s Cheese counter. The city says the roughly $40 million store should create about 200 jobs.
It anchors the 66-acre Princeton Town Center at the northwest corner of US 380 and North Beauchamp Boulevard, developed by The Seitz Group. Announced tenants include Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, PetSmart and Discount Tire.
The developer targets anchor completion in July 2027 and a grand opening in late fall 2027, and a city official said stores would open by December 2027. The city projects more than $3 million a year in sales tax at buildout, a projection rather than a result.
Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed average was 7.40 percent on October 8, 2026, the highest since November 2023, and the 15-year average was 6.73 percent. Rates change weekly, so get several quotes.
Collin County’s 2026 limits are $563,500 for an FHA loan on a single-family home and $832,750 for a conforming loan, both well above Princeton’s median price of about $319,000.
At 7.40 percent, a $304,000 loan on a $320,000 home with 5 percent down runs about $2,105 a month for principal and interest, plus about $362 for property taxes before any PID or insurance. Builder rate buydowns can lower that payment, so compare them with an equal price cut.
City voters will fill City Council Seats 6 and 7; the city dropped a proposed tax-rate election after keeping its rate at the voter-approval level. Princeton ISD voters will elect two at-large trustees, and the district has no bond on the ballot.
Countywide, voters will decide Collin County’s $817.5 million bond in four propositions: courts and detention, roads, parks, and an elections and records facility. Community Impact reported the debt rate could rise by up to 0.77 cents by 2031, about $27 a year on $350,000 of taxable value.
Collin College’s $600 million bond includes a new workforce building at the Farmersville Campus; the college says it doesn’t anticipate a rate increase.
City parks include Veterans Memorial Park at 311 N. Main St., J.M. Caldwell Sr. Community Park at 500 W. College St., Parkview Heights Park and Princeton Municipal Park at 2000 E. Princeton Dr., which has a stocked fishing pond behind the Municipal Center.
Caldwell Park sits on the site of a 1940s migrant labor camp that became a German prisoner-of-war camp in 1945; its old water tower still stands. It now hosts Freedom & Fireworks, Pumpkin BooLooza and North Pole Christmas.
Voters approved a $108.1 million parks bond in November 2023 for parks, trails, recreational facilities and park buildings. Lavon Lake, about five miles away, adds fishing and boating options for residents.
In 1881 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad extended its line from Greenville to McKinney through land farmed by brothers T. B. and George Wilson, and the stop became known as Wilson’s Switch.
When residents applied for a post office, the name Wilson was already taken, so they chose Princeton in honor of Prince Dowlin, a landowner and promoter of the town. The post office opened in 1888, and the city says Princeton incorporated in May 1912.
By the 1940s the town shipped about 175 rail-car loads of onions a year, earning the local nickname “Onion Capital of Texas.” The Princeton Onion Festival still celebrates that heritage each April with craft vendors, a 5K and a live auction.
Yes. In 1940 a migratory labor camp was built west of town for 300 to 400 workers who came for the onion and cotton harvests, with 76 redwood cabins and a 30,000-gallon water tank. A state marker says it was dedicated in 1941 with House Speaker Sam Rayburn attending.
In February 1945 the camp became a branch camp for German prisoners of war, one of about 120 such camps in Texas. Area farmers hired prisoner labor, and the city put prisoners to work enlarging the town park. Accounts differ on whether it closed after eight months or in early 1946.
The site is now J.M. Caldwell Sr. Community Park, 500 W. College St., where the water tower still stands.
Lavon Lake lies about five miles from Princeton, on the East Fork of the Trinity River. Construction of Lavon Dam began in 1948, and the lake began filling in September 1953; a later project raised the dam in 1975.
The lake is owned by the federal government and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, while the North Texas Municipal Water District holds its water rights. It supplies water to much of the region and offers fishing, boating and parks along its shoreline.
Princeton ISD serves the lake’s west side. If you’re looking at a home near the shoreline or a creek, check FEMA’s flood map and the Corps’ property boundaries before you buy.
Princeton’s combined sales tax rate is 8.25 percent, made up of 6.25 percent for the state and 2 percent for the city, the highest combined rate Texas allows.
Sales tax matters more as retail grows. The city projects that Princeton Town Center, anchored by Kroger, Home Depot and Hobby Lobby, will produce more than $3 million a year in sales tax at buildout, a projection rather than a result.
Until the center opens, the largest stores in town are along US 380, including a Walmart Supercenter at 701 W. Princeton Dr. Texas has no state income tax, so sales and property taxes are the main local revenue sources for the city.
The year starts in spring with the Princeton Onion Festival, held the fourth Saturday of April at Princeton Senior High School by the Princeton Lions Club with Princeton ISD, and the city’s free Fishin’ Frenzy at the Municipal Center pond.
Freedom & Fireworks, the city’s Independence Day celebration, is held on a late-June Saturday at J.M. Caldwell Sr. Community Park; in 2026 it added a 250-drone show. Pumpkin BooLooza returns October 17, 2026, with a trunk-or-treat.
North Pole Christmas, the city’s holiday celebration, is set for Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Caldwell Park. Most city events are free; check the city calendar for weather changes.
Most Princeton homes fall well within FHA limits: Collin County’s 2026 limit is $563,500 for a single-family home, compared with a median sale price of about $319,000. FHA loans allow down payments as low as 3.5 percent for qualified borrowers.
USDA eligibility is decided parcel by parcel on the USDA map; some outlying ETJ properties may qualify, but none was confirmed for this answer, so check the specific address.
State programs from the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs offer down payment help and mortgage credit certificates, with income and price limits. Ask your lender which programs work with builder incentives, and include any PID installment in your payment estimate.
Answers were verified as of October 9, 2026, from the City of Princeton, Collin County, the Collin Central Appraisal District, Princeton ISD, the Texas Education Agency, the U.S. Census Bureau, MuniCap, Kroger, Freddie Mac, Redfin, Orchard, the Handbook of Texas, the Texas Municipal League and local reporting including the Princeton Herald, WFAA and Community Impact. Rates, fees, providers and hours change; verify anything you intend to rely on. Tax figures use 2026 rates per $100: City of Princeton 0.472959 (adopted September 28, 2026), Princeton ISD 1.2011, Collin County 0.151414 and Collin College 0.08122. They are illustrations for a $320,000 homestead with no PID or MUD, not quotes; the city’s $25,000 over-65 amount is from a 2019 survey and the county over-65 amount wasn’t re-verified for 2026. PID amounts vary by lot and phase and change each year. Drive distances are approximate. Electric, water and trash providers, hospital distances, library hours and flood-zone specifics weren’t confirmed for these answers. 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 Princeton. Three things to check on every address: who provides water and electricity, and whether it’s inside city limits, whether a PID applies and the school district. Start with the green first-week cards; health care is in red and travel and buying help in purple.
Utility Billing handles city water, sewer and trash: $200 to start, a $150 refundable deposit plus a $50 service fee. Bring a government ID, and a lease if renting.
972-736-2711 2000 E. Princeton Dr. Do this firstHomestead and over-65 exemptions, values and protests. File the homestead exemption after you move in, generally by April 30.
469-742-9200 250 Eldorado Pkwy., McKinney Do this firstProperty tax bills, including any PID installment, and vehicle registration, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There’s no Princeton branch.
972-547-5014 2300 Bloomdale Rd., McKinney Do this firstCommunity Waste Disposal collects trash weekly and recycling every other week; bulk and bundled brush go out monthly, starting the Wednesday of the first full week.
972-392-9300 Option 2 Do this firstRegister to vote or update your address. Early voting for the November 3 election runs October 19–30.
972-547-1990 2010 Redbud Blvd., Ste. 102, McKinney Do this firstEmergency and weather alerts by text, phone or email through CivicReady. Text Princeton to 38276 for text-only alerts.
38276 Text Princeton City HallThe main city line, weekdays 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Municipal court, finance and development services are in the same building.
972-736-2416 2000 E. Princeton Dr. PermitsBuilding permits, inspections and ETJ questions; email [email protected]. ETJ release petitions go to the City Secretary.
972-736-2416 2000 E. Princeton Dr. Before you buyThe city lists 11 PIDs and each district’s assessment plan; MuniCap administers them and provides balances and payoff quotes at 866-648-8482.
469-490-2800 [email protected] LibraryLibrary cards, programs and computers. City pages list different hours, so call ahead; nonresidents pay a card fee starting October 2026.
972-736-3741 323 McKinney Ave. CourtCitations and payments at the Municipal Center, weekdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
972-736-2416 2000 E. Princeton Dr. PoliceNon-emergency line for reports; anonymous tips by text to 847411 starting with PPDTIP. Call 911 in an emergency.
972-736-3901 Non-emergency FireAsk the city which agency covers your address, especially in the ETJ, where Collin County ESD No. 1 begins its first budget year October 1, 2026.
972-736-2416 Main line WaterWater for parts of Princeton and the ETJ; it also bills city sewer for its customers. Lobby open weekdays 9 to 5, closed noon to 1.
972-736-2592 3388 FM 982 WaterWater for parts of the Princeton area; after-hours emergencies at 972-837-6840.
972-542-1143 1400 S. Bridgefarmer Rd., McKinney ElectricDelivery and outages in Oncor’s area, where you choose a retail provider; text OUT to 66267.
888-313-4747 Outages ElectricDelivers power to parts of Princeton; you choose a retail provider. Customer service weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
888-866-7456 TNMP ElectricA member-owned co-op serving parts of Princeton; co-op members can’t choose a retail provider.
903-482-7100 14568 FM 121, Van Alstyne InternetOptions vary by street; check the FCC broadband map and each provider.
broadbandmap.fcc.gov Before you digFree utility line locates before you dig for fences or pools.
811 LakePark status, permits and flowage easement and boundary questions for land near the lake, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
972-442-3141 3375 Skyview Dr., Wylie RoadsUS 380 widening and proposed bypass schematics, environmental documents and right-of-way questions.
214-320-6675 keepitmovingdallas.com Fire & EMSThe voter-approved emergency services district for unincorporated areas, with a tax capped at 10 cents per $100.
collincountytx.gov SchoolsEnrollment and attendance zones; confirm the district on the Collin CAD record for any address.
469-952-5400 804 Mabel Ave. CollegeThe nearest campus, east on US 380; the November 3 bond includes a new workforce building there.
972-549-6490 501 S. Collin Pkwy., Farmersville HospitalA full-service hospital with 24-hour emergency care west on US 380.
469-764-1000 5252 W. University Dr., McKinney HospitalA hospital with emergency care; ER line 972-540-4700.
972-547-8000 4500 Medical Center Dr., McKinney HospitalA hospital with emergency care in west McKinney; emergency line 972-569-2709.
972-569-2700 8000 W. Eldorado Pkwy., McKinney Help linesPoison Control 1-800-222-1222; 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; 211 for Texas health and social services.
1-800-222-1222 LicenseThe nearest driver license office; book online.
214-733-5350 400 Powerhouse St., McKinney AirportAvelo Airlines starts service November 11, 2026, with more destinations in December.
flytki.com 1910 FM 546, McKinney Before you buyCheck any parcel near Lavon Lake or a creek, 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 Princeton (utility billing, start-service, trash, library, alerts, ETJ, special financing districts and water rate pages), MuniCap, Community Waste Disposal, Culleoka and Milligan water supply corporations, Oncor, TNMP, Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative, the Collin County Tax Assessor-Collector, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TxDOT, Collin College and the three McKinney hospitals, and subject to change; if something has moved, tell me and I will correct it. Water and electric providers vary by address in Princeton. Confirm every provider, taxing unit and PID before you buy. City pages give different library hours, the payment portal lists shorter utility office hours, and the police department’s street address differs across listings, so no address is shown. The city’s utility page spells Milligan as “Mulligan.” Fire coverage for unincorporated areas changed in 2025–26; confirm it for any ETJ address. Collin CAD, elections, Princeton ISD’s phone, DPS, the airport, FEMA and TSAHC details are from earlier verification or official sites and weren’t all rechecked this round. Urgent care clinics, the chamber, transit, the post office and food pantries weren’t verified for this list. 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.
Princeton, the nation’s fastest-growing city of its size in 2024 and third in 2025, reached an estimated 43,524 residents. Most homes are newer, most new neighborhoods carry PIDs, three water and three electric providers split the area and fire coverage in the ETJ is changing. 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.
The city lists 11 PIDs, and installments run from about $172 to more than $4,000 a year. A December 2025 city policy requires builders to have buyers sign PID disclosures at contract and again at closing, and to disclose the PID on every listing. I pull the current assessment plan and a MuniCap payoff quote for every address.
Inside city limits, in the ETJ or released from it, the answer changes your rules, taxes and fire coverage. Collin County ESD No. 1 begins its first budget year October 1, 2026, and leaving the ETJ doesn’t remove a property from the ESD. I confirm current coverage in writing for any ETJ address.
Princeton addresses can get water from the city, Culleoka WSC or Milligan WSC, and power from Oncor, TNMP or Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative. That changes deposits, billing and whether you can shop electric plans. Rural tracts may use septic or a well. I confirm each utility by address, not subdivision name.
Most builders only pay a buyer’s agent registered at your first visit, so bring me before you walk into a model. Get incentives in writing, compare a buydown with an equal price cut and order independent inspections. A new home’s first tax bill may reflect only the lot, so budget for the second year.
Princeton ISD added 1,367 students in a year. In fall 2026 Harper Elementary closed kindergarten and first grade to new enrollment, and Lowe Elementary was nearing capacity, so the zoned campus may not be the assigned one. I give you the district contacts and tools to confirm before you buy; I don’t rank or steer.
TxDOT’s widening of US 380 to six lanes isn’t expected to finish until 2028. A proposed freeway bypass north of Princeton, from west of CR 337 to east of CR 458, is in design but unfunded. For homes or land near that alignment, I pull TxDOT’s schematic and right-of-way status before you offer.
Redfin’s three months through August 2026 show a $319,284 median, down 6.1 percent, with homes taking about 68 days and selling about 3 percent below list. Orchard counted price cuts on about 61 percent of listings. Price, repairs and closing costs are on the table. I pull the comparable sales for the exact street.
Land below about 509 feet in elevation near Lavon Lake may carry a federal flowage easement that lets the lake flood it and restricts homes on that ground. I review the deed and FEMA flood map, and send boundary questions to the Corps’ Lavon Lake office. If any of it is a dealbreaker, you will hear it from me first.
Ask whether a PID applies and get the payoff amount. Second, confirm city limits, ETJ and fire coverage. Third, identify the water and electric providers. Fourth, check the school district and campus capacity. Fifth, check the distance to the US 380 bypass alignment. And sixth, near the lake, read the deed for a flowage easement.
Princeton-specific things to raise with all four. Freddie Mac’s 30-year average was 7.40 percent on October 8, 2026, so ask how a builder or seller-paid buydown compares with a price cut. Collin County’s FHA limit is $563,500, well above Princeton’s median of about $319,000, and the $832,750 conforming limit covers nearly every home. Ask whether a specific parcel is USDA-eligible, ask about TSAHC and TDHCA programs, and make sure any PID installment 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, who provides power and water, 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. PID figures are from the city’s Special Financing Districts page, MuniCap disclosures and the city’s December 8, 2025, PID policy (Resolution No. 2025-12-08-R02); installments vary by lot and phase, change each year and weren’t all rechecked against 2026 plans. Fire and ESD details are from the City of Princeton, Collin County and the Princeton Herald; the city’s service to unincorporated areas changed in 2025 and should be confirmed. Utility providers are from the city and each provider and must be confirmed by address. School figures are from the Princeton Herald’s September 2026 report; attendance zones are determined by address. US 380 details are from TxDOT and the Princeton Herald. The flowage easement description is from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; exact limits are in each deed. The construction, inspection and first-year tax notes are general guidance, not findings about any property or builder. Market figures are Redfin’s and Orchard’s as of early fall 2026. USDA eligibility wasn’t confirmed for any Princeton address. The FHA limit is from HUD’s published 2026 limits; the conforming limit is FHFA’s 2026 limit. The mortgage rate is Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for October 8, 2026. All real estate services are provided through Legacy Realty Group. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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Serving DFW | Ellis County
16 Northgate Dr. Ste 100
Waxahachie, TX 75165
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