BIENVENIDOS A CELINA, TEJAS

America's fastest-growing city was a quaint one-horse town in 2000. Soon it will be the size of New Orleans

 

By Lauren Acton-Taylor 

Daily Mail

Feb 15, 2025

A small Texas town's population has grown so continuously - and unexpectedly - that it's set to join America's biggest cities.   

Celina, a small town of just 1,850 residents in 2000, according to the US Census Bureau. 

By the end of 2024, there were close to 50,000 residents. 

Some projections say that number were surge past 60,000 this year.

But the boom is even more dramatic and than that. Celina had 6,000 residents in 2010,  16,700 in 2020, before soaring to 43,000 by 2023. 

They are coming from bigger cities in Texas such as Dallas, and other southern states such as Florida and Georgia. But many also come from Illinois and as far as California seeking a cheaper home, less taxes and a more relaxed life. 

As newcomers continue to arrive, the charming North Texas area could end up bigger than New Orleans.

'We have a beautiful rural atmosphere. And a lot of people move here for that,' ex Celina Fire Chief Mark Metdker said. 

'And I think a lot of the folks that are moving up here are under the impression that it's never going to change above what it is right now. But this is the early stages of a 300 to 400,000 sized city.'

Celina's population grew by nearly 27 percent from 2022 to 2023 alone, according to census data. The national growth rate was only half a percent. 

'In other words, Celina is positioned geographically, demographically, and economically to quickly become a big player in the North Texas metropolitan community,' the city wrote about its growth projection.

 

Celina, once a small town of fewer than 1,000 people, now has nearly 50,000 residents and what felt like home has become crowded with nameless faces, according to longtime residents

 

Celina's original small-town feel may be dissolving as the city's development continues. Pictured: Celina around 1908

 

Each month, about 830 newcomers settle down in the city that - until recent years - withstood the test of time, Business Insider reported. 

Celina mayor Ryan Tubbs told the outlet: 'It's just astronomical growth when you think about the influx of residents.

'Even so, our vision is to maintain that small-town feel, no matter how big we get.' 

But many longtime residents are hesitant about Celina's bustling future and what it will mean for the community they cherish.  

'Everybody knew everybody,' resident Rex Glendenning told WFAA, a sentiment similarly felt by resident Don Themer of a neighboring small town. 

'When I used to go to the post office if 15 people were in there, I called them by all their names and talked to them and now if 15 people are in there we're lucky to know one of them,' Themer said. 

'I can see us not getting any bigger or better and getting to the point and we're gonna have to go the other direction,' he added, with fears of their small-town neighborhood shrinking underneath skyscrapers.  

What was once farmland for miles has been replaced by rows of houses to accommodate the growing population, but the endless construction has been plaguing residents. 

 

'Well, in our world, it was farmland and pastureland. It is completely transformed,' Leigh Roberts said, referring to the building development over recent years. 'I was probably [in] preschool. My grandparents would say, one day this will probably all be occupied. They saw it coming.'

 

 

Roberts said that for the most part the community has been welcoming to the growth in the area, citing how much more convenient life has become with 'city life' amenities such as more accessible shopping

 

'You have to get used to the end of your street maybe being blocked off because they're still pouring slabs. You know, that's part of what you have to put up with here in this intense growth,' Metdker. 

And the growing pains aren't easing anytime soon. 

The noisy construction 'will last for probably the next 15 to 20 years', Metdker said. 

Leigh Glendenning Roberts told the DailyMail.com that her family has lived in the area for generations. 

Growing up, Roberts explained that they 'never had traffic before', besides getting stuck behind a farm vehicle. Now, it's sometimes bumper to bumper. 

'There's construction on most of the roadways... It took me 20 minutes to get to Frisco three years ago, and now it takes me sometimes 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes,' she said. 

Roberts explained that after watching Celina change over time, it's hardly recognizable to the quaint town of her youth.  

'Well, in our world, it was farmland and pastureland. It is completely transformed,' she said, referring to the building development over recent years. 

'I was probably [in] preschool. My grandparents would say, one day this will probably all be occupied. They saw it coming.' 

'They told us, one of these days, the key is to just hang on and just know it's coming, that this will be populated,' she added. 

 

'Everybody knew everybody,' resident Rex Glendenning said of Celina's close-knit charm

Roberts explained that they 'never had traffic before,' besides getting stuck behind a farm vehicle. 'There's construction on most of the roadways...It took me 20 minutes to get to Frisco three years ago, and now it takes me sometimes 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes,' she said

 

Roberts said that for the most part, the community has been welcoming to the growth in the area, citing how much more convenient residents' day-to-days have become with 'city life' amenities such as more accessible shopping. 

For example, the city's first Starbucks opened its doors in 2022 as Celina was seeing its historic population surge. 

But for Roberts, the community, despite the huge boom, hasn't seemed to have lost touch with its values. 

'I think most people are still friendly and embracing and more apt to embrace people in the community, welcome to our community. It's a very friendly, safe environment. So, people have just kind of gone, "Hey, we'll welcome you into this town",' Roberts said. 

'It's still a close enough community. You can find your people and your group. And for the most part, people are friendly and safe and embracing,' she explained. 'I meet new people at the grocery store and the drugstore and the bank.' 

Residents said that part of Celina's charm, and some of the attraction to relocate there, is the family-orientated community. 

Tubbs told NBC: 'I think everybody wants to move to Celina because it's a place where you can raise your family.' 

As lovely and uniquely old fashioned Celina is, low cost of living is a significant upside for the people rushing to buy homes in the city. 

 

Records from 18th century Celina, pictured circa 1960, reveal the city has had the charming-feel that residents are afraid of losing 

 

Housing expenses are about 20 percent lower than the national average and the overall cost of living in Celina is 18 percent lower, according to PayScale. 

Former Celina City Manager Jason Laumer told NBC: 'We're very rural heritage, you know, we try to honor that heritage. But I think you can only manage growth, you can't stop growth. I think we can make it work for us.' 

Celina was officially established in 1876 even though people had lived there for years, according to the city's website. Three years post-establishment, 'a little settlement began to form a few miles southwest of the present-day Celina.'

The population was only about 150 people at the time.  

A railroad was introduced to the town in 1902, which encouraged residents to move the main street closer to the tracks and create a town square. It was incorporated as a city in 1907.

'Celina has always been a small city, with a big vision!' the city wrote. 

Throughout the 1900s, businesses, homes and schools continued popping up throughout the city - which welcomed new people with open arms. 

A excerpt from the Celina Record of 1937 reads: 'If you are casting about for a good place to make your home you should visit Celina and see for yourself what it has to offer. 

 

'I think a lot of the folks that are moving up here are under the impression that it's never going to change above what it is right now. But this is the early stages of a three to 400,000 population city,' former Celina Fire Chief Mark Metdker said

'I think most people are still friendly and embracing and more apt to embrace people in the community, welcome to our community. It's a very friendly, safe environment. So, people have just kind of gone, "Hey, we'll welcome you into this town",' Roberts said

 

'Some here occasionally say the grass is greener elsewhere and move away, but most of them decide there is no use trying to find a better place in which to live and rear their families, come back and settle down firmly fixed in their belief that trying is a waste of time.' 

Roberts said residents have taken up efforts to maintain their small-town charm, such as getting involved in various civic and educational groups. 

She said that without efforts, those core community values and sense of closeness will disappear. 

'For those of us that care enough, we devote our time to community groups and just try diligently to keep that tight knit alive. And I will continue to do that.

'There are people that are not really outgoing, so I mean it's not for everybody. But I think that there is a fear that [those values] will go away someday. A slight fear, but I think that there's a whole lot of us that are diligently working to maintain that.' 

The community puts in effort, according to Roberts, to 'preserve the history while you embrace the future'.  

Roberts said that they're still able to see the stars at night, one of the perks of living in a rural area, but knew those days were limited. 

'We can still walk out and see the stars at night. We don't have the overspray - yet. But we know that that's coming, that we will no longer able to see the stars every night.' 

 

Celina, pictured in 1992, was officially established in 1876 and was built up throughout the 1900s 

Michelle Clifford revealed the charms of moving to the small town of Celina and shared what it was like to infiltrate rural life after city living with her young family 

 

Before moving to Celina, mother-of-two Michelle Clifford said she was always enamored with Texas culture and even went to college there. 

Clifford and her husband had lived in San Diego before moving to San Francisco and beginning their family. 

During the pandemic, she and her husband moved to Oceanside, California, and she became pregnant with her second daughter. But by then, they wanted more out of life.

'Over time, our priorities changed,' Clifford wrote. 'We wanted to slow down and buy a house, but it wasn't realistic for us in California.'

As she was working remotely at the time, she and her husband decided it was time to move to Texas.

The pair moved from a cramped home in Oceanside before eventually settling down in a 2,400-square-foot home in Celina, which they bought for $600,000. 

'I have friends who lost bidding wars for homes in California to buyers willing to offer up to $150,000 above the asking price and often in cash,' she recounted.

'But finding a home in Celina was the easiest process - it was like the stars aligned.'

 

'If we stayed in California, we knew that buying a home would likely require moving far east, away from the ocean, or settling for a lifetime of renting or living in a small townhouse with a backyard,' she said

The city, pictured in 1914, has welcomed newcomers with open arms 

 

Clifford said the sellers accepted their offer the same day they made it, and they were able to close on the deal within just 15 days.

'If we stayed in California, we knew that buying a home would likely require moving far east, away from the ocean, or settling for a lifetime of renting or living in a small townhouse with a backyard,' she wrote.

'We're outdoorsy people, so it would feel like we were getting robbed.'

She added that they also fell in love with the culture of Celina, writing: 'It felt like the ideal place to settle down and establish roots.

'More importantly, it was about doing something completely different,' Clifford said. 'We've experienced city life and wanted to embrace country living and own some land.'

 

'I'm honored to consider myself a Celina resident and am grateful to be welcomed,' she said, hailing the move for herself and her family

 

She went on to describe the city as having a 'small, cozy vibe' despite its large land mass.

'Everyone says hi, and I feel like we all know one another,' Clifford wrote.

'It's hard to describe, but it feels like you're going back in time,' she said, describing how the city and residents have preserved their culture with small businesses and 'almost no fast-food chains.'

'I'm honored to consider myself a Celina resident and am grateful to be welcomed,' she said, hailing the move for herself and her family.