It’s hard to overlook the many, many developments popping up across Collin County in the past few years.
And it’s no wonder why: in addition to being among the fastest-growing counties in the country, Collin County is the second wealthiest in the state, according to SmartAsset’s estimates. According to SmartAsset, Collin County’s median income sits at $104,327 making it the highest in Texas and surpassing the state’s median by over $37,000.
But there are other factors to take into account to make it the wealthiest county in Texas. SmartAsset compares counties across three metrics: investment income, property value and median income. Collin County’s investment income (an average of ordinary dividends, qualified dividends and net capital gains) is $37,877, which is some $46,000 less than Kendall County at the top of the ranking, and its median home value sits at $509,425 versus $576,333 for Kendall. Additionally, according to a 2020 economic opportunity assessment report by the Communities Foundation of Texas, Collin County also enjoys the second-lowest poverty rate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at 6.7% versus 14.1% in Dallas and nearly 15% statewide.
While these numbers might not be uniform all across the county with a handful of cities cited as the wealthiest (mainly Plano, Frisco, Allen and McKinney,) in recent years the metaphorical and material good fortune has trickled down to less populated cities in the county — and they are already preparing for what’s to come.
As previously reported by Local Profile, Celina saw a 97% increase in population since 2020. This rapid change called for some groundwork. Currently, there are four single-family neighborhoods spanning 675 acres in the works, with one, The Heights, expected to begin construction in September 2024.
And the new residents surely will need somewhere to shop which is why retail and grocery companies are also getting ready to receive them. In 2022 the city announced Costco is coming to town and it’s not coming alone — just across the street, a 77-acre mixed-use development is expected to begin construction for residential units this fall.
Recently, H-E-B announced that its new store in Melissa, where the population growth increased 51% since 2020, will be the biggest in the DFW area at 131,000 square feet. Additionally, Melissa made sure new residents would have entertainment. In August 2023, unveiled a brand new $35 million high school football stadium with a capacity for 10,000 seats.
With a population of 37,746, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Prosper has seen its fair share of openings recently including a 140,000-square-foot Target store, a new Cook Children’s pediatric facility, a Children's Health Specialty Center and the reopening of a Kroger store. There’s also no shortage of projects to come: Local Profile previously reported that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones bought large patches of land adjacent to Prosper’s historic silos expected to become exclusive townhomes, a park area and retail amenities.
But it’s not all entertainment, retail and residential projects that need groundwork. Anna, with a population of only 16,896 in 2020, is not waiting around for the boom to catch it by surprise. In October 2022, the town announced it was investing in infrastructures like roadways and sewers in order to support more development and allow new buildings to be built on the west side. Additionally, they are making things easier for developers, reworking the permit process so it takes days instead of weeks to finish. Just in time for the $80 million multifamily development project headed to the town.
