Melissa is genuinely one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Census Bureau estimates released in May 2026 ranked it 4th among US cities of 20,000+ residents for growth from mid-2024 to mid-2025, at +14.5% in a single year, and the top five were all in Texas. It sits directly on US-75 about 38 miles north of downtown Dallas, in northeast Collin County, and it is unmistakably in an active building phase: new subdivisions, new schools, new retail. Two things set it apart from its neighbors. First, it is served by a single school district, Melissa ISD, where Lucas has six and Murphy has two. Second, it is actually building a commercial tax base rather than living purely off rooftops: the Melissa Industrial Park along SH-121, and Dutch Bros' $13 million, 65,000-square-foot coffee roasting facility that opened in 2024. It is also the most attainable of the northeast Collin County cities, with a median household income of $138,763 (ACS 2024 5-year). The trade is distance. This is the furthest out of the bunch.
Melissa is genuinely one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Census Bureau estimates released in May 2026 ranked it 4th among US cities of 20,000+ residents for growth from mid-2024 to mid-2025, at +14.5% in a single year, and the top five were all in Texas. It sits directly on US-75 about 38 miles north of downtown Dallas, in northeast Collin County, and it is unmistakably in an active building phase: new subdivisions, new schools, new retail. Two things set it apart from its neighbors. First, it is served by a single school district, Melissa ISD, where Lucas has six and Murphy has two. Second, it is actually building a commercial tax base rather than living purely off rooftops: the Melissa Industrial Park along SH-121, and Dutch Bros' $13 million, 65,000-square-foot coffee roasting facility that opened in 2024. It is also the most attainable of the northeast Collin County cities, with a median household income of $138,763 (ACS 2024 5-year). The trade is distance. This is the furthest out of the bunch.
Match your wish list-from walkable districts to gated communities-with these buyer favorites. Mali can share recent closings, HOA nuances, and off-market conversations for each pocket.
A 535-acre master-planned residential community developed by Hillwood Communities, opened in 2003. It is the most established large community in Melissa.
A Melissa subdivision with active new-construction inventory.
A Melissa subdivision with a registered HOA.
A Melissa subdivision with an HOA management certificate on file with the Texas HOA registry.
A Melissa subdivision with an HOA management certificate on file with the Texas HOA registry.
An established Melissa neighborhood with its own namesake city park, Country Ridge Park.
An established Melissa neighborhood, with North Creek Elementary named for it.
Understanding Melissa's community composition helps buyers match lifestyle preferences with neighborhood character. The figures below reference recent American Community Survey estimates and city planning reports.
Total Population
29,969
US Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025. Use this rather than the ACS 5-year figure (20,136), which averages 2020–2024 and badly understates a city growing this fast.
One-Year Growth
+14.5%
July 2024 to July 2025, per Census Bureau estimates released May 2026. That is 4th fastest in the United States among cities of 20,000+. The top five nationally were all Texas cities: Celina, Fulshear, Princeton, Melissa and Anna.
Median Household Income
$138,763
US Census ACS 2024 5-year estimate. Comfortably above the Texas and national medians, and the most attainable of the northeast Collin County cities.
Median Age
36.3 years
US Census ACS 2024 5-year estimate. A young-family, new-construction profile.
Homeownership Rate
88.7%
Computed from US Census ACS 2024 5-year table B25003: 5,470 owner-occupied of 6,169 occupied units.
School zones significantly impact home values and buyer decisions. The list below highlights top-performing campuses-Mali can map specific attendance boundaries for your shortlist properties.
High
Grades 9–12, Melissa ISD.
Middle
Grades 7–8, Melissa ISD. Opened for the 2025–26 school year.
Middle
Grade 6, Melissa ISD.
Elementary
Grades K–5, Melissa ISD.
Elementary
Grades K–5, Melissa ISD. Opened for the 2025–26 school year.
Elementary
Grades K–5, Melissa ISD.
Elementary
Grades K–5, Melissa ISD.
Elementary
Grades K–5, Melissa ISD.
Elementary
Early childhood / Pre-K and kindergarten campus, Melissa ISD.
Moving to Melissa means lining up the right vendor team, understanding seasonal weather shifts, and comparing neighborhoods before touring. Mali guides you through scouting trips, remote video tours, and negotiation strategy so your Melissa plan comes together smoothly.
Get a free comparative market analysis to discover what your home is worth in today's Melissa market.
Every North Texas suburb brings unique advantages. Whether you're weighing school ratings, commute times, or neighborhood character, Mali will map your priorities against current market inventory.
Answers to common questions about living, buying, and relocating to Melissa, Texas.
Melissa ISD, and only Melissa ISD. The district serves the entire city (plus small portions of Weston and McKinney). That is a genuinely meaningful advantage over its neighbors: Lucas is served by six districts and Murphy is split between two, so in both of those cities the district you get depends on the address. In Melissa, it does not. The district is growing with the city, opening Highland Elementary and East Cardinal Middle School for the 2025–26 school year under its 'Melissa Move' plan.
Very fast, and this is not marketing. It is the Census Bureau. Estimates released in May 2026 ranked Melissa the 4th fastest-growing city in the United States among cities of 20,000+ residents for the period mid-2024 to mid-2025, at +14.5% in a single year. Its estimated population was 29,969 as of July 1, 2025. The five fastest-growing such cities in the country were all Texas cities: Celina, Fulshear, Princeton, Melissa and Anna.
About 29,969, per the US Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimate. You will still see 20,136 quoted in places. That is the ACS 2024 5-year estimate, which averages 2020 through 2024 and is badly stale for a city growing 14.5% a year. Use the 2025 estimate.
The US Census ACS 2024 5-year estimate puts the median value of an owner-occupied home at about $454,000, and Redfin's median sale price for the three months ending May 2026 was $435,000. Melissa is the most attainable of the northeast Collin County cities: median household income here is $138,763, against $175,699 in Murphy and $221,364 in Lucas. Most of what you will tour is new construction.
Almost certainly not in the way that number sounds. Redfin reported a -13.9% year-over-year change in the median sale price, but Melissa's market is dominated by new construction, and in that kind of market the median moves with the MIX of homes that closed (builders shifting to smaller floor plans, or leaning on incentives and rate buydowns) as much as with what any given home is worth. It is not evidence that existing Melissa homes lost 14% of their value. If you want a real read on your house, ask your agent to compare like-for-like: same size, same age, same neighborhood.
The ACS mean travel time to work for Melissa residents is 33.6 minutes (US Census ACS 2024 5-year), the longest of its neighbors, which is the plain trade you are making for the price. Melissa sits about 38 miles north of downtown Dallas with direct US-75 frontage, and it is one of the last US-75 exits before the Grayson County line. The highway access is a genuine advantage; the distance is a genuine cost, and US-75 southbound through McKinney and Allen is one of the region's most congested stretches at peak. Drive it from the actual house at 7:30am before you buy.
Melissa is still primarily a commuter city: most residents drive south on US-75 to McKinney, Allen, Plano and Frisco. But it is the one city in this part of Collin County actively building a real commercial and light-industrial tax base rather than living on rooftops alone. Dutch Bros opened a $13 million, 65,000-square-foot coffee roasting facility here in 2024, and the Melissa Industrial Park is a 27-acre light-industrial development along SH-121 with buildings from 10,000 to 50,000 square feet. Melissa ISD, with nine campuses, is the largest in-city employer.
That you are negotiating with a builder, not a seller. The money moves through incentives, rate buydowns and lot premiums, not usually through the sticker price, and a builder's contract is not the standard TREC resale contract, so have someone read it who has read one before. Expect construction around you for years, since the city is mid-build-out, and expect the neighborhood list to be out of date almost immediately: Melissa routinely carries 600+ new-construction listings across many active communities.
Have more questions about Melissa? Contact Mali at yourealtordfw@gmail.com or call (972) 408-6939.