In 2020, there were 17,000 people living in Princeton, Texas. It grew to 28,000 in two years and then to 37,000 last year, when it topped the Census Bureau's list of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Jason Allen reports.

Princeton

Princeton, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas, has experienced a dramatic population increase, making it the fastest-growing city in the United States according to the Census Bureau. Once a small farming community with fewer than a thousand residents in the 1960s, Princeton's population has soared from 17,000 to 37,000 in just a few years, driven by the availability of affordable homes compared to neighboring areas.

The rapid expansion has led to growing pains, with the city temporarily halting new construction to address infrastructure needs such as sewer, water, and roads. City officials report that Princeton is still catching up with the demands of its new residents, and with thousands more homes approved for construction, the population is projected to reach 100,000 within the next five years.

Inside the rise of America's fastest-growing city

If you build it, they will come. If you build it so it's affordable, they will come in droves. In tonight's Eye on America, Jason Allen has the story of how a Dallas suburb turned acres of farmland into the fastest growing city in the country. D.L. Caldwell is still the first one through the door every morning at the pawn shop he owns in Princeton, Texas. We got a lot of guitars. At 82 years old, he knows a little bit about what people want. What was it like when you put this building up here? It was nothing around. When Caldwell's family settled here in the 1960s, fewer than a thousand people lived in Princeton. Do you remember at all, D.L., why your family moved here? Dad was building houses, and I was the best carpenter around. Farmers saw fertile ground to grow their cantaloupes and onions. Caldwell saw an opportunity for another type of growth. He started buying land and opening businesses. Why did you do that? I really believed it would grow, and I figured that the cheaper type, inexpensive home would come to Princeton. Not even Caldwell saw them coming like this. Rows of homes now fill Princeton's old farm fields just 30 miles north of Dallas. 17,000 people lived here in 2020. In just three years, the population jumped to 28,000 and hit the 37,000 mark last year, topping the Census Bureau's list of the fastest-growing cities in the country. These are kitchen stuff. Crystal Alexander is one of thousands who just moved in. You've never been a homeowner before. No. This is my first time, and it is exhilarating. Princeton was not on her list of places to live, but in a county where the median sales price for a home is nearly $475,000, homes in Princeton sell for just about $300,000. It was something that I knew that I could afford, and the homes were actually really nice. Growth comes with growing pains, and homes went up so fast. Last year, Princeton had to put a temporary stop to any more building just to make sure there were enough sewer lines and water lines and roads for everyone who was moving in. Eugene Escobar Jr. is Princeton's mayor. What do you think your biggest challenges are right now? We're still about five years probably behind. We're having to literally figure out everything and redo everything over because the measurements, everything we had in place, cannot handle where we are now. Another 13,000 home units are already approved and waiting to be built. Who could have ever seen it coming? I still got one of the first trucks I started with. Well, D.L. Caldwell, for one. We were all talking, and I made a comment. I said, who'd ever thought this about Princeton? Dury said, no, he said, me. I said, well, you're right. The once tiny town of Princeton is expected to grow to 100,000 people within the next five years. For Eye on America, Jason Allen in Princeton, Texas.

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