If you've driven US 380 lately, you've seen the billboards. Every city between Frisco and Sherman is promising the same thing: "The next great suburb." New master-planned communities. Top-rated schools. Proximity to jobs. The growth is coming. Get in now.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: this corridor is oversupplied with identical product.
Prosper, Celina, Princeton, Anna, Melissa—they're all selling to the same buyer demographic (young families with kids, $125K+ household income, willing to commute for space and schools). They're all building the same product (4-bed, 2,500 SF homes with resort-style amenities). And they're all competing for the same finite pool of corporate transferees and equity refugees from California.
The question isn't whether the 380 corridor will grow. It will. The question is which cities emerge as winners and which ones get stuck with half-built subdivisions and strained municipal budgets.
The Competitive Landscape
Let me map out what each city is selling:
| City | Population | Median Home Price | School District | Key Advantage | Key Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prosper | 75,000 | $725K | Prosper ISD (9.2) | Zoning moat, established luxury | Price ceiling, PID costs |
| Celina | 38,000 | $550K | Celina ISD (8.0) | Prosper-adjacent at 25% discount | Retail desert, construction chaos |
| Princeton | 22,000 | $380K | Princeton ISD (7.5) | Lowest price point on corridor | Infrastructure lag, school capacity |
| Anna | 20,000 | $400K | Anna ISD (8.0) | Outer Loop access, TI commuters | Small-town services at suburban scale |
| Melissa | 18,000 | $420K | Melissa ISD (8.5) | Strong schools, moderate pricing | Limited commercial, US 75 dependent |
The pattern is clear: as you move north and east along 380, prices drop but so does infrastructure maturity. Prosper is the most expensive because it's the most established. Princeton is the cheapest because it's still figuring out how to handle growth.
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Take the quizThe Winners: Prosper and Celina
Prosper wins because it already has what other cities are still building:
- •H-E-B (opened August 2025)
- •Costco (opened March 2025)
- •Prosper ISD with multiple high schools
- •Zoning that rejects density (protecting existing home values)
- •TIRZ No. 3 locking in $193M for DNT corridor infrastructure
The "zoning moat" is real. When developers proposed 55-foot lots for a new subdivision, Planning & Zoning unanimously denied it. The message: entry-level housing is not welcome. This artificial supply constraint creates a price floor that protects existing homeowners.
Celina wins because it's executing the "buy the future at today's prices" strategy better than anyone:
- •DNT extension (Phase 4A) opens Fall 2027
- •Outer Loop Segment 3C opened November 2025
- •Costco coming late 2026, Lowe's Spring 2027
- •Methodist Celina Medical Center opened March 2025
- •$2.29B Celina ISD bond—largest in Texas history—building capacity ahead of demand
Celina is essentially Prosper's understudy. If you can't afford Prosper's $725K median but want similar trajectory, Celina offers 75% of the outcome at 75% of the price. The trade-off: 2-3 more years of construction chaos before amenities arrive.
The Question Marks: Princeton and Anna
Princeton is the value play—but value for a reason:
- •Median home price $380K (nearly half of Prosper)
- •Princeton ISD is growing fast but rated 7.5 (solid, not elite)
- •Infrastructure is lagging—roads, utilities, retail
- •The city is scrambling to build capacity for growth it didn't fully plan for
Princeton's pitch is: "Everything Prosper has, we'll have in 10 years, at half the price." Maybe. But the 10-year timeline is real. If you buy in Princeton today, you're living through the construction phase that Prosper already completed.
Anna is positioning as the "Texas Instruments commuter suburb":
- •The Outer Loop now connects Anna directly to Sherman (TI's $30B fab expansion)
- •US 75 access for Richardson/Plano tech corridor commutes
- •Anna ISD is solid (8.0) but small
- •Limited commercial development—residents drive to McKinney or Allen
Anna's bet is on the Sherman semiconductor boom. If TI hires 10,000 workers and half of them want to live in a suburb with Texas schools, Anna is the closest option. But that's a concentrated bet on one employer.
The Infrastructure Reality
Here's what actually matters on the 380 corridor: who controls the bottlenecks.
| Infrastructure | Status | Who Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| DNT Extension (Phase 4A) | Opening Fall 2027 | Prosper, Celina (western 380) |
| Outer Loop (Segment 3C) | Opened Nov 2025 | Celina, Anna (eastern 380) |
| US 380 Widening | 6-lane, grade-separated | All—but years of construction pain |
| Preston Road Widening | TxDOT 2026+ | Celina (eastern corridor) |
| Coit Road Widening | Underway | Celina (eastern corridor) |
The DNT extension is the unlock for western 380 (Prosper, western Celina). Once mainlanes open, the commute to Legacy West drops by 15-20 minutes. The market typically prices this in 6-12 months before opening—meaning late 2026/early 2027 is when western 380 values spike.
The Outer Loop is the unlock for eastern 380 (eastern Celina, Anna). It provides an alternative to 380 for east-west movement, connecting to US 75 without fighting through McKinney congestion. This benefits anyone commuting to the Richardson tech corridor or the Sherman semiconductor plants.
The PID Problem
Almost every new community on the 380 corridor uses Public Improvement Districts (PIDs) or Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) to fund infrastructure. These add $2,000-$6,000+ annually on top of property taxes.
| Community | Financial Structure | Annual Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Star Trail (Prosper) | PID | ~$3,000 |
| Legacy Hills (Celina) | PID | ~$3,500 |
| The Columns (Celina) | PID + TIRZ Credit | ~$2,500 (net) |
| Windsong Ranch (Prosper) | PID | ~$4,000 |
The math matters. Two homes at $550K can have a $300-500/month difference in total cost depending on PID structure. Before you compare prices across cities, compare total monthly obligations.
My Take
If I were buying on the 380 corridor, here's how I'd think about it:
Prosper is the safe bet—but you pay for safety. The infrastructure is built, the schools are elite, the retail is open. You're not speculating on anything. But the $725K median means you need $175K+ household income to play.
Celina is the calculated risk. You're betting that in 5 years, Celina looks like Prosper does today—but at 25% less cost. If you're a long-term holder (7-10 years) with tolerance for construction chaos, the risk/reward is attractive.
Princeton is the high-risk value play. If everything goes right—infrastructure catches up, schools improve, retail arrives—you bought at the bottom. If growth stalls or a recession hits before infrastructure is funded, you're stuck in an incomplete suburb with limited services.
Anna is a sector bet on Sherman/TI. If the semiconductor expansion delivers 10,000+ jobs and workers want Texas suburbs, Anna is positioned. If semiconductor investment slows (tariffs, demand cycle), the thesis weakens.
The Bottom Line
The 380 corridor will grow. That's not the question. The question is: how much pain do you want to endure, and how much are you willing to pay to avoid it?
Prosper charges a premium to skip the construction phase. Celina offers a discount if you'll tolerate 3 more years of it. Princeton and Anna are for buyers with high risk tolerance and long time horizons.
Not every city on the corridor will win equally. The ones with better school districts, earlier infrastructure, and smarter zoning will pull ahead. The ones still playing catch-up may struggle to differentiate as supply accumulates.
Choose your position carefully.
Sources: Collin County Outer Loop Project, NTTA DNT Phase 4 Reports, Town of Prosper FY 2025-2026 Budget, City of Celina 2025-2029 CIP, TxDOT US 380 Improvement Project, Community Impact News