Gunter TX Growth in 2026: What’s Built, Approved and Stalled
Updated October 23, 2026. Gunter TX growth is real, but most of it is still on paper. The U.S. Census Bureau counted 2,060 people in Gunter in 2020 and estimated 2,498 by July 2024, about 21% more in four years. Two approved master-planned neighborhoods inside the city, Platinum Ranch and Taylor Ranch, plan about 4,873 homes between them. That’s more homes than the town has residents today. The developers’ own schedules stretch lot sales out to 2034 and 2036, and today no house is for sale in either one. What is selling now is smaller: Sunset Ranch just outside city limits and The Bridges at Preston Crossings. Meanwhile BNSF is building a 944-acre rail park on State Highway 289, and Gunter ISD is still looking for a site for its next high school.
This page replaces our older look at the Gunter growth spurt with a 2026 status check. We list each project, whether it’s built, selling, approved or stalled, and where that information comes from. For a closer look at each neighborhood, see our Gunter TX new home communities guide.
Gunter population: the numbers that are actually official
Gunter’s population figures vary depending on where you look, so here are the official ones:
- 2020 Census count: 2,060. This is the official count, and the city’s own documents use it.
- Census Bureau estimates since then: 2,078 (2020), 2,256 (2021), 2,399 (2022), 2,461 (2023) and 2,498 (July 1, 2024), from the Bureau’s city and town population estimates.
- The city’s own estimate: about 2,700. That’s the figure the City of Gunter gave in its 2026 Platinum Ranch bond offering document. The same document says the city covers about 17 square miles.
Growth so far has been steady, not explosive: a few hundred people over four years. The big change is what’s been approved since then. If Platinum Ranch and Taylor Ranch are built as planned, Gunter could have several times as many homes as it has now. That would happen over the next ten years or so, not all at once.
Gunter TX growth at a glance: built, approved and stalled
Every major project we could verify, as of October 2026:
| Project | What it is | Size | Status (Oct 2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Ranch (Trophy Signature Homes) | New homes in unincorporated Grayson County with a Gunter address | Built in phases | Selling. Listed from $299,990 to $444,990 | Trophy Signature Homes |
| The Bridges at Preston Crossings (Mattamy Homes) | Golf-course neighborhood off SH 289 | Built in phases | Selling. Plans listed from $319,990 | Mattamy Homes |
| Platinum Ranch (Centurion American) | Master-planned community with a PID | About 1,715 acres, about 4,224 lots | Under construction (streets and utilities). No homes for sale | City bond offering document |
| Taylor Ranch (Centurion American) | Master-planned community built around an existing reservoir, with a PID and a TIRZ | About 497 acres, about 649 lots | Approved and bonded. Utility work starting. No homes for sale | City bond offering document |
| BNSF Logistics Center North Dallas | Rail-served industrial park on SH 289 | 944 acres, about $500 million for the first phase | Under construction since March 12, 2026 | KXII |
| Gunter ISD new high school | Future campus | Site not chosen | Stalled. The JC Maples Road site was dropped in July 2026 | KTEN |
Builder prices change often. The ones above are what the builder websites listed in October 2026, so check the builder’s site for current numbers. Smaller acre-lot subdivisions and neighborhoods that have sold out are covered in our new home communities status board.
What’s built and selling right now
If you want to buy a new house in Gunter this year, your realistic choices are the neighborhoods that are already open. Sunset Ranch is a Trophy Signature Homes community east of Preston Road. It has a Gunter address but sits in unincorporated Grayson County, not inside city limits. That matters because county land is governed by the county rather than City Hall: the neighborhood has its own MUD, and you won’t vote in city elections. The Bridges at Preston Crossings, built by Mattamy Homes around a golf course, is the other active option.
Both are a short drive to SH 289, and both are zoned to Gunter ISD according to the builders. If you’re deciding between them, our guide to moving to Gunter covers day-to-day basics like utilities, groceries and commute routes.
What’s approved: Platinum Ranch and Taylor Ranch on a real timeline
Platinum Ranch and Taylor Ranch are where the big growth numbers come from. Both cleared key city council votes on September 18, 2025, and both are financed with public improvement district (PID) bonds. The bond documents include each developer’s expected build-out schedule. Those schedules are the clearest public answer to a question many longtime residents ask: how fast is this actually going to happen?
| Phase | Lots | Utilities and streets start | Utilities and streets finished | Last lots sold to builders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum Ranch Area 1 | 962 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2027 | Q4 2029 |
| Platinum Ranch Areas 2–7 | 3,262 | Q2 2027 to Q4 2034 | Q4 2028 to Q2 2036 | Q2 2030 to Q4 2036 |
| Taylor Ranch Area 1 | 301 | Q3 2026 | Q4 2027 | Q2 2031 |
| Taylor Ranch Areas 2–3 | 348 | Q1 2028 to Q1 2030 | Q1 2030 to Q1 2032 | Q1 2032 to Q1 2034 |
Source: developer build-out schedules in the City of Gunter’s 2026 Platinum Ranch and Taylor Ranch offering documents. These are the developers’ projections, not promises, and schedules like these often slip when the housing market slows.
Read that way, Gunter’s growth looks less like a sudden boom and more like a ten-year buildout. The first Platinum Ranch homes depend on about 962 lots that won’t have finished streets and utilities until mid-2027. Platinum Ranch’s developer says the whole project will take about twelve years, and Taylor Ranch’s developer says about six. Builders already have contracts on the first phases. At Platinum Ranch, Lennar, D.R. Horton, Coventry, Siena Homes and First Texas Homes hold contracts on 1,563 of the 4,224 planned lots. At Taylor Ranch, Siena Homes and Beazer Homes do. Siena is owned by the developers’ principal, Mehrdad Moayedi. Our Taylor Ranch Gunter TX guide has lot sizes, the reservoir and projected PID costs.
What PIDs mean for your tax bill
Homes in both ranches will owe a yearly PID assessment on top of regular property taxes. In 2025, the regular rate in Gunter added up to about $2.16 per $100 of value: the city ($0.5257), Grayson County ($0.3051), Grayson College ($0.1460) and Gunter ISD ($1.1872). The bond documents estimate the PID would add about $0.88 per $100 in Platinum Ranch’s first phase, for a total near $3.04, and about $0.80 in Taylor Ranch’s first phase, for a total near $2.96. On a 50-foot Platinum Ranch lot with a projected $450,000 home, that works out to about $3,956 a year for the PID alone. Those figures are preliminary estimates in the offering documents. Your real bill depends on your home’s appraised value and on future tax rates.
BNSF: the industrial side of Gunter’s growth
Not all of Gunter’s growth is housing. BNSF Railway broke ground on its Logistics Center North Dallas on March 12, 2026. KXII reported it as a 944-acre rail-served industrial park, with about $500 million for the first phase. BNSF says the first phase will take about 19 months to build. The project came after years of conflict between the city and the railroad. A July 2025 agreement set a buffer of 500 to 800 feet from existing homes, along with limits on lighting and noise.
For residents, the practical questions are truck and rail traffic on SH 289 and how much new tax revenue the park eventually brings in. Our BNSF Gunter logistics hub coverage covers what’s in the agreement and what BNSF’s job projections do and don’t mean.
What’s stalled: the high school site
Gunter ISD describes itself as a 3A district of about 1,100 students covering more than 66 square miles. In July 2026, KTEN reported that the district had dropped the 118-acre JC Maples Road property it had planned for a new high school. The superintendent said the site had no sewer, power or water lines. He also said a demographic study shows most future growth will come “to the west of 289 and south of [FM] 121,” which is where Platinum Ranch and Taylor Ranch are. No replacement site had been announced as of this update. Our Gunter ISD new high school explainer has the full timeline.
The Platinum Ranch plan sets aside three school sites of about 20 acres each. Setting aside land is not the same as building schools, though. New campuses typically need voter-approved bonds, and enrollment will rise in steps as each phase opens. Our Gunter ISD guide covers the district’s current campuses and ratings.
Water, sewer and roads
The City of Gunter doesn’t run its own water or sewer. Mustang Special Utility District provides both. According to the bond documents, the new ranches will get water from new wells and send sewage to a new water reclamation plant that the developers are responsible for building. Those documents also disclose a lawsuit, Eugenia Anderson v. City of Gunter and Mustang SUD, which argues that the city’s sale of its water and sewer system to Mustang SUD needed voter approval.
For roads, SH 289 (Preston Road) is still the main route south toward Celina, Prosper and Frisco. The Platinum Ranch plan shows a future Grayson County toll road on its west side. As our Grayson County development tracker explains, tollway plans north of the county line are still studies, not funded construction. Don’t buy a home counting on a tollway opening by a particular year.
Keeping Gunter’s small-town character
Not everyone in Gunter wants this growth, and the city council wasn’t unanimous either. The Taylor Ranch zoning and PID passed 4-1, and the Platinum Ranch PID passed by the same margin. Growth like this comes with a tradeoff. New homes and the BNSF park bring a bigger tax base, but schools, roads and water have to keep pace with thousands of new households. Watching that second part is the best way to judge whether the growth is being handled well. For a side-by-side look at a neighboring town that’s a few years further along, read Gunter vs. Van Alstyne.
How to check this yourself
- City council and planning agendas: the City of Gunter’s Agenda Center posts zoning, plat and PID items before each meeting.
- Population: the Census Bureau’s city and town estimates are updated each spring.
- PID costs: ask the builder for the PID disclosure, and read the city’s service and assessment plan before you sign.
- Water service: confirm with Mustang SUD that a specific lot can be served.
- Everything else coming to town: our running list of what’s coming to Gunter, and the wider Grayson County Line guide for food, shops and life along the corridor.
Gunter growth FAQ
What is the population of Gunter, TX?
The 2020 Census counted 2,060 people. The Census Bureau’s latest estimate is 2,498 as of July 1, 2024. The city’s own 2026 estimate is about 2,700.
What county is Gunter, TX in?
Gunter is in Grayson County, in the county’s southwest corner on SH 289, near the Collin and Denton county lines.
Can I buy a new home in Platinum Ranch or Taylor Ranch yet?
Not as of October 2026. Both are still building streets and utilities. Under the developer schedules, the first Platinum Ranch lots should be ready around mid-2027, and Taylor Ranch’s first phase should finish by late 2027.
Is Gunter growing fast?
Gunter added about 440 residents from 2020 to 2024, according to Census estimates. The approved projects are much larger: about 4,873 planned lots in the two Centurion American ranches, built in phases into the mid-2030s.
