Costco Wholesale opened in Celina on Aug. 26, a first for a city this small. The 158,000-square-foot warehouse makes Celina, population roughly 64,000, the smallest city by population ever chosen for a full-service Costco location, the Celina Record reported.

The store at 3445 S. Preston Road, at the corner of Ownsby Parkway, opened with 220 employees and a fueling station. It is part of The Village at Ownsby Farm, a retail center under development by The Seitz Group, according to the Dallas Business Journal.

Costco typically builds in larger metro areas with established customer bases. Celina's population stood at 64,427 as of July 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau data reported by Community Impact Newspaper. But the city grew 24.6 percent in a single year, the fastest rate of any U.S. city with more than 20,000 residents. Celina held that rank for a second consecutive year.

Celina had about 6,000 residents in 2010. By mid-2025, it had quadrupled since 2020 alone, adding more than 46,000 people, according to the Texas Tribune and CBS News. In raw numbers, Celina added 12,700 residents between mid-2024 and mid-2025, more than Seattle or Houston added in the same period, CBS News reported.

Mayor Ryan Tubbs has signaled that landing national retailers is part of a deliberate strategy. In a May interview with the Texas Tribune, when Census data showed Celina's top ranking, Tubbs said, "It attracts a lot of like-minded young families that want to be in new communities." He told the Tribune he wants Celina to be more than a bedroom community, aiming to compete with other Dallas suburbs for major employers.

At a July 14 City Council meeting, the council approved up to $5.1 million in incentives for a potential second Walmart supercenter. That store would require at least a $25 million investment from Walmart and span at least 150,000 square feet, Community Impact Newspaper reported. Celina's first Walmart opened on Preston Road on April 29.

Costco's arrival capped a week in which three national retailers opened along the Preston Road corridor. The Home Depot opened Aug. 20 with 149 employees, and Academy Sports + Outdoors followed on Aug. 24, according to Community Impact Newspaper. The Home Depot will receive a sales tax grant of up to $1.4 million over 10 years, split between the city and the Celina Economic Development Corporation.

The Celina Costco is one of 26 new locations the company plans to open nationwide in 2026, according to Yahoo Finance.

Celina resident Maneder Yadav told Eagle Nation Online on Aug. 28 that the new location eliminates a long drive. "It's going to save us like an hour. … We generally go to the one in Frisco, and this is right next door," Yadav said.

With the second Walmart still working through the development process and Preston Road's retail corridor continuing to fill in, more national brands could follow.