What is driving Grayson County land prices up?

Three simultaneous forces: Texas Instruments' $30 billion semiconductor campus in Sherman (with GlobiTech's $5 billion facility nearby), creating 4,500+ high-paying jobs; the $6 billion Preston Harbor master-planned development on Lake Texoma in Denison; and the northward DFW population expansion through Collin County into southern Grayson County. Each driver is independent — the county would be growing without any one of them.

Is it too late to buy land in Grayson County?

It depends on what part of the county and what timeline. Land prices near the TI campus have already moved materially from pre-2022 levels. However, with only roughly 20% of the TI facilities operational as of mid-2025, the full economic impact from the completed semiconductor ecosystem is still being realized. The southern residential corridor and the Lake Texoma story are both actively developing. Buyers with appropriate holding timelines and realistic carrying cost analysis can still find compelling positions.

How close is Grayson County to Dallas?

Sherman is approximately 60 miles north of Dallas, with a typical drive time of 60–75 minutes via US 75 depending on traffic. Denison is approximately 70 miles from Dallas.

What is Preston Harbor in Denison?

Preston Harbor is a $6 billion master-planned development on the Lake Texoma waterfront in Denison. Full buildout plans include approximately 7,500 luxury homes, resort hotels (including a Margaritaville), a 1,000-slip marina, retail, restaurants, and extensive recreational amenities. The project is expected to create approximately 15,000 jobs and transform Denison's waterfront character over a multi-decade buildout.

What are the recreational opportunities in Grayson County?

Lake Texoma, a 90,000-acre reservoir on the Texas-Oklahoma border, is one of the most significant recreational assets in the southern United States. The lake attracts approximately 6 million visitors annually and is renowned for striped bass fishing, boating, and camping. Grayson County also has hunting land for whitetail deer, dove, and waterfowl throughout its rural areas.

What school districts serve Grayson County?

Major districts include Sherman ISD, Denison ISD, Pottsboro ISD, Gunter ISD, Howe ISD, Tom Bean ISD, Whitewright ISD, Bells ISD, and Van Alstyne ISD. Grayson College in Denison and Austin College in Sherman provide higher education options. Sherman ISD and Gunter ISD are the most actively growing districts due to the semiconductor-driven population increase.

Can I build a barndominium or metal building home in Grayson County?

In unincorporated Grayson County, there are generally no restrictions on building type. Within city limits and ETJs, building codes and zoning regulations apply. Some master-planned developments and homeowners' associations have design standards and material requirements. Verify the specific regulatory environment for any target property.

What about the Barnett Shale and mineral rights in Grayson County?

Grayson County is at the northern edge of Barnett Shale activity. Mineral rights are frequently severed from surface rights throughout the county, particularly in areas with historical oil and gas production. Verify mineral rights ownership on any property and investigate any existing surface use agreements, pipeline easements, or production activity that could affect surface use. This is a non-negotiable due diligence item.

Grayson County Land for Sale | North 40 Land Group

Why Grayson?

Grayson County is the most openly discussed land investment story in North Texas right now, and the fundamentals behind that discussion are real. When Texas Instruments announced a $30 billion semiconductor manufacturing complex in Sherman and GlobalWafers/GlobiTech announced a separate $5 billion facility nearby, Grayson County stopped being a quiet rural county an hour north of Dallas and became one of the most closely watched land markets in the state.

The scale of what is happening here is difficult to overstate. The TI and GlobiTech investments represent approximately $35 billion in committed capital. When fully operational, the semiconductor plants alone are projected to create 4,500+ direct manufacturing jobs with median incomes above $100,000. The economic modeling for a project this size in a county of 140,000 people points to significant secondary employment, supply chain clustering, housing demand, and infrastructure investment that will reshape the county's character over the next decade.

Layered on top of the semiconductor story is the $6 billion Preston Harbor development on Lake Texoma in Denison — a master-planned community that could bring 20,000 residents and 15,000 jobs to the Denison waterfront, including resort hotels, a 1,000-slip marina, and significant retail and hospitality infrastructure.

And beneath both of those headlines, the northward DFW growth corridor through Collin County into Gunter and the southern Grayson County line is an independent demand driver that would be moving land prices here even without the semiconductor story.

The question is not whether Grayson County will grow. It is already growing. The question is what land you buy, where it sits relative to the growth catalysts, and what timeline you are working with.

Market Snapshot

Grayson County's land market has shifted from what local commercial brokers describe as an "investor market" — where people bought and held but few projects went vertical — to an active "user-developer market" where committed capital is meeting committed projects. That shift happened post-2022 when TI and GlobiTech construction started.

Price Ranges by Zone

The county's pricing is heavily corridor-dependent. Grayson County contains dramatically different per-acre valuations within its 979 square miles.

Sherman/US 75 corridor near the TI campus: Premium pricing, $75,000–$150,000+ per acre for development-positioned tracts with utility access, road frontage, and proximity to the semiconductor campus. Industrial supplier sites, logistics tracts, and higher-density residential development land trade in this range.

Southern Grayson County near Gunter and Howe: Residential development land driven by the northward Collin County growth corridor. Pricing of $40,000–$80,000 per acre for tracts positioned for residential development as Celina and Anna build out and push buyers north. Centurion American (the Celina Legacy Hills developer) has already committed 1,500 acres near Gunter, signaling strong institutional conviction about this corridor.

Denison and the Preston Harbor corridor: Development land near Lake Texoma and the Preston Harbor project ranges widely depending on waterfront access and proximity to the planned development. Near-lake tracts with road frontage and utilities trade at $45,000–$100,000+ per acre.

Rural agricultural tracts (eastern and northern county): Away from the growth corridors — Whitewright, Tom Bean, Pottsboro rural, and northwestern Grayson County — traditional ranch and agricultural land is available at $20,000–$45,000 per acre. These areas have benefited from the county's rising profile but retain a more traditional land market character.

Lake Texoma peninsula and waterfront: Recreational and lifestyle land near the lake carries its own premium. Heavily wooded tracts adjacent to Corps of Engineers land near Pottsboro trade based on lake access, lot configuration, and privacy rather than agricultural economics.

Demand Indicators

Land for sale in Grayson County recently totaled approximately 100,000 acres with combined listing value of roughly $2 billion — ranking the county third in Texas for total acreage advertised for sale. When a 76-acre parcel in Denison hit the market in early 2024, it received multiple near-asking offers from prominent investment groups within days of listing. The "for-sale" inventory is deep, but quality development-positioned tracts near growth corridors are moving quickly.

Land Types Available

Semiconductor Corridor Development Land (Sherman/US 75)
The highest-demand segment in the county. Tracts positioned to serve TI and GlobiTech supplier networks, workforce housing demand, and logistics operations are the focus of institutional investors and regional developers. Sites with utility access, rail potential, and highway visibility near the TI campus attract the strongest interest.

Residential Development Tracts (Gunter/Howe/Southern Corridor)
Single-family residential development land following the Collin County growth template northward. Master-planned community developers, regional homebuilders, and land investors are actively assembling and entitling tracts in this submarket. This is where the familiar DFW suburban growth machine is doing its next chapter.

Lake Texoma Recreational and Lifestyle Land
Waterfront, near-water, and Corps-adjacent land near the lake. Heavily wooded tracts, peninsula properties, and lake-view acreage appeal to buyers seeking recreational lifestyle value separate from the semiconductor investment story. Pottsboro, Gordonville, and Kingston are the primary communities for this submarket.

Ranch and Agricultural Land
Traditional cattle and hay operations throughout the county's rural areas, particularly in the eastern and northern portions away from the growth corridors. Grayson County has deep ranching heritage and a working agricultural economy that persists outside the growth zones. These properties offer genuine agricultural character with the economic tailwind of a rapidly appreciating county behind them.

Horse Country and Equestrian Properties
Grayson County has an established equestrian tradition and a meaningful concentration of horse facilities, training operations, and breeding farms. Properties set up for horses — with barns, arenas, cross-fencing, and appropriate pasture — attract a dedicated buyer community with its own valuation logic.

Commercial and Highway Frontage
US 75 is the primary commercial corridor. Highway-visible tracts along US 75 from the Collin County line through Sherman and Denison are valued for retail, hospitality, medical, and mixed-use development potential. The ongoing northward migration of DFW commercial development is creating demand for appropriately positioned commercial sites.

Zoning & Land Use

Unincorporated Grayson County
Grayson County has no county-wide zoning authority in unincorporated areas, consistent with most Texas counties. Land outside city limits and ETJs can generally be used for residential, agricultural, or commercial purposes without county zoning approval. This flexibility is a meaningful advantage for buyers planning agricultural or light commercial use.

Grayson County does enforce septic system regulations through the county health department. On-site sewage facility permits are required for new septic installations, and soil evaluations must be completed. The county's soils vary between the blackland prairie in the east and center and lighter sandy soils in areas near the Red River — soil type affects septic system design and cost.

City Jurisdictions
Sherman is the most active regulatory environment in the county. The city has a comprehensive zoning ordinance, active Planning and Zoning Commission, and is managing rapid growth pressure from the semiconductor investment. Sherman's ETJ extends several miles from city limits and carries subdivision authority. The city's Progress Park (3,300 acres) and Midway Industrial Park (300 acres) are master-planned development zones with specific use and design standards.

Denison has its own comprehensive zoning ordinance and is managing the Preston Harbor development area with specific attention to waterfront development standards. The city is actively working to position its industrial parks for semiconductor supplier recruitment.

Gunter, on the Collin County border, is managing rapid growth and updating its development regulations to accommodate the residential development pipeline. Buyers planning development in or near Gunter should verify current ordinances directly with the city, as these are being updated frequently.

Subdivision Rules
In unincorporated Grayson County, tracts of 10 acres or larger with road frontage can generally be transferred without county platting requirements. Dividing property into smaller tracts triggers county subdivision review. Always verify ETJ status — both Sherman's and Denison's ETJs are significant in size, and the growing cities of Gunter, Howe, and Van Alstyne each have their own ETJ footprints that may affect apparent rural properties.

Water & Utilities

Water
Grayson County's water situation is generally more favorable than the rapidly growing counties to its south. The county's primary water asset is Lake Texoma, a 90,000-acre reservoir on the Texas-Oklahoma border with the capacity to support significant population growth. The North Texas Municipal Water District and City of Denison both draw from Lake Texoma.

Sherman is served by the City of Sherman water utility, which has planned for growth consistent with the TI investment projections. The city has been proactive in utility infrastructure investment as part of its economic development positioning.

Rural areas outside incorporated service areas rely on water supply corporations, municipal utility districts (particularly in the Gunter-area growth corridor), and private wells. The patchwork of providers in Grayson County means that water availability varies significantly by location — contact the specific provider for any target property rather than assuming availability based on proximity to a water line.

Electricity
Oncor Electric serves most of Grayson County. The North Texas Regional Airport (NTRA) in Denison holds Foreign Trade Zone and Freeport exemption status, indicating the county's infrastructure is positioned for industrial development. Texas' independent power grid provides industrial operators a degree of power supply reliability and cost predictability relevant to the semiconductor supply chain.

Internet and Communications
Fiber broadband is expanding in Sherman and Denison as the semiconductor investment drives infrastructure improvement. Rural areas have variable coverage — Starlink, Nextlink, and other fixed wireless options fill gaps. Cell coverage is generally good along US 75 and in the cities but can drop in rural and wooded areas of western and northern Grayson County.

Roads and Transportation
US 75 is the county's primary north-south arterial and the spine of the economic development story. Direct access from Sherman and Denison to Dallas via US 75 is the key commuter and logistics corridor. US 82 runs east-west through Sherman. The North Texas Regional Airport in Denison has a 9,000-foot runway and Foreign Trade Zone status. BNSF and UP rail lines serve the county, providing industrial logistics capability that supports the semiconductor supply chain. Road improvements along US 75 are ongoing to accommodate increased traffic.

Infrastructure Watch
The utility expansion to support the TI and GlobiTech campuses is the single most important infrastructure development to track. Water, sewer, and power infrastructure committed to serve those facilities creates downstream value for adjacent land. Highway improvements on US 75 between Dallas and Sherman are also in development. The Preston Harbor marina and resort infrastructure buildout in Denison will catalyze adjacent commercial and residential development.

Ag Exemptions & Property Taxes

Agricultural exemptions remain widely available in Grayson County outside of the active development corridors. The Grayson Central Appraisal District (GCAD) has experience with both traditional agricultural valuations and the more complex situations arising from rapid development pressure in the Sherman and southern county areas.

Qualifying Activities
Cattle grazing, dryland farming (wheat, cotton, hay), horse operations, and livestock production are the most common qualifying uses. Stocking rate guidelines for Grayson County run approximately 1 animal unit per 15–25 acres depending on pasture quality — verify current GCAD guidance for specific properties. Wildlife management plans are increasingly used on recreational properties throughout the county.

Development Corridor Exemption Risk
Properties near the semiconductor corridor or in the path of residential development are subject to increased GCAD scrutiny of ag exemptions. As surrounding development changes the character of an area, appraisal districts have grounds to challenge whether existing agricultural use meets the "degree of intensity" standard relative to the area. Buyers purchasing ag-exempt land near growth corridors should evaluate the durability of that exemption under increasing development pressure.

Wildlife Management Exemptions
Wildlife management valuation is popular on recreational properties in Grayson County, particularly on Lake Texoma-adjacent tracts and rural properties in the northern and eastern county. The county's wildlife populations support straightforward management plan development. Properties must have an existing ag exemption in place prior to conversion to wildlife management.

Rollback Taxes
Rollback tax exposure in Grayson County's growth corridors can be significant. Near the TI campus and in the southern Gunter corridor where development land is trading at $50,000–$150,000+ per acre, the difference between ag valuation and market value is large, and five years of rollback can produce substantial tax liability. Calculate rollback exposure specifically before closing on any development-positioned property with an existing ag exemption.

Growth & Development

Grayson County's growth story has multiple chapters running simultaneously, each on its own timeline, each creating different investment dynamics.

The Semiconductor Build-Out (Sherman, 2022–2030+)
The TI and GlobiTech investments are the headline story. Approximately 20% of the TI facilities were operational as of mid-2025 — meaning the full economic impact, including the supplier ecosystem, workforce housing demand, and commercial services buildout, is still ahead. When the plants are fully operational, projections call for $500 million per year in new income flowing into the Sherman-Denison MSA. That is a transformative number for a county of 140,000 people. Land positioned to serve the industrial supplier ecosystem — sites with utility access, highway visibility, and adequate size for manufacturing — is the most actively sought-after category.

The Gunter/Southern Corridor (Ongoing)
The northward DFW growth machine that built out Frisco, Prosper, Celina, and Anna is now looking at Gunter, Howe, and Van Alstyne on Grayson County's southern edge. Centurion American's 1,500-acre Cottonwood community acquisition near Gunter is a direct signal. This residential development story is independent of the semiconductor news and would be driving Grayson County land prices even without TI and GlobiTech. Timeline is nearer-term — residential development in this corridor is actively underway.

Preston Harbor and the Lake Texoma Transformation (Denison, 2023–2030+)
The $6 billion Preston Harbor development is a multi-decade buildout that will fundamentally change Denison's waterfront character. The first phases — marina infrastructure, resort hotel, and initial residential — are in development. Full buildout to 7,500 homes and 1,000-slip marina will take years. Land near the Preston Harbor footprint and along the Lake Texoma waterfront is positioned for a different appreciation curve than the semiconductor story — more lifestyle and residential, less industrial.

Northern Grayson County: The Patient Capital Play
Whitewright, Tom Bean, Pottsboro rural, and the county's northern areas remain genuinely rural with longer development timelines. For buyers who want to be in Grayson County at the lowest price point with the longest appreciation horizon, these areas offer entry at traditional agricultural land prices with the rising county profile behind them.

Schools & Community

School Districts

Grayson County is served by multiple ISDs:

Sherman ISD (approximately 7,400 students): The county's largest district. Growing with the city's semiconductor-driven expansion. New school construction planned as enrollment projections are updated to reflect the TI workforce arrival.

Denison ISD (approximately 4,800 students): Serves Denison and surrounding areas. Established district with the character of a historic Texas river city community.

Pottsboro ISD: Serves Pottsboro and the Lake Texoma recreational corridor. Small district with a strong community identity.

Gunter ISD: Growing rapidly as the southern Grayson County residential development corridor builds out. New facilities under planning to accommodate projected enrollment growth.

Howe ISD, Tom Bean ISD, Whitewright ISD, Van Alstyne ISD (spans into Collin County), and Bells ISD each serve their respective communities with small-district character and close community ties.

Grayson College in Denison is a two-year community college offering workforce training programs aligned with the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing employment base — a meaningful asset for both the employee pipeline and the regional economic diversification story.

Austin College in Sherman is a private liberal arts institution that provides a more traditional four-year academic environment and contributes to the community's intellectual and cultural character.

Healthcare
Wilson N. Jones Regional Medical Center in Sherman and Texoma Medical Center in Denison serve the county's healthcare needs. Both facilities are expected to expand as the semiconductor workforce and population grow. Specialized care is available at Metroplex hospital systems 60–75 minutes south via US 75.

Character and Community
Grayson County is in a genuine identity transition. Sherman and Denison have historically been small Texas cities with a quiet agricultural and light industrial character — the kind of places where commercial development was slow and the semiconductor announcement changed everything. The communities are managing rapid growth against their rural heritage with varying degrees of enthusiasm and concern.

The Lake Texoma community — Pottsboro, Gordonville, Kingston — has a distinct recreational and lifestyle character separate from the industrial growth story. These are communities that attract retirees, outdoor enthusiasts, and DFW weekend-retreat buyers who are not primarily here for the chip plant.

The rural ranch community throughout the county's agricultural areas maintains the traditional North Texas ranching identity that has defined the county for generations. The growth is happening but it has not yet reached these areas in ways that change daily life substantially.

Due Diligence Checklist

Before purchasing land in Grayson County, investigate these critical factors:

Utility availability and capacity. In the Sherman semiconductor corridor, utility access (water, sewer, power capacity) is the primary determinant of whether a tract can actually be developed for its intended use. Contact City of Sherman utilities, applicable MUDs, and Oncor directly to confirm availability and capacity for the target property's intended use. Do not rely on proximity to a utility line as confirmation of access.

ETJ status and applicable development regulations. Both Sherman and Denison have substantial ETJs. The growing cities of Gunter, Howe, and Van Alstyne each have ETJ footprints that may affect apparently rural properties. Know whose ETJ you are in, what their current development regulations require, and what their comprehensive plans project for the area.

Floodplain and drainage. The Red River corridor in northern Grayson County has significant floodplain areas. Low-lying areas near Lake Texoma and tributary creek systems can have substantial floodplain encroachment. Verify FEMA flood map status for any property near water features. Flood insurance costs and buildable area limitations are material considerations.

Ag exemption and rollback. In the growth corridors near Sherman, Gunter, and Denison, the difference between ag valuation and market value is large enough that rollback tax exposure can be a six-figure liability. Calculate this specifically before closing on any development-positioned property with an existing ag exemption.

Mineral rights. Grayson County has historical oil and gas activity. Verify whether mineral rights convey and investigate any existing surface use agreements, pipeline easements, or active wells. Severed minerals mean someone else may have the right to access minerals beneath your surface.

Survey with easements. Get a current survey that specifically identifies all recorded easements — utility easements, pipeline rights-of-way, access easements, and drainage easements. In the Sherman corridor particularly, utility infrastructure for the semiconductor facilities may have created new easements in recent years that an older survey would not show.

Water source for rural properties. Rural properties in northern and western Grayson County rely on wells, water supply corporations, or MUDs. Verify the specific source, confirm connection availability, and test well water quality and yield. Contact the applicable provider directly.

Development timeline realism. If you are buying land near the semiconductor corridor as a development investment, be honest about timing. The TI campus is a multi-year buildout with the full economic impact several years away. Carrying costs, interest, and taxes during the holding period are real costs that must factor into the investment return analysis.

Grayson County, Texas