Community guide · Denton County
Denton County’s oldest settlement — a historic square, horse country on every side and Lake Ray Roberts about ten minutes away, with thousands of new homes planned toward Celina.
By Shayla Eadler, REALTOR® · TREC #0747934 · Based in Van Alstyne · Updated
Pilot Point, Texas
Yes — living in Pilot Point, TX suits buyers who want horse country, a real historic square and Lake Ray Roberts close by, with a lower tax rate than most towns around it. The trade-offs are distance and growing pains: downtown Dallas is about 65 minutes away without traffic, the school district is short on space, and the roads are still mostly two lanes.
Pilot Point sits on US-377 in the northeast corner of Denton County, about 12 miles north of US-380 and less than two miles from the eastern shore of Lake Ray Roberts. The city calls itself the oldest settlement in Denton County — settlers arrived in 1845, and the square stands on the wooded hill travelers once used as a landmark, “Pilot’s Point.” That square has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007, and its F&M Bank building is where the bank robbery scene in the 1967 film Bonnie & Clyde was shot.
The town is changing fast. The Census estimate went from 4,386 in 2020 to 8,052 in July 2025, and large master-planned communities like Mobberly Farms are filling in southeast of town toward Celina. If you’re looking at Pilot Point TX homes for sale, I’ll help you sort out new-construction streets from in-town homes and the horse property and acreage that still surround the city — and check the school district, PID and water provider for every address.
Pilot Point grew from 6,775 to 8,052 people between July 2024 and July 2025, an 18.8% jump in one year, and it has grown about 84% since 2020. The city’s comprehensive plan says more than 20,000 new housing units are planned in incoming master-planned communities, and it projects the population could pass 112,000 by 2045. That is the city’s own long-range projection, not a count — but the pipeline is real. Centurion American alone has Mobberly Farms, Creekview and Bryson Ranch in the area, which it says add up to more than 7,300 planned homes.
Next up is Lantern, a 617-acre Hillwood community on FM 1385 with about 2,000 planned homes, a 15-acre Pilot Point ISD elementary site and more than 100 acres of open space. Groundbreaking is expected in late 2026, with first homes in 2028, and the city expects to annex it eventually. Infrastructure is the catch: the city’s plan notes that its water comes entirely from groundwater wells and won’t meet demand by 2040 without new supply, and Mustang Special Utility District covers about 71% of the planning area.
The honest version
Every town has trade-offs. Here’s what I tell my own clients before they buy.
Pros
Cons
For sale now
Pilot Point homes for sale fall into three groups: older homes around the historic square, new builder homes in master-planned communities east of town, and acreage and horse property in the country around it. The city’s comprehensive plan cites a median home value of $391,685 (Esri), well below Frisco and Prosper.
Established homes on the streets around the square, where the city’s brick storefronts date back to 1872. Expect mature trees, a mix of ages and styles, and an easy walk to the Main Street events.
Mobberly Farms (Centex, Lennar and M/I Homes) is the big one selling now, with Bryson Ranch and Lantern coming. Many of these streets carry a public improvement district (PID) assessment on top of the tax rate, so I pull the full yearly cost before you write an offer.
The city says its sandy loam soil is ideal for training and working horses, and the area is home to more than 25,000 horses and 300 ranches. Outside city limits, check water source, septic, fencing and any ag valuation before you buy.
Be the first to know
I’ll send new listings, price drops and my Coming Soon homes in Pilot Point — with my honest notes on each one.
Land & lake
Pilot Point calls itself the heart of horse country. The city says the area is home to more than 25,000 horses and 300 ranches, across a wide mix of breeds and disciplines, and that the Pilot Point–Whitesboro area is the northern starting point of the North Texas Horse Country Tour. If you want a barn, an arena or room for a few horses, this is one of the most natural fits in my whole service area.
The lake is the other draw. Ray Roberts Lake covers about 29,000 acres, and the state park’s Isle du Bois unit — with a Pilot Point address — is about six miles and ten minutes from town. Lone Star Lodge & Marina sits about two miles west of town, and the park’s 20-mile Greenbelt Corridor allows horses on 12 of its miles. When you look at acreage here, I’ll check fencing, water wells, septic, floodplain and deed restrictions on livestock before you fall for the view.
Pilot Point outdoors at a glance
What’s being built
Most new homes in Pilot Point are going up in large master-planned communities east and south of the square, toward Celina. They bring pools, trails and newer floor plans at prices below the Tollway towns, but they also bring PID assessments, and not every one is in Pilot Point ISD — Creekview Meadows, for example, is listed by its builder in Celina ISD.
The City of Pilot Point has approved PIDs and assessment plans for Bryson Ranch, Creekview Estates, Maverick Farms and Mobberly Farms, most of them in 2026. Builder lineups and timelines shift often, and the model-home sales agent works for the builder, not you. Bring me to that first visit and I’ll check the school district, PID amount and water provider for your lot.
| Community | Developer | Size | Homes planned | Status & schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobberly Farms | Centurion American | ~520 acres | 1,986 | Selling now (Centex, Lennar, M/I Homes) · Pilot Point ISD · city PID approved July 2026 |
| Creekview Meadows | Ask me | 1,027 acres | ~2,450 | Selling now (Pulte) · listed in Celina ISD |
| Bryson Ranch | Centurion American | ~1,050 acres | ~3,000 lots plus ~120 townhomes | City PID approved July 2026 · school assignment: ask me |
| Maverick Farms | Ask me | Ask me | Ask me | City PID approved Feb 2026 |
| Lantern | Hillwood | 617 acres | ~2,000 | Groundbreaking expected late 2026, first homes 2028 · 15-acre Pilot Point ISD elementary site planned |
Sources: Centurion American, Dallas Innovates, Bisnow, Pulte and the City of Pilot Point (comprehensive plan and PID page), as of Oct 2026. Plans change; I verify each lot.
Where to live
Pilot Point buyers usually choose by setting — the old town around the square, a new master-planned community or land outside town — so here’s how I break it down.
Established · In town
The streets around the National Register square, where the first brick building in Denton County went up in 1872 and where Bonnie & Clyde Days and Christmas on the Square set up. Older homes, mature trees and city water and sewer.
Pilot Point ISD
Master-planned · New construction
Centurion American’s roughly 520-acre community between FM 1385 and Mobberly Road, planned for 1,986 homes with a pool, fitness center, dog park, playground and green space. Centex, Lennar and M/I Homes build here, and the city approved its PID plan in 2026.
Pilot Point ISD
Master-planned · New construction
A Pilot Point address on the Celina side of town. The city’s plan lists it at 1,027 acres and about 2,450 homes, and Pulte markets it in Celina ISD — which means a different school tax rate than most of Pilot Point.
Celina ISD (confirm by address)
Master-planned · Coming soon
Centurion American’s largest Pilot Point project: about 1,050 acres north of Mobberly Road between Lights Ranch and Hames roads, with roughly 3,000 home lots, about 120 townhome lots and four amenity centers planned.
Ask me — confirm by address
Acreage · Outside city limits
Ranches, horse barns and homes on acreage along the farm roads around town and toward the lake. Outside city limits you skip the city tax line, but check water source, septic, fencing and ag valuation for each property.
Usually Pilot Point ISD — confirm by address
Subdivision names are a starting point. Lot sizes, HOA rules and school zoning vary street by street — I’ll confirm all of it for any home you’re considering.
Cost of living
For tax year 2025, the combined rate inside Pilot Point city limits on the Denton County side is about $1.73 per $100 of value: Pilot Point ISD 0.9382, City of Pilot Point 0.604974 and Denton County 0.185938. That’s noticeably lower than the roughly 2.0% many buyers see in Celina or Grayson County towns. Outside city limits, drop the city line and the base stack is about 1.12.
Two things change the picture. Many new communities carry a PID assessment on top of these rates, and a home in Creekview Meadows pays the Celina ISD rate (1.2089 for 2025) instead of Pilot Point ISD, which brings an in-city stack to about 2.00. For tax year 2026, the adopted rates dropped slightly — Pilot Point ISD 0.9179, the city 0.60498 and Denton County 0.183394.
Schools
Pilot Point ISD is a small district — 1,549 students in 2023–24, with about 13.7 students per teacher — and it’s growing quickly. By August 12, 2026, enrollment had reached 1,823, the largest summer increase in at least five years. In the 2025 TEA ratings (school year 2024–25), the district earned a C (score 77). Pilot Point High School earned a B, and Selz Middle School, Pilot Point Elementary and the Early Childhood Center earned C ratings. The high school’s four-year graduation rate was 98.3% for the class of 2023, against 90.3% statewide.
Space is the issue to watch. Voters turned down a $295 million bond in May 2026 that would have funded a new high school, a new elementary and renovations. The superintendent has said the district will run out of space in its current buildings, and a district study projects 2,430 students by 2031, so if portable classrooms are needed, the elementary gets them first. Some new communities with a Pilot Point address, like Creekview Meadows, are in Celina ISD (rated B for 2024–25), so I check the district for every home.
Getting around
US-377 runs north–south through Pilot Point toward Denton. FM 455 heads east to Celina and the Dallas North Tollway and west to Lake Ray Roberts, and FM 1385 runs south toward US-380. Times below are no-traffic estimates.
Lake Ray Roberts (Isle du Bois)
10 min≈ 6 mi
via FM 455 W
Downtown Celina
20 min≈ 13 mi
via FM 455 E
Downtown Denton
30 min≈ 19 mi
via US-377 S & FM 428
Gunter
25 min≈ 16 mi
via FM 121 E
Van Alstyne
45 min≈ 27 mi
via FM 121 E through Gunter
The Star (Frisco)
40 min≈ 28 mi
via FM 455 E & Dallas North Tollway S
Downtown Dallas
65 min≈ 51 mi
via FM 455 E & Dallas North Tollway S
DFW Airport
65 min≈ 44 mi
via US-377 S & I-35E
Typical drive times without heavy traffic. Rush hour on US-75 and the Tollway can add 15–30 minutes.
Local favorites
Pilot Point’s fun centers on the square and the lake, with horse country in between.
A Texas Main Street City with a square on the National Register of Historic Places since 2007. The first brick building in Denton County went up on its northeast corner in 1872.
Pilot Point’s biggest festival, held each October around the F&M Bank building at Washington and Main, where the 1967 film’s bank robbery scene was shot. The 2026 festival was October 10.
The 2026 calendar includes the Easter Egg Hunt & Flower Festival in March, the Pilot Point Market on the last Saturday of each month from April to July, Scare on the Square in October and Christmas on the Square on December 5.
The Isle du Bois unit is about ten minutes from town, on a lake of about 29,000 acres, with camping, a swimming beach (no lifeguards), boat ramps and trails.
A 20-mile multiuse trail corridor below the dam toward Lake Lewisville. Twelve miles are open to horseback riding and ten are for hiking and biking only.
About two miles west of town on Lake Ray Roberts, with boat and jet ski rentals and lodging.
A pick-your-own tulip farm on FM 2931 in Pilot Point, open roughly mid-February through late March or early April, depending on the weather, with about 100 varieties in a 6-acre field.
Friday nights belong to the Bearcats, who won the 2009 Class 2A Division I football state title. The softball team won the 2013 Class 2A state title.
Before you move
Here are the practical details I walk every Pilot Point buyer through before closing.
FAQ
Quick answers to the questions I hear most from people moving to Pilot Point.
Pilot Point is a good fit if you want horse property, Lake Ray Roberts close by, a historic square and a lower tax rate than the Tollway towns. It’s about 20 minutes to Celina and 30 to Denton. The trade-offs are a longer drive to Dallas, two-lane roads and a school district that is running short on space.
For tax year 2025, the combined rate inside city limits on the Denton County side is about $1.73 per $100 of value: Pilot Point ISD 0.9382, City of Pilot Point 0.604974 and Denton County 0.185938. Many new communities add a PID assessment, and Celina ISD addresses pay 1.2089 for school instead.
Most of Pilot Point is served by Pilot Point ISD, home of the Bearcats, which earned a C (score 77) in the 2025 TEA ratings; Pilot Point High School earned a B. Some newer communities with a Pilot Point address, like Creekview Meadows, are in Celina ISD, so I confirm the district for every home.
Downtown Dallas is about 51 miles away — roughly 65 minutes without traffic via FM 455 and the Dallas North Tollway. The Star in Frisco is about 40 minutes, downtown Denton about 30 minutes and DFW Airport about 65 minutes.
Very close. Town is less than two miles from the lake’s eastern shore, Lone Star Lodge & Marina is about two miles west, and the state park’s Isle du Bois unit is about six miles and ten minutes away via FM 455.
Yes, quickly. The Census estimate rose from 4,386 in 2020 to 8,052 in July 2025, including 18.8% growth in the last year alone. Mobberly Farms is selling now, Bryson Ranch and Lantern are coming, and the city’s plan says more than 20,000 new housing units are planned in the area.
Yes. Pilot Point calls itself the heart of horse country, and the city says the area has more than 25,000 horses and 300 ranches. Check fencing, water wells, septic, floodplain, deed restrictions and ag valuation before you buy.
Several new communities do. The city has approved public improvement districts for Mobberly Farms, Bryson Ranch, Creekview Estates and Maverick Farms, and each charges its own assessment on top of the tax rate. I pull the exact figure for any home before you make an offer.
Compare nearby towns
Collin CountyCelinaAbout 20 minutes east on FM 455; the Tollway corridor, with more shopping and a higher tax rate.Read the Celina guide 
Grayson CountyGunterAbout 25 minutes east on FM 121; another acreage town, in Grayson County.Read the Gunter guide 
Grayson CountyWhitesboroHorse country to the north on US-377, with its own square.Read the Whitesboro guide 
Grayson CountyVan AlstyneMy home base, about 45 minutes east via FM 121 and Gunter.Read the Van Alstyne guide Facts on this page were checked against public sources in October 2026. Tax rates, school ratings and road plans change — confirm anything important for your decision.
Ready when you are
I’ll show you around — the neighborhoods, the schools and the places locals love — and put together homes in Pilot Point that fit your budget.
