Welcome to Josephine
Story by Melanie Jones
Today’s thriving city of Josephine bears little resemblance to the town founded in 1888 as a stop on the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway. In 1900, Josephine had about 200 residents. The fastest-growing city in Texas is now home to more than 20,000 people—a population explosion of more than 300% since 2020.
On the surface, developers appear to be behind the growth. But Assistant City Manager Kirk Peters points out those developers wouldn’t build in Josephine if there wasn’t something special about the city. “It’s a very attractive area,” Kirk says. “It’s the community, the people, the environment, the small-town atmosphere. It’s family friendly.”
Peoples lays the infrastructure for fiber internet service before developers even break ground. “Peoples invested in our community, and it was received very well,” Kirk says. “It offers multiple advantages. One, we get to say, ‘Yeah, we have fiber in our homes.’ Plus we get the advantages of lower prices for Peoples telephone and internet services.”
The city encourages developers to contact Peoples from the beginning so the cooperative can “preplumb” the neighborhood with fiber. It makes Peoples’ job easier, Kirk says. When developers work with Peoples during the construction phase, Peoples doesn’t have to come in later and tear up yards, roads and driveways to install fiber optic cables. “That’s a huge advantage to everyone,” Kirk says. “It’s a win-win because it reduces damage and it reduces outages.”
That means when residents come home from jobs sometimes outside the city, they have reliable, high-speed internet at home they can use to watch television, play games or even do a little extra work.
Many of Josephine’s residents commute to the larger cities nearby, including Dallas. Enough commuters keep the roads in and out of the city so busy that the Texas highway department is considering expanding them.
“There’s a high volume of traffic flow exodus going out in the morning and then coming back in the evening,” Kirk says. People may leave Josephine to go to work, but they look forward to returning to a calmer home. “It’s not the real busy hustle and bustle of the really bigger towns or communities,” he says. “It still has that small-town feel.”
Kirk should know. He’s lived in Josephine since 1989. “I raised my family here,” he says. “So, I’ve seen the growth go from 0 to 100.”
That growth hasn’t been easy to keep up with for Josephine’s businesses. “There’s not a lot of retail. We’re still putting that together,” Kirk says. “The residential growth was exponential. It was breakneck speed, so it’s going to take a moment for the retail and commercial sector to catch up.”
That doesn’t mean there are no gathering places. The city has a splash pad and park. Every Tuesday and Thursday residents gather at the community center where they can visit with neighbors, enjoy some coffee or play cards. They can even challenge friends to a game of jumbo Connect Four.
Rapid growth doesn’t equal unbridled growth. The city takes public input into account as it works to create a Unified Development Code. Authorities say they want to ensure the code aligns with Josephine’s objectives in zoning, land development and development standards.
Kirk doesn’t believe the population will stop growing anytime soon. There are several developments in different phases of completion. “We’re not anywhere near close to built out,” he says. “They’re still continuing on. There’s lots of acreage that’s still raw that developers are purchasing for planned developments. There are thousands of homes in different stages of planning.”
Not only is the city thriving, its residents are, too. The median income for residents between 2019 and 2023 was nearly $100,000, with income per capita being $37,800. According to realtor.com, 292 homes were on the market in May ranging from $99,500 to $5 million, though they skewed more toward the lower end of that scale. The median purchase price for a home in Josephine that month was $298,800.
While attracting thousands of new residents, the city hasn’t forgotten about longtime denizens who may be struggling amid all the growth. In June, the city announced funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME Program will be available for homeowners within the city limits. The money will help qualifying homeowners replace their current home with a new house, built on the same lot. The program is limited to owner-occupied homes.
Josephine treats longtime residents well and welcomes its newcomers. “It’s still a successful community,” Kirk says. “You’ve seen communities in the past that have, I guess, aged out and people move out, but that’s not the case here.”