Melissa is a city in Collin County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,695 at the 2010 census, up from 1,350 at the 2000 census; in 2020, its population grew to 13,901. Among Melissa's earliest inhabitants were Paleo-Indians; archaeological finds in the area have been dated to approximately 9500 BC. In the centuries since, several Native American tribes called the area home, including the Caddo, Cherokee, Delaware, and the Kickapoo. The Tonkawa people had a settlement in the area, northeast of McKinney. These people were focused primarily on agriculture and a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle, living peacefully from the land's bounty.