Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the newest of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Hayden was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1950.
Hayden first appears in the census in 1950.
Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hayden is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hayden’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hayden’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hayden yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hayden is a town in Blount County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,342.
Its first post office opened in 1950. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 444 to 1,342 (+202%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hayden.
1951Blount Springs sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hayden.
Grew from 203 people in 1950 to 1,342 in 2020, 6 times over.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hayden’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Hayden itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Hayden post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Hayden is among the newest of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
0.0% of Hayden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1987.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
