Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #78 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Bullhead City was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Its Register listing is the Hardyville Cemetery. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1980.
Bullhead City dates its founding to 1942 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bullhead City is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #78 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Few Arizona towns list much on the Register (a typical Arizona town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bullhead City’s 0.2 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Bullhead City’s history is told.
Bullhead City’s post office has been open since 1946. Another post office, Davis Dam, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Bullhead City.
The earliest inhabitants of the Colorado River Valley were the Mojave people. The rich soil and plentiful water provided the valley's natives with the necessities to create a prosperous farming community. According to Mojave legend, life began on Spirit Mountain, the highest peak visible from the Bullhead City area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereJosh Briggs is born hereEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bullhead City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bullhead City.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 10,364 people in 1980 to 41,348 in 2020, 3 times over.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bullhead City’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1942, according to Wikidata. Bullhead City’s post office opened in 1946, and the census of 1980 counted 10,364 people here.
Bullhead City is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #78 of 140 in Arizona. 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.
One place: the Hardyville Cemetery (listed 2001).
0.0% of Bullhead City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.
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