Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #71 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Paulden was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Its Register listing is the Verde River Bridge. Below: maps from 1947 on.
The Paulden post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paulden is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #71 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 Paulden’s 2.1 sits above most of its state (66% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Paulden’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Paulden yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Paulden is a census designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 5,231 at the 2010 census.
Its first post office opened in 1926. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,231 to 5,567 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Paulden. 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 Paulden.
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.
Nobody well known was born in Paulden itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Paulden’s post office has been open since 1926.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Paulden post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Paulden is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #71 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 Verde River Bridge (listed 1988).
0.3% of Paulden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 2001.
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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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