Among the newest of U.S. towns · #134 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Youngtown was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Youngtown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Youngtown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Youngtown is among the newest of U.S. towns, #134 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Youngtown’s overall grade.
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 Youngtown’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (29% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Youngtown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1954, two developers bought 320 acres (1.3 km2) of farmland and built the United States' first planned community dedicated exclusively to retirees. Designed by Ben Schleifer, who also had the idea of an active retirement community, the community was ironically named Youngtown. Frances Greer who owned the ranch that the development was built on. In 1955, 125 homes were built, with about 85 other lots sold.
Two years later, in 1957, Youngtown was featured in an episode of Wide Wide World. This put national attention on the area. As a result, more people began moving in, sparking a new movement for the community.
The Youngtown post office opened in 1957, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Youngtown rank for history?
Youngtown is among the newest of U.S. towns, #134 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.
How old are the homes in Youngtown?
0.0% of Youngtown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.
2009
