Half of Granite Hills’ homes were built after 1967
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #630 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Granite Hills was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Granite Hills is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #630 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Granite Hills’ overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Granite Hills’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Granite Hills’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Granite Hills. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Elcajon sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Granite Hills.
The story so far
Granite Hills, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Granite Hills yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Granite Hills is a census-designated place in San Diego County, California. The name is also applied to a neighborhood within the city limits of El Cajon in the eastern part of that city. The population of the CDP, which does not include the people living within the city of El Cajon, was 3,267 at the 2020 census, down from 3,035 at the 2010 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,035 to 3,267 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Granite Hills is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #630 of 847 in California. 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 Granite Hills?
2% of Granite Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1967.
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.
