The story
Read it all →How Indio came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Indio.
Indio is within the ancestral lands of the Desert Cahuilla Indians whose headquarters are in nearby Thermal, California.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Indio
Indio dates to 1873
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #576 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Indio was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1940.
1873founded
0on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
19famous people
Quick answers
How Indio began
When was Indio founded?
1873
Indio dates its founding to 1873 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1940.
First census: 2,296 in 19402020 census: 89,137153 years
How historic is Indio?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Indio’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Indio is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #576 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Indio’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.5) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical CA town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 15%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 32%
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 Indio’s 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1873.
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 →
What stands out about Indio’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Old corners
Indio’s post office has been open since 1888.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Arabian Gardens Mobile Home ParkBermuda Palms Mobile ParkCoronado Gardens Mobile Home ParkDesert Groves Mobile Home ParkIndian Wells Mobile Home ParkMyomaPueblo del Sol Mobile ParkRancho Casitas Mobile Home ParkSunnyside Estates
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Famous people
See all →19 famous people were born in Indio
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Timeline
Indio, 1873 to 1979
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1873FoundingIndio is established
- 1888Post officeThe Indio post office opens
- 20th century
- 1937
In the archiveFarmworker's labor home. Indio, California - 1941
In the archiveAt the farmworkers' community at Indio, California, the newly-acquired school bus picks u… - 1941
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1959
Born hereStan Van Gundy is born here - 1967Born hereDebi Derryberry is born here
- 1968Born hereVanessa Marcil is born here
- 1979
Born hereOscar Loya is born here
By decade
Indio, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1930s5 items
1937
1937
1937
19391940s3 items
1942
19421950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumDate unknown1 to date
Date?
2020
2016
2016
2013
2010On the map
Indio on the map, 1941 to 1972
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Indio. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1941Coachella sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Indio.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewFarmworker's labor home. Indio, California, 1937
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Indio’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Indio, census by census
Grew from 2,296 people in 1940 to 89,137 in 2020, more than tenfold.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Indio’s Wikipedia page.
Help out
Finish Indio’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Indio’s history
What year was Indio founded?
In 1873, according to Wikidata. Indio’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1940 counted 2,296 people here.
How does Indio rank for history?
Indio is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #576 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 Indio?
0.8% of Indio’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 2000.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 (5), the Library of Congress (9), 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.