More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #814 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of La Palma was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Palma’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Palma is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #814 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Palma’s 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 La Palma’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 D. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1955.
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 La Palma’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
La Palma was incorporated on October 26, 1955. It was originally incorporated as Dairyland, and was one of three dairy cities in the region (the other two being Dairy Valley, now Cerritos, and Dairy City, now Cypress) but when the dairies moved east in 1965, the name of the community was changed to La Palma, after the region's Spanish heritage and its main thoroughfare, La Palma Avenue.
In 1955, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1960 counted 622 people here.
How does La Palma rank for history?
La Palma is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #814 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 La Palma?
0.8% of La Palma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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2024
2008
2008