Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #568 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Manhattan Beach was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1920.
Manhattan Beach dates its founding to 1912 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.
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, Manhattan Beach is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #568 of 847 in California. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Manhattan Beach’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.
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 →
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 Manhattan Beach. 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 Manhattan Beach.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
From Wikipedia’s history of Manhattan Beach.
The sandy coastal area was likely inhabited by the Tongva tribe of Native Americans. Archeological work in the nearby Chowigna excavation shows evidence of inhabitants as far back as 7,100 years ago. The Tongva Village of Ongovanga was located near neighboring Redondo Beach.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveBANCROFT Rancho Sausal Redondo diseño bird's eye view aerial topography
In the archiveBaders op Manhattan Beach Le Ressac, Plage de Manhattan. Et. U. (titel op object) In der …
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveLittle Bavaria. Manhattan Beach. Calif (81492)
In the archiveProject Blue Book report - 1952-07-6998404-Manhattan Beach, California
Born hereRachel Bloom is born here4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1917Sheet 1 of 6Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Manhattan Beach’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 859 people in 1920 to 35,506 in 2020, more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Manhattan Beach’s Wikipedia page.
Manhattan Beach’s post office has been open since 1927. Another post office, Manhattan, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1912, according to Wikidata. Manhattan Beach’s post office opened in 1903, and the census of 1920 counted 859 people here.
Manhattan Beach is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #568 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.
8% of Manhattan Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1970.
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), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1879
2007