Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mountain View is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 Mountain View’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: 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mountain View’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mountain View. 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 Mountain View.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mountain View yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mountain View is a census designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 2,622 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,372 to 2,622 (+11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 2,372 and 2,622 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mountain View’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Mountain View itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Mountain View is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. 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.
30% of Mountain View’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±15.6 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1949.
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 the Library of Congress (5), 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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