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D−History
History · North Highlands

North Highlands’ post office opened in 1951

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #829 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of North Highlands was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1960.

1951first post office
0on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How North Highlands began

When was North Highlands founded?

1951

The North Highlands post office opened in 1951, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 21,271 in 19602020 census: 49,32775 years

How historic is North Highlands?

D−

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first North Highlands post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives North Highlands’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Highlands is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #829 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 North Highlands’ overall grade.
Founding era1951, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.6% 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 3%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 2%

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 North Highlands’ 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 (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 North Highlands’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of North Highlands are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19027 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1992. Watch North Highlands change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start North Highlands’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how North Highlands’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

North Highlands on the map, 1902 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Highlands. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

North Highlands on the 1902 USGS mapNorth Highlands on the 1911 USGS mapNorth Highlands on the 1951 USGS mapNorth Highlands on the 1967 USGS mapNorth Highlands on the 1975 USGS mapNorth Highlands on the 1980 USGS mapNorth Highlands on the 1992 USGS map1902Fairoaks 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 North Highlands.

The story so far

North Highlands, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Highlands yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

North Highlands is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 49,327 at the 2020 census, up from 42,694 at the 2010 census.

Its first post office opened in 1951. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 42,694 to 49,327 (+16%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

North Highlands, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Pacific High School2026Pacific High SchoolNorth Highlands, California2026North Highlands, California
People over time

North Highlands, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,000196019802000202049,327

Grew from 21,271 people in 1960 to 49,327 in 2020.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Highlands’ Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

North Highlands’s post office has been open since 1951.

Gone or out of use
Cameron RanchlocaleCamp KohlermilitarySacramento Assembly CenterlocaleVictory Christian Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

CarmichaelIts storyDSacramento79 historic placesA−McClellan Park1 historic placeA−Foothill FarmsIts storyDArden-ArcadeIts storyDAntelopeIts storyDRio LindaIts storyC−

Questions about North Highlands’ history

What year was North Highlands founded?

The North Highlands post office opened in 1951, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does North Highlands rank for history?

North Highlands is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #829 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 North Highlands?

0.6% of North Highlands’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (2), 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.