History · Centennial

Centennial was first counted by the census in 1980

Among the newest of U.S. towns · #155 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Most of Centennial was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1980.

1980first census

0on the National Register

0.5%homes built before 1940

7famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0

Quick answers

How Centennial began

When was Centennial founded?

1980

Centennial first appears in the census in 1980.

First census: 54,200 in 19802020 census: 108,41846 years

How historic is Centennial?

D⁻

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Centennial’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Centennial is among the newest of U.S. towns, #155 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Centennial’s overall grade.

Founding era1980, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD⁻Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.4) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%D National RegisterNo listings counted · typical CO town 1.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest

NewerOlder

Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 3%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Centennial ranks #397 on History.

Few Colorado towns list much on the Register (a typical Colorado town has 1.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Centennial’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Centennial’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 Centennial’s 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 Centennial are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages14 hamlets and corners are still on the map.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Centennial’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Centennial’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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Algonquin AcresBroadway EstatesCastlewoodChapparalCherry KnollsDove ValleyPalos VerdesPark ViewParkboroughPiney CreekPiney Creek RanchesSouthfield ParkSouthglennWillow Creek

Gone or out of use

Big Dry Creek PlacersmineCherry Creek Minemine

1cemetery inside Centennial

Olinger Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Centennial came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Centennial.

Read it all →

The City of Centennial was incorporated on February 7, 2001, from portions of unincorporated Arapahoe County, including the former Castlewood and Southglenn census-designated places (CDPs). The citizens of the area had voted to incorporate on September 12, 2000, choosing Centennial as the official name during the vote. The name reflects Colorado's admission to the Union as the 38th state in 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence. The state of Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Centennial, 1949 to 1998

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

20th century
1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1990Born hereAmy Barczuk is born here
1991Born hereKevin Gausman is born here
1995Born hereMadisen Beaty is born here
1998Born hereRyan Sailor is born here

On the map

Centennial on the map, 1949 to 1980

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

1949Parker sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Centennial.

People over time

Centennial, census by census

Grew from 54,200 people in 1980 to 108,418 in 2020.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Centennial

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Madisen BeatyAmerican actress · b. 1995

Kevin GausmanAmerican baseball player · b. 1991

Ryan SailorAmerican soccer player · b. 1998

Amy BarczukAmerican soccer player · b. 1990

Ken TribbettAmerican soccer player · b. 1992

Ryan WilliamsAmerican women's soccer player · b. 1996

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Aurora10 historic placesC Dove Valley1 historic placeC⁻Greenwood Village1 historic placeD Littleton7 historic placesB⁻InvernessIts storyD⁻Cherry CreekIts storyD⁻FoxfieldIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Highlands RanchIts storyD⁻

Questions about Centennial’s history

What year was Centennial founded?

The Centennial post office opened in 1980, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2001.

How does Centennial rank for history?

Centennial is among the newest of U.S. towns, #155 of 159 in Colorado. 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 Centennial?

0.5% of Centennial’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (24), 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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