Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #83 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Derby was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959. Below: maps from 1938 on and the census since 1950.
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Derby is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #83 of 159 in Colorado. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Derby’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.
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 Derby’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Derby.
The Derby, Colorado, post office operated from January 27, 1910, until January 31, 1963. The Commerce City, Colorado, post office (ZIP code 80022) now serves the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Derby. 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 Derby.
Between 2,840 and 10,206 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Derby’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Derby itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Derby is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #83 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.
9% of Derby’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
