Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #111 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Most of Orchard Mesa was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1960.
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orchard Mesa is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #111 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls 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 Orchard Mesa’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 Orchard Mesa’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Orchard Mesa yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 6,836 to 6,688 (-2%).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Orchard Mesa. 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 Orchard Mesa.
Between 4,876 and 6,836 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Orchard Mesa’s Wikipedia page.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Orchard Mesa is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #111 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.
3% of Orchard Mesa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2020
2020
