Miami Gardens was first counted by the census in 1990, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #284 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Sunshine State Arch. Most of Miami Gardens was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Miami Gardens is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #284 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Miami Gardens’ overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Miami Gardens ranks #367 on History.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Miami Gardens’ 0.1 sits above most of its state (67% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Miami Gardens’ 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 C. 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 Miami Gardens’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
AndoverAndover Golf EstatesAndover Lakes EstatesBunche ParkCarol CityLake LucerneLakewood EstatesNorlandRiviera Mobile ParkRiviera Park Mobile Home ParkScott Lake
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In the wake of the construction of I-95 in the late 1960s, many middle- and upper-income African American and West Indian American families migrated from Miami neighborhoods like Liberty City to what became Miami Gardens (also called Carol City, Norland, or Norwood) as race-based covenants were outlawed with the Fair Housing Act, and mostly lower income blacks moved into the Liberty City and Little Haiti neighborhoods surrounding Liberty Square and Edison Courts.
Miami Gardens was incorporated on May 13, 2003. The city's neighborhoods of Andover, Bunche Park, Carol City, Lake Lucerne, Norland, Opa-locka North, and Scott Lake were previously unincorporated areas within Miami-Dade County.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Miami Gardens. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947North Miami 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 Miami Gardens.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Miami Gardens
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Miami Gardens post office opened in 1990, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2003.
How does Miami Gardens rank for history?
Miami Gardens is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #284 of 638 in Florida. 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.
What is on the National Register in Miami Gardens?
One place: the Sunshine State Arch (listed 2014).
How old are the homes in Miami Gardens?
1% of Miami Gardens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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