Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #50 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Most of Waikapu was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: 3 old photos and papers.
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waikapu is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #50 of 93 in Hawaii. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Few Hawaii towns list much on the Register (a typical Hawaii town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Waikapu’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Hawaii 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 Waikapu’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Waikapu yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Waikapū is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,437 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,965 to 3,437 (+16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Waikapu’s page.
Retake this view · +15Nobody well known was born in Waikapu itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Another post office, Waikaupu, opened and closed inside today’s town.
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.
Waikapu is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #50 of 93 in Hawaii. 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 Waikapu’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 1.7% for a Hawaii town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 the Library of Congress (3), 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.
Date?
Date?
Date?