Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Among the newest of U.S. towns · #766 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Oakbrook Terrace was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1960.
Oakbrook Terrace dates its founding to 1959 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.
Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oakbrook Terrace is among the newest of U.S. towns, #766 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oakbrook Terrace’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
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 Oakbrook Terrace’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oakbrook Terrace. 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 Oakbrook Terrace.
From Wikipedia’s history of Oakbrook Terrace.
Oakbrook Terrace was originally named Utopia, a name suggested by a postmaster. The name Oakbrook Terrace was adopted in November 1959.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyGrew from 1,121 people in 1960 to 2,751 in 2020.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oakbrook Terrace’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Oakbrook Terrace itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Another post office, Utopia, 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.
In 1959, according to Wikidata. Oakbrook Terrace’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1960 counted 1,121 people here.
Oakbrook Terrace is among the newest of U.S. towns, #766 of 768 in Illinois. 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.
0.2% of Oakbrook Terrace’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (8), 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.
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