Highland Heights was first counted by the census in 1930, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #111 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Highland Heights was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the E.O. Robinson House. Its Register listing is the E.O. Robinson House. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1930.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Highland Heights is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #111 of 142 in Kentucky. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Highland Heights’ overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Highland Heights’ 3.1 sits below most of its state (29% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points).
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 Highland Heights’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Highland Heights. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1898East Cincinnati sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Highland Heights.
The area has been known as "the Highlands" since the 19th century. The District of the Highlands was incorporated in 1867; Fort Thomas was separately incorporated from its northern reaches in 1914. The local post office was established in 1927, and the community of Highland Heights incorporated itself separately the same year.
Northern Kentucky State College, previously sited in Park Hills, was relocated to a larger campus in the city in 1971. It is now known as Northern Kentucky University (NKU), and subsidiary businesses and related developments have grown in the city.
The Highland Heights post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Highland Heights rank for history?
Highland Heights is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #111 of 142 in Kentucky. 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 Highland Heights?
One place: the E.O. Robinson House (listed 2017).
How old are the homes in Highland Heights?
10% of Highland Heights’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (4), 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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