Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #237 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of West Laurel was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 7% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Laurel is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #237 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so West Laurel’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (20% of Maryland 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 West Laurel’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Laurel. 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 West Laurel.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of West Laurel.
As of the 2010 U.S. census some areas previously defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as "West Laurel" were put in a new CDP, Konterra.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
20192019-07-15 10 13 55 View north along the northbound l…
20192019-07-15 10 13 26 View south along the northbound l…
20192019-07-15 10 12 43 View south along the southbound l…
20192019-07-15 10 05 05 View north along the southbound l…
20192019-07-15 10 04 10 View north along the northbound l…
20192019-06-05 11 51 04 View south along Interstate 95 at…Between 4,083 and 4,428 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Laurel’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in West Laurel itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
West Laurel is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #237 of 261 in Maryland. 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.
0.8% of West Laurel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.
