More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #697 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Dearborn Heights was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1930.
The Dearborn Heights post office opened in 1967, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wallaceville (1862), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,345 in 19302020 census: 63,29259 years
How historic is Dearborn Heights?
D
More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dearborn Heights post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dearborn Heights’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dearborn Heights is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #697 of 701 in Michigan. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dearborn Heights’ overall grade.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dearborn Heights’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Dearborn 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 Dearborn Heights. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Plymouth 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 Dearborn Heights.
Dearborn Heights was incorporated from the two discontinuous sections of Dearborn Township and a quarter-mile connecting strip of land from the village of Inkster. Incorporation petitions were filed on Friday, March 4, 1960, while Inkster officials delivered their petitions for incorporation on Monday, March 7, 1960. The residents approved Dearborn Heights' incorporation on an election held June 20, 1960, which is the official date of incorporation. Inkster, a predominantly black community, filed a lawsuit, claiming that the shape of Dearborn Heights reflected a racial gerrymander. The Michigan Supreme Court held that Inkster had failed to demonstrate any legally cognizable harm and dismissed the lawsuit.
The Dearborn Heights post office opened in 1967, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dearborn Heights rank for history?
Dearborn Heights is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #697 of 701 in Michigan. 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.
How old are the homes in Dearborn Heights?
5% of Dearborn Heights’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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