Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #263 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it
Most of Lexington was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1960.
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lexington is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #263 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lexington’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota 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 Lexington’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lexington. 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 Lexington.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lexington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lexington is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States, and a northern suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The population was 2,248 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,049 to 2,248 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 1,457 and 2,279 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lexington’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Lexington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Lexington is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #263 of 273 in Minnesota. 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.
2% of Lexington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota 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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2013
2005