Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #223 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Nixa was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1960 on, and the census since 1910.
The Nixa post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nixa is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #223 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Nixa’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Nixa’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Nixa.
The area was first settled by farmers who located their farms along the wooded streams near present-day Nixa. The area became a crossroads, as it was a half-day ride with a team of horses from Springfield. Teamsters found it a convenient stopover site when hauling freight between Springfield and Arkansas. The village became known as Faughts.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nixa. 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 Nixa.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Nixa’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 276 people in 1910 to 23,257 in 2020, more than tenfold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Nixa’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Nixa post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Nixa is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #223 of 247 in Missouri. 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.
1% of Nixa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 2000.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), 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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2023
2019
2004