Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #205 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Villa Ridge was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 2000.
The Villa Ridge post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Villa Ridge is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #205 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull 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 Villa Ridge’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 Villa Ridge’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Villa Ridge.
A post office called Villa Ridge has been in operation since 1889. The community was named for a ridge near the town site, with villa meaning "town".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Villa Ridge. 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 Villa Ridge.
Between 2,417 and 2,636 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Villa Ridge’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Villa Ridge itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Villa Ridge’s post office has been open since 1889.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Villa Ridge post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Villa Ridge is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #205 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.
3% of Villa Ridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1982.
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), 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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