Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Bayard was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1940.
The Bayard post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bayard is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bayard’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of New Mexico 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 Bayard’s history is told.
Peaked at 3,036 in 1980; 2,116 people lived here in 2020.
9 censuses, 1940–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bayard’s Wikipedia page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bayard yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bayard is a city in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is near Santa Rita, east of Silver City. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census.
Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,328 to 2,116 (-9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
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 Bayard. 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 Bayard.
Nobody well known was born in Bayard itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Bayard post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Bayard is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns. 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.
5% of Bayard’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico 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 (3), 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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