On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Valley is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #16 of 73 in New Mexico. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Valley’s overall grade.
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 North Valley’s 14.3 sits above most of its state (76% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).
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 →
What stands out about North Valley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
North Valley, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Valley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
North Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, North Valley had a population of 11,149. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 11,333 in 2010, 11,149 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
North Valley, 1855 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
North Valley is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #16 of 73 in New Mexico. 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.
What is on the National Register in North Valley?
10 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Barela-Bledsoe House (listed 1979, the first). 15 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in North Valley?
6% of North Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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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