Most of Valencia was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Valencia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Valencia’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Valencia is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Valencia’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 Valencia’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Valencia’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Valencia yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Valencia is a census-designated place (CDP) in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,192 according to the 2010 census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,192 to 2,052 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Valencia, 1884 to 1952
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Valencia post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Valencia rank for history?
Valencia is more historic than 29% 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.
How old are the homes in Valencia?
10% of Valencia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.8 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (2), 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.
Date?
Date?
2019
2019
