Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1880.
North Belle Vernon first appears in the census in 1880.
More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Belle Vernon is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so North Belle Vernon’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first census (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 North Belle Vernon’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Belle Vernon. 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 North Belle Vernon.
Peaked at 3,148 in 1960; 1,873 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on North Belle Vernon’s Wikipedia page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of North Belle Vernon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,971 to 1,873 (-5%).
Nobody well known was born in North Belle Vernon itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The North Belle Vernon post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
North Belle Vernon is more historic than 55% 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.
48% of North Belle Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.2 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1943.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2014
2011