More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #396 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Missouri City was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1960.
The Missouri City post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Dewalt (1898) and Smada (1913), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 604 in 19602020 census: 74,259129 years
How historic is Missouri City?
D
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Missouri City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Missouri City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Missouri City is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #396 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Missouri City’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Missouri City’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas 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 D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. 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 Missouri City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area in which Missouri City is now located holds a significant part in the history of Texas that dates back to its early days as part of the United States. In August 1853, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway (BBB&C), began operating its first 20 miles (32 km) of rail line that stretched from Harrisburg (now Houston) to Stafford's Point (now Stafford). It was the first railroad to begin operating in Texas, and the first standard gauge railroad west of the Mississippi River.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Missouri City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Sugar Land sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Missouri City.
People over time
Missouri City, census by census
Grew from 604 people in 1960 to 74,259 in 2020, more than tenfold.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Missouri City’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Missouri City post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Missouri City rank for history?
Missouri City is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #396 of 642 in Texas. 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 Missouri City?
0.4% of Missouri City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1993.
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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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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