More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #242 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Desert Aire was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Desert Aire is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #242 of 285 in Washington. 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 Desert Aire’s overall grade.
Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Desert Aire’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
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 Desert Aire’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the late 1960s, a group of investors led by Harry Davidson, of Harry Davidson, Inc., bought 3,200 acres (13 km2) of land along the Columbia River near the Priest Rapids Dam for some $1,000,000. Davidson cut in a runway and flew investors into his airport community in a Douglas DC-3. They developed a planned community of some 1,600 homes centered on the airport, a golf course and marina, which opened beginning in 1970. In 1994 the Grant County Airport District #1 was formed and now maintains the regional public-use airport in the community.
Desert Aire is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #242 of 285 in Washington. 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 Desert Aire?
0.9% of Desert Aire’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
