Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #270 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Most of Prairie Ridge was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1990.
More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prairie Ridge is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #270 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Prairie Ridge’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.
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 →
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 Prairie Ridge’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Prairie Ridge yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Prairie Ridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,288 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 11,464 to 12,288 (+7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prairie Ridge. 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 Prairie Ridge.
Between 8,278 and 12,288 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Prairie Ridge’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Prairie Ridge itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Prairie Ridge is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #270 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.
0.0% of Prairie Ridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1993.
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.
2008
2008
