Best Places03038, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03038, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
03038 ranks 3,963rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 03038
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
03038's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03038 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Household income$117,691 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 03038 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03038
A household needs to earn about $125,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03038 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $117,691; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 03038's effective rate of 1.66%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 03038
03038's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 03038.
Who works in 03038, and how
Work in 03038 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 03038
03038 has more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. The coast is about 36 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 03038 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 03038, month by month
03038 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 29° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 03038
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 39 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03038
Schools across 03038 average a B−, better than 53% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hampstead Central SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Center Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- North Salem Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Windham Center SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Mccarthy Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Hampstead Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Chelmsford HighA · 78% proficient
- Windham High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
- Londonderry Senior High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03038 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03038 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 03038 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 03038 suits
Families
Schools land around the 53rd percentile and crime safety beats 97%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 03038
Is 03038 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03038 ranks 3,963rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, low crime, and clean air, and lowest on an overheated housing market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 03038 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $428,185. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $117,691 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 03038 safe?
Yes, 03038 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $150 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 03038?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 20. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of zip codes.
Is 03038 good for families?
Schools beat 53% of zip codes, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $1,375 a month.
Compare 03038 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03038. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03038 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
03038 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03038: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03038: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03038: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03038: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03038 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.