Best Places03086, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03086, 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.
03086 ranks 3,822nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 03086
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.
03086's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03086 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$120,605 median, better than 90% of zip codes
Where 03086 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,341 a month, better than only 12% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03086
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03086 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $120,605, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 03086's effective rate of 1.86%, 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 03086
03086 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 03086.
Who works in 03086, and how
Work in 03086 centers on manufacturing and admin & support services. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 03086
03086 has more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 03086 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 03086, month by month
03086 sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 03086
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03086
Schools across 03086 average a B−, better than 61% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mason Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Florence Rideout Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Highbridge Hill Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wilton-lyndeboro Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Milford Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Boynton Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Milford High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Mascenic Regional High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Wilton-lyndeboro Senior High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03086 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03086 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 03086 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 03086
Is 03086 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03086 ranks 3,822nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, tree cover, and what local pay buys, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 03086 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $384,653. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $120,605 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 03086 safe?
Yes, 03086 is safer than 81% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $209 per resident a year.
Compare 03086 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03086. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03086 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.
03086 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03086: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03086: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03086: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03086: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03086 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.