Best Places03102, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03102, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
03102 ranks 9,209th 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 03102
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.
03102's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03102 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 03102 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03102
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03102 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,885, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 03102's effective rate of 1.65%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 03102
03102 runs younger 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 03102.
Who works in 03102, and how
Work in 03102 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 03102
03102 has more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. The coast is about 40 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 03102 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 03102, month by month
03102 sees roughly 61 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 03102
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 5 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 03102
Schools across 03102 average a D+, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Peter Woodbury SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Hooksett Memorial SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Polaris Charter SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ross A. Lurgio Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- David R. Cawley Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Mountain View Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Bedford High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
- Goffstown High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Manchester Central High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03102 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03102 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 03102 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 03102 suits
Families
Schools land around the 10th percentile and crime safety beats 91%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 03102
Is 03102 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03102 ranks 9,209th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, walkability, and low crime, 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 03102 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $321,805. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $80,885 median income, cost of living beats 49% of zip codes.
Is 03102 safe?
Yes, 03102 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $185 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 03102?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 20. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of zip codes.
Is 03102 good for families?
Schools beat 10% of zip codes, crime safety beats 91%, and childcare runs $1,341 a month.
Compare 03102 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03102. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03102 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.
03102 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03102: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03102: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03102: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03102: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03102 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.