Best Places03255, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03255, 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.
03255 ranks 3,506th 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 03255
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.
03255's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03255 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 03255 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03255
A household needs to earn about $122,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03255 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $120,499; 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 03255's effective rate of 1.45%, 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 03255
03255 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 03255.
Who works in 03255, and how
Work in 03255 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 03255
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 03255.
What the weather is like in 03255, month by month
03255 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 24° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 03255
The nearest airport, Lebanon Municipal, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 84 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03255
Schools across 03255 average a B, better than 67% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Kearsarge Regional Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Kearsarge Regional High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03255 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03255 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 03255 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 03255
Is 03255 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03255 ranks 3,506th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, health care access, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 03255 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $427,255. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $120,499 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 03255 safe?
Yes, 03255 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $160 per resident a year.
Compare 03255 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03255. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03255 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.
03255 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03255: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03255: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03255: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03255: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03255 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.