Best Places03281, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03281, 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.
03281 ranks 4,326th 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 03281
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.
03281's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03281 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 03281 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute35.6 minutes each way, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,341 a month, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03281
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03281 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $112,547; 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 03281's effective rate of 1.56%, 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 03281
03281 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 03281.
Who works in 03281, and how
Work in 03281 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 03281
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 03281.
What the weather is like in 03281, month by month
03281 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 61° | 46° | 33° |
| July | 87° | 73° | 59° |
| October | 66° | 51° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 03281
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 61 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03281
Schools across 03281 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- New Boston Central SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Center Woods SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mountain View Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Weare Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Goffstown High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- John Stark Regional High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03281 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03281 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 03281 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 03281
Is 03281 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03281 ranks 4,326th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, tree cover, and low crime, 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 03281 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $393,004. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $112,547 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 03281 safe?
Yes, 03281 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $154 per resident a year.
Compare 03281 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03281. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03281 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.
03281 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03281: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03281: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03281: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03281: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03281 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.