Best Places03431, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03431, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
03431 ranks 8,533rd 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 03431
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.
03431's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03431 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute17.9 minutes each way, better than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 03431 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,272 a month, better than only 18% 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 03431
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03431 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $78,475; 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 03431's effective rate of 2.33%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 03431
03431's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 03431.
Who works in 03431, and how
Work in 03431 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 77%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 03431
03431 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 03431 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 03431, month by month
03431 sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 25° | 15° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 51° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 03431
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03431
Schools across 03431 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Surry Village Charter SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Westmoreland SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Symonds Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Keene Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Monadnock Regional Middle SchoolD− · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Keene High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Making Community Connections Charter School - MonadnockB− · 42% proficient
- Monadnock Regional High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03431 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03431 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 03431 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 03431 suits
Families
Schools land around the 36th percentile and crime safety beats 76%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 03431
Is 03431 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03431 ranks 8,533rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on property taxes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 03431 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $251,172. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $78,475 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 03431 safe?
Yes, 03431 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $238 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 03431?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 15. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 19% of zip codes.
Is 03431 good for families?
Schools beat 36% of zip codes, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $1,272 a month.
Compare 03431 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03431. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03431 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.
03431 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03431: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03431: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03431: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03431: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03431 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.