Best Places03579, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03579, 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.
03579 ranks 20,481st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 03579
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.
03579's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03579 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 03579 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03579
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03579 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $65,322; 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 03579's effective rate of 1.08%, 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 03579
03579 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 03579.
Who works in 03579, and how
Work in 03579 centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 03579
03579 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 03579 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 03579, month by month
03579 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 8. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 19° | 8° |
| April | 55° | 41° | 28° |
| July | 83° | 68° | 53° |
| October | 62° | 47° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 03579
The nearest airport, Augusta State, is about 74 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03579
Schools across 03579 average a C, better than 37% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Stratton Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Milan Village Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Stark Village SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Mt Abram Regional High SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Colebrook Academy And Elementary School (h)C · 34% proficient
- Pittsburg School (high)D+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03579 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03579 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 03579 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 03579
Is 03579 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03579 ranks 20,481st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, tree cover, and quiet, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 03579 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $258,708. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $65,322 median income, cost of living beats 23% of zip codes.
Is 03579 safe?
03579 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $304 per resident a year.
Compare 03579 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03579. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03579 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.
03579 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03579: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03579: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03579: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03579: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03579 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.