Best Places03846, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03846, 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.
03846 ranks 8,179th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 03846
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.
03846's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03846 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 03846 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03846
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03846 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $75,313, 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 03846's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 03846
03846 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 03846.
Who works in 03846, and how
Work in 03846 centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 03846
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 03846.
What the weather is like in 03846, month by month
03846 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 57 degrees. January highs sit near 16, with lows near 1. No month averages between 55 and 75 degrees.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16° | 8° | 1° |
| April | 31° | 24° | 17° |
| July | 57° | 51° | 47° |
| October | 41° | 35° | 30° |
Flying in and out of 03846
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 125 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03846
Schools across 03846 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jackson Grammar SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Josiah Bartlett Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Kennett High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Gorham High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03846 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03846 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 03846 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 03846
Is 03846 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03846 ranks 8,179th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, low taxes, and low crime, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 03846 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $535,900. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $75,313 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 03846 safe?
Yes, 03846 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $128 per resident a year.
Compare 03846 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03846. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03846 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.
03846 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03846: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03846: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03846: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03846: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03846 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.