Best Places03878, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 03878, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
03878 ranks 11,449th 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 03878
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.
03878's strengths and weaknesses
Where 03878 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 03878 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,297 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 03878
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 03878 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $79,652, 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 03878's effective rate of 2.04%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 03878
03878'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 03878.
Who works in 03878, and how
Work in 03878 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 03878
03878 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. The coast is about 23 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 03878 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 03878, month by month
03878 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 87° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 66° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 03878
The nearest airport, Portsmouth International at Pease, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 03878
Schools across 03878 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Vivian E Hussey SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Frances G. Hopkins Elementary School At Horne StreetB− · 40% proficient
- Rollinsford Grade SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Somersworth Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Rochester Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Somersworth High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 03878 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
03878 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 03878 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 03878
Is 03878 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 03878 ranks 11,449th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, walkability, and clean air, 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 03878 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $316,727. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $79,652 median income, cost of living beats 32% of zip codes.
Is 03878 safe?
Yes, 03878 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
Compare 03878 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 03878. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 03878 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.
03878 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 03878: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 03878: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 03878: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 03878: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
03878 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.