Best PlacesBelknap County, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Belknap County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Belknap County ranks 448th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Belknap County
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.
The best areas in Belknap County
The parts of Belknap County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Center Barnstead & Alton
It is quieter, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Sanbornton
Tree cover is thicker, though more homes sit empty.
Meredith & New Hampton
More adults hold degrees, though fewer households have young kids.
Laconia
Commutes are shorter and streets are more walkable.
Tilton
Homes cost less, though fewer residents vote.
Belmont
Health care is harder to reach.
Scores across Belknap County run from about the 33rd to the 95th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Belknap County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Belknap County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of counties
Where Belknap County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,285 a month, better than only 7% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Belknap County
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Belknap County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,675, 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 Belknap County's effective rate of 1.25%, 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 Belknap County
Belknap County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Belknap County.
Who works in Belknap County, and how
Work in Belknap County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Belknap County
Belknap County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of counties and more parkland per resident than 89% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Belknap County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Belknap County growing, and who is moving in?
Belknap County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Boston, MA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Belknap County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Belknap County, month by month
Belknap County sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 24° | 15° |
| April | 57° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Belknap County
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around Belknap County
Schools across Belknap County average a C+, better than 47% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Holderness Central SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Sandwich Central SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Gilford Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gilford Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Inter-lakes Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Belmont Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Gilford High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Kingswood Regional High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Inter-lakes High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Belknap County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Belknap County 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 Belknap County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Belknap County suits
Families
Schools land around the 47th percentile and crime safety beats 98%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Belknap County
Is Belknap County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Belknap County ranks 448th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, low crime, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Belknap County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $394,125. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $94,675 median income, cost of living beats 77% of counties.
Is Belknap County safe?
Yes, Belknap County is safer than 98% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $188 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Belknap County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 15. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Belknap County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Center Barnstead & Alton, Sanbornton, and Meredith & New Hampton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Belknap County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Belknap County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Belknap County 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.
Belknap County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Belknap County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Belknap County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Belknap County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Belknap County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Belknap County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.