Best PlacesEffingham, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Effingham, 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.
Effingham ranks 22,570th of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Effingham
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.
Effingham's strengths and weaknesses
Where Effingham ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 91% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of towns
Where Effingham ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Short commute36.7 minutes each way, better than only 10% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Effingham
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Effingham home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $73,122; 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 Effingham's effective rate of 1.39%, 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 Effingham
Effingham's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Effingham.
Who works in Effingham, and how
Work in Effingham centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Effingham
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Effingham.
What the weather is like in Effingham, month by month
Effingham sees roughly 67 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 Effingham
The nearest airport, Portland International Jetport, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around Effingham
Schools across Effingham average a B−, better than 57% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ossipee Central SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Effingham Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kingswood Regional Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Kingswood Regional High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Effingham school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Effingham 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 Effingham against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Effingham
Is Effingham a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Effingham ranks 22,570th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, tree cover, and a strong job market, 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 Effingham expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,844. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $73,122 median income, cost of living beats 22% of towns.
Is Effingham safe?
Yes, Effingham is safer than 74% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $222 per resident a year.
Compare Effingham with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Effingham. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Effingham 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.
Effingham detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Effingham: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Effingham: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Effingham: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Effingham: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Effingham 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.