Best PlacesGrafton County, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Grafton 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.
Grafton County ranks 246th 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 Grafton 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 Grafton County
The parts of Grafton 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.
Lebanon, Hanover & West Lebanon
Biking is better, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Plymouth, Campton & West Thornton
Fewer households have young kids and more homes sit empty.
Bethlehem
Tree cover is thicker, though local pay stretches less far.
Bristol
Health outcomes score lower and commutes are longer.
Littleton & Lisbon
Homes cost less, though crime runs higher.
Scores across Grafton County run from about the 18th to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Grafton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Grafton County ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of counties
Where Grafton County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,270 a month, better than only 8% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Grafton County
A household needs to earn about $110,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Grafton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $97,217, 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 Grafton County's effective rate of 1.58%, 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 Grafton County
Grafton County 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 Grafton County.
Who works in Grafton County, and how
Work in Grafton County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Grafton County
Grafton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties and more parkland per resident than 91% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Grafton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Grafton County growing, and who is moving in?
Grafton County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Boston, MA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Grafton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Grafton County, month by month
Grafton County sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 24° | 14° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Grafton County
The nearest airport, Lebanon Municipal, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around Grafton County
Schools across Grafton County average a B, better than 77% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bernice A. Ray SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Lafayette Regional SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Enfield Village SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frances C. Richmond SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Profile Junior High SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Lebanon Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Hanover High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Lebanon High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Moultonborough AcademyB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Grafton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Grafton 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 Grafton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Grafton County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Grafton County
Is Grafton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Grafton County ranks 246th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low taxes, an educated workforce, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Grafton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $378,953. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $97,217 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is Grafton County safe?
Yes, Grafton County is safer than 88% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Grafton County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 14. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Grafton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Lebanon, Hanover & West Lebanon, Plymouth, Campton & West Thornton, and Bethlehem. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Grafton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Grafton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Grafton 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.
Grafton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Grafton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Grafton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Grafton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Grafton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Grafton 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.