Best PlacesMerrimack County, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Merrimack 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.
Merrimack County ranks 207th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $103,145, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, an overheated housing market, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Merrimack 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 Merrimack County
The parts of Merrimack 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.
Bow
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Henniker
Prices have run up more and fewer households have young kids.
Hooksett & Suncook
Fewer homes sit empty.
Warner & Contoocook
Tree cover is thicker, though biking is worse.
New London
It is quieter, though commutes are longer.
Concord
Schools score lower.
Pittsfield, Loudon & Chichester
Scores close to Concord, except that crime runs higher here.
Franklin & Tilton
Homes cost less.
Scores across Merrimack County run from about the 30th to the 99th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Merrimack County's strengths and weaknesses
Merrimack County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Low crime is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Low taxes and health care access follow.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and childcare costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Merrimack County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$103,145 median, better than 94% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of counties
Where Merrimack County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,283 a month, better than only 7% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Merrimack County
A household needs to earn about $111,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Merrimack County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $103,145; 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 Merrimack County's effective rate of 1.87%, 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 Merrimack County
Merrimack County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Merrimack County.
Who works in Merrimack County, and how
Work in Merrimack County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Merrimack County
Merrimack County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 79% of counties. The coast is about 57 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Merrimack County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Merrimack County growing, and who is moving in?
Merrimack County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Manchester, NH.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Merrimack County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Merrimack County, month by month
Merrimack County sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 61° | 46° | 33° |
| July | 87° | 73° | 59° |
| October | 66° | 51° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Merrimack County
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 68 miles away.
The best schools in and around Merrimack County
Schools across Merrimack County average a C+, better than 54% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Canterbury Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Bow Elementary SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Kearsarge Reg. Elem. School At New LondonB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- David R. Cawley Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Bow Memorial SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Maple Street Elementary SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Coe-brown Northwood AcademyA− · 63% proficient
- Hopkinton High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Goffstown High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Merrimack County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Merrimack 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 Merrimack County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Merrimack County suits
Families
Schools land around the 54th percentile and crime safety beats 99%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Merrimack County
Is Merrimack County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Merrimack County ranks 207th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, low taxes, and health care access, 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 Merrimack County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $369,135. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $103,145 median income, cost of living beats 85% of counties.
Is Merrimack County safe?
Yes, Merrimack County is safer than 99% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $175 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Merrimack County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 16. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Merrimack County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bow, Henniker, and Hooksett & Suncook. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Merrimack County good for families?
Schools beat 54% of counties, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $1,283 a month.
Is Merrimack County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 63% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Merrimack County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Merrimack County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Merrimack 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.
Merrimack County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Merrimack County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Merrimack County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Merrimack County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Merrimack County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Merrimack 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.