Best PlacesMerrimack, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Merrimack, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Merrimack ranks 862nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Merrimack
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.
Merrimack's strengths and weaknesses
Where Merrimack ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Household income$145,228 median, better than 97% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of towns
Where Merrimack ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,341 a month, better than only 8% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Merrimack
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Merrimack home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $145,228, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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's effective rate of 1.52%, 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
Merrimack runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Merrimack.
Who works in Merrimack, and how
Work in Merrimack centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Merrimack
The coast is about 49 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Merrimack, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Merrimack, month by month
Merrimack sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 66° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Merrimack
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 43 miles away.
The best schools in and around Merrimack
Schools across Merrimack average a B, better than 66% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Peter Woodbury SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Clark-wilkins SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Reeds Ferry SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ross A. Lurgio Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Amherst Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Merrimack Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Bedford High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
- Souhegan Coop High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Merrimack High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Merrimack school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Merrimack 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 against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Merrimack suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Merrimack
Is Merrimack a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Merrimack ranks 862nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, low crime, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Merrimack expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $494,215. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $145,228 median income, cost of living beats 96% of towns.
Is Merrimack safe?
Yes, Merrimack is safer than 99% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $128 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Merrimack?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 18. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of towns.
Is Merrimack good for families?
Schools beat 66% of towns, crime safety beats 99%, and childcare runs $1,341 a month.
Compare Merrimack with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Merrimack. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Merrimack 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Merrimack: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Merrimack: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Merrimack: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Merrimack: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Merrimack 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.