Best PlacesNashua, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Nashua, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Nashua ranks 516th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Nashua
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 Nashua
The parts of Nashua, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Southeast Nashua
Northwest Nashua
North End & Northeast Nashua
Nashua Historic District
Downtown Nashua & Crown Hill
South End & Mine Falls Park
Scores across Nashua run from about the 26th to the 99th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Nashua's strengths and weaknesses
Where Nashua ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of cities
Where Nashua ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 16% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 24% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,341 a month, better than only 26% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Nashua
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Nashua home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $105,046; 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 Nashua's effective rate of 1.64%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Nashua
Nashua'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 Nashua.
Who works in Nashua, and how
Work in Nashua centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Nashua
Nashua has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of cities and more parkland per resident than 94% of cities. The coast is about 44 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Nashua and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Nashua, month by month
Nashua 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 Nashua
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 36 miles away.
The best schools in and around Nashua
Schools across Nashua average a C+, better than 34% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Riddle Brook SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Hollis Primary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Mont Vernon Village SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Academy For Science And Design Charter (m)A+ · 77% proficient
- Hollis Upper Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Ross A. Lurgio Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Academy For Science And Design Charter (h)A+ · 93% proficient
- Bedford High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
- Goffstown High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Nashua school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Nashua 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 Nashua against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Nashua suits
Families
Schools land around the 34th percentile and crime safety beats 96%.
Common questions about living in Nashua
Is Nashua a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Nashua ranks 516th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low taxes, low crime, and clean air, and lowest on the weather and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Nashua expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $389,508. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $105,046 median income, cost of living beats 62% of cities.
Is Nashua safe?
Yes, Nashua is safer than 96% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $184 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Nashua?
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 cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Nashua?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Southeast Nashua, Northwest Nashua, and North End & Northeast Nashua. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Nashua with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Nashua. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Nashua 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.
Nashua detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Nashua: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Nashua: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Nashua: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Nashua: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Nashua 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.