Best PlacesRockingham County, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Rockingham 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.
Rockingham County ranks 69th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $125,809, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, an overheated housing market, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Rockingham 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 Rockingham County
The parts of Rockingham 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.
Portsmouth & Newmarket
More adults hold degrees, streets are more walkable, and schools score higher.
Chester & Auburn
More households have young kids and tree cover is thicker.
Derry, Salem & Londonderry
Scores close to Chester & Auburn, except that it is noisier here.
Exeter, Danville & Fremont
Fewer homes sit empty.
Atkinson, Plaistow & Hampstead
Hampton & North Hampton
Homes cost more.
Deerfield & Candia
Local pay stretches further and incomes run higher.
Epping, Nottingham & Raymond
Prices have run up more.
Seabrook
Commutes are shorter, though health outcomes score lower.
Scores across Rockingham County run from about the 34th to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Rockingham County's strengths and weaknesses
Rockingham 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 childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and property taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Rockingham County ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$125,809 median, better than 98% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of counties
Where Rockingham County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 10% of counties
- Short commute28.9 minutes each way, better than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Rockingham County
A household needs to earn about $152,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockingham County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,809, 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 Rockingham County's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 Rockingham County
Rockingham County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rockingham County.
Who works in Rockingham County, and how
Work in Rockingham County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Rockingham County
Rockingham County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 77% of counties. The coast is about 24 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Rockingham County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Rockingham County growing, and who is moving in?
Rockingham County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Boston, MA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Rockingham County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Rockingham County, month by month
Rockingham County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 29° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Rockingham County
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rockingham County
Schools across Rockingham County average a B, better than 75% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Maude H. Trefethen SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Rye Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Newington Public SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Marshwood Middle SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Shapleigh SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Mckelvie Intermediate SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Robert W Traip AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Newburyport HighA+ · 80% proficient
- Chelmsford HighA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockingham County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockingham 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 Rockingham County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Rockingham County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Rockingham County
Is Rockingham County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockingham County ranks 69th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low crime, low taxes, and health care access, and lowest on childcare costs 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 Rockingham County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $536,915. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $125,809 median income, cost of living beats 91% of counties.
Is Rockingham County safe?
Yes, Rockingham County is safer than 100% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $161 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Rockingham County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 20. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 26% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Rockingham County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Portsmouth & Newmarket, Chester & Auburn, and Derry, Salem & Londonderry. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Rockingham County good for families?
Schools beat 75% of counties, crime safety beats 100%, and childcare runs $1,375 a month.
Is Rockingham County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of counties. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Rockingham County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockingham County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockingham 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.
Rockingham County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockingham County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockingham County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockingham County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockingham County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockingham 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.