Best PlacesSouth Deerfield, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Deerfield, 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.
South Deerfield ranks 2,243rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Deerfield
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.
South Deerfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Deerfield ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Household income$131,058 median, better than 95% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of towns
Where South Deerfield ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,374 a month, better than only 7% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Deerfield
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Deerfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $131,058, 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 South Deerfield's effective rate of 1.51%, 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 South Deerfield
South Deerfield runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Deerfield.
Who works in South Deerfield, and how
Work in South Deerfield centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in South Deerfield
The coast is about 38 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across South Deerfield, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Deerfield, month by month
South Deerfield 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 South Deerfield
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Deerfield
Schools across South Deerfield average a C+, better than 53% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Henry W. Moore SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Allenstown Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Deerfield Community SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Armand R. Dupont SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Coe-brown Northwood AcademyA− · 63% proficient
- Pembroke AcademyC+ · 40% proficient
- Raymond High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Deerfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Deerfield 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 South Deerfield against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Deerfield
Is South Deerfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Deerfield ranks 2,243rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, low taxes, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Deerfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $414,395. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $131,058 median income, cost of living beats 86% of towns.
Is South Deerfield safe?
Yes, South Deerfield is safer than 99% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $111 per resident a year.
Compare South Deerfield with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Deerfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Deerfield 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.
South Deerfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Deerfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Deerfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Deerfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Deerfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Deerfield 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.