Best PlacesSouth Hampton, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Hampton, 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 Hampton ranks 312th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Hampton
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 Hampton's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Hampton ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of towns
- Household income$152,500 median, better than 97% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of towns
Where South Hampton ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 7% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Hampton
A household needs to earn about $186,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Hampton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $152,500, 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 South Hampton's effective rate of 1.37%, 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 Hampton
South Hampton 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 Hampton.
Who works in South Hampton, and how
Work in South Hampton centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in South Hampton
South Hampton has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of South Hampton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Hampton, month by month
South Hampton sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of South Hampton
The nearest airport, Portsmouth International at Pease, is about 15 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 South Hampton
Schools across South Hampton average a B+, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- South Hampton Barnard SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- Amesbury HighA− · 65% proficient
- Amesbury Innovation High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Hampton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Hampton 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 Hampton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Hampton
Is South Hampton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Hampton ranks 312th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, low taxes, and health care access, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Hampton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $661,100. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $152,500 median income, cost of living beats 95% of towns.
Is South Hampton safe?
Yes, South Hampton is safer than 100% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $110 per resident a year.
Compare South Hampton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Hampton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Hampton 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 Hampton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Hampton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Hampton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Hampton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Hampton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Hampton 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.