Best PlacesWest Swanzey, NH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Swanzey, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Swanzey ranks 8,916th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Swanzey
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.
West Swanzey's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Swanzey ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of towns
Where West Swanzey ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,272 a month, better than only 12% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Swanzey
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Swanzey home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,997, 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 West Swanzey's effective rate of 2.11%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Swanzey
West Swanzey runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Swanzey.
Who works in West Swanzey, and how
Work in West Swanzey centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in West Swanzey
West Swanzey has more parkland per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of West Swanzey and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Swanzey, month by month
West Swanzey sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 25° | 15° |
| April | 60° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 51° | 39° |
Flying in and out of West Swanzey
The nearest airport, Manchester Boston Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Swanzey
Schools across West Swanzey average a C, better than 33% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cutler Elementary SchoolC− · 25% proficient
- Winchester SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Monadnock Regional Middle SchoolD− · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Monadnock Regional High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Swanzey school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Swanzey 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 West Swanzey against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Swanzey
Is West Swanzey a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Swanzey ranks 8,916th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, few empty homes, and clean air, and lowest on property taxes 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 West Swanzey expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $261,375. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $81,997 median income, cost of living beats 53% of towns.
Is West Swanzey safe?
Yes, West Swanzey is safer than 91% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $174 per resident a year.
Compare West Swanzey with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Swanzey. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Swanzey 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.
West Swanzey detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Swanzey: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Swanzey: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Swanzey: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Swanzey: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Swanzey 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.