The best towns to live in New Hampshire in 2026 are Hanover, Portsmouth, Bedford, Exeter and Plymouth for town life, Meredith, Wolfeboro and Holderness for lake living, and Campton and Littleton for the mountains. They range from a typical home value of about $357,000 in Littleton to just over $1 million in Hanover (Zillow, August 2026), and every one has a real downtown or village, a hospital within about twenty minutes and a regional high school. Below is the ranked list, the data behind it, and the best places to live in New Hampshire by lifestyle — cities, lakes, mountains, families, retirees and value.
The 10 best towns to live in New Hampshire, ranked
- Hanover — the best all-round town in the state: Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center next door in Lebanon, and a classic Main Street. Also the most expensive town in this guide, at a typical home value of $1,005,000.
- Portsmouth — the best small city: a walkable harbor downtown, the Music Hall, and the Seacoast on the doorstep, with a 2025 tax rate of $11.51, among the lowest of any New Hampshire city.
- Bedford — the leading Manchester suburb, with large lots, a strong school district and about an hour and ten minutes to Boston.
- Exeter — the best downtown in the southern tier, with Phillips Exeter Academy and an Amtrak Downeaster stop for Boston.
- Plymouth — a college town (Plymouth State University) with a hospital, a walkable Main Street and I-93 two minutes away, at a typical home value of $377,000 — about 38% of Hanover's.
- Meredith — the Lake Winnipesaukee town with the easiest I-93 access, a marina downtown and a $10.62 tax rate.
- Wolfeboro — the most complete lake town in the state: a downtown on the water, Huggins Hospital and Brewster Academy, at an $8.36 tax rate.
- Holderness — Squam Lake, the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, and Plymouth's services ten minutes away.
- Campton — the White Mountains at a sensible price: between Plymouth and Waterville Valley off I-93 Exit 28, at a typical home value of $423,000.
- Littleton — the North Country's best downtown, with a hospital, a co-op and a bookstore, and the lowest typical home value on this list at $357,000.
Just outside the top 10: Durham, Amherst, Keene, Windham, Thornton, Moultonborough, Waterville Valley and Conway.
How we ranked them
There is no single best town in New Hampshire for everyone, so the order above weighs what decides whether a place works every day, not just on vacation:
- Daily life: a downtown or village center, a full-size grocery store, and a hospital within roughly twenty minutes.
- Schools: a high school in town or in a shared regional district (most small New Hampshire towns share one).
- Outdoors: a lake, a ski area or the trailheads within half an hour.
- Value: the typical home value and what the property-tax bill actually comes to, not just the rate.
- Access: the drive to Boston, Manchester, Concord or the Upper Valley job centers.
The national lists weight income and home prices heavily, so they reward the expensive southern and college towns: HomeSnacks' 2026 list puts Hanover first, and Niche's 2026 Best Places to Live list leads with Hanover, Durham, Bedford, Amherst and Portsmouth. Our ranking gives more weight to value and outdoor access, which lifts the central New Hampshire towns. We sell homes in Plymouth, Campton and the towns around them, so weigh that — the table below lets you check every number yourself.
The best places to live in New Hampshire, compared
Every town in this guide, with the data side by side — the quickest way to see why the best towns to live in NH vary so much in price. Home value is Zillow's typical value for the middle third of the market, not a median sale price; the tax rate is per $1,000 of assessed value; the drive is to Boston City Hall with no traffic.
| Town | Best for | Typical home value (Aug 2026) | 2025 tax rate | Population (2025 est.) | Drive to Boston |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | Schools, commuting | $773,000 | $16.49 | 23,973 | 1 hr 10 min |
| Amherst | Schools, rural feel | $665,000 | $23.98 | 11,985 | 1 hr 20 min |
| Hollis | Open land near Nashua | $802,000 | $18.90 | 8,819 | 1 hr 10 min |
| Exeter | Downtown and the Downeaster | $616,000 | $18.76 | 16,213 | 1 hr 10 min |
| Windham | Shortest Boston drive | $801,000 | $14.15 | 16,259 | 50 min |
| Londonderry | I-93 commuting | $619,000 | $14.47 | 27,844 | 55 min |
| Hanover | College town, Dartmouth | $1,005,000 | $12.78* | 12,054 | 2 hr 35 min |
| Portsmouth | Small-city living | $798,000 | $11.51 | 23,028 | 1 hr 15 min |
| Durham | College town near the coast | $706,000 | $18.87 | 15,346 | 1 hr 30 min |
| Keene | Value with a downtown | $359,000 | $34.37 | 23,072 | 2 hr |
| Plymouth | College town at a lower price | $377,000 | $23.77 | 6,721 | 2 hr 20 min |
| Wolfeboro | Lake living with a hospital | $635,000 | $8.36 | 6,637 | 2 hr 20 min |
| Meredith | Winnipesaukee with I-93 access | $686,000 | $10.62 | 6,854 | 2 hr 15 min |
| Moultonborough | Waterfront, low rate | $721,000 | $5.33 | 5,293 | 2 hr 30 min |
| Holderness | Squam Lake | $667,000 | $9.42 | 2,024 | 2 hr 15 min |
| Bristol | Newfound Lake on a budget | $410,000 | $13.16 | 3,251 | 2 hr 5 min |
| New London | Lake Sunapee, a college and a hospital | $711,000 | $11.86 | 4,411 | 2 hr |
| Waterville Valley | Ski-resort living | $440,000 | $9.96 | 515 | 2 hr 35 min |
| Lincoln | Loon Mountain, rental demand | $492,000 | $12.66 | 1,664 | 2 hr 35 min |
| Conway (North Conway) | Mount Washington Valley | $455,000 | $11.54 | 10,308 | 3 hr 15 min |
| Littleton | North Country value | $357,000 | $14.10 | 6,003 | 3 hr |
| Campton | Remote work, land | $423,000 | $17.46 | 3,436 | 2 hr 20 min |
| Thornton | Land, lower tax rate | $432,000 | $11.74 | 2,895 | 2 hr 20 min |
| Ashland | Affordable, near Squam | $365,000 | $19.19 | 1,943 | 2 hr 10 min |
| Franklin | Low entry price near Concord | $386,000 | $17.63 | 8,839 | 1 hr 50 min |
*Hanover's base rate. Properties in its three fire districts pay $13.30 to $13.91, per the town's 2025 rate table.
Sources. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index city-level file for all homes (middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted) for August 2026, rounded to the nearest thousand. Tax rates are 2025 total rates set by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration; they remain the current rates until the DRA sets 2026 rates town by town in late autumn. Population is the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate for July 1, 2025. Drive times were routed on OpenStreetMap data from each town's center (the North Conway village for Conway) to Boston City Hall, rounded to five minutes, without traffic — rush hour at the Massachusetts line adds a great deal to the southern-tier figures.
Read the table with one caution: a low rate is not a low bill. Moultonborough's $5.33 on a $721,000 house is about $3,840 a year, while Keene's $34.37 on a $359,000 house is about $12,340 — and a revaluation can move a town's rate sharply without changing anyone's bill much. Our guide to New Hampshire property taxes explains how to compare them properly.
How New Hampshire towns work
Four things shape which of the best towns in New Hampshire will suit you:
- There are 234 towns and cities, and most are small. Only Manchester and Nashua top 90,000 people, and most towns have fewer than 5,000 residents. A "town" here is a self-governing place with its own budget, tax rate and annual town meeting, not a neighborhood.
- No income tax, no sales tax — so property tax carries the load. Rates run from under $10 per thousand in many lake and resort towns to more than $30 in a few cities.
- School districts are shared. Small towns pool into a School Administrative Unit (SAU) or a cooperative district — Campton, Thornton, Plymouth, Holderness, Ashland and Rumney all send high-schoolers to Plymouth Regional through SAU 48, for example — so a tiny town can still have a full-sized high school. Our schools page shows which towns feed where.
- The best areas to live in New Hampshire follow I-93 and Route 3. Boston is the center of gravity for the southern tier; Concord, Manchester and the Upper Valley anchor the middle; north of Plymouth, most people work locally, remotely, at the resorts or at the hospitals.
Best cities to live in New Hampshire
The best cities to live in NH are small by national standards: New Hampshire has only 13 incorporated cities, and six have fewer than 20,000 people. Here they all are, largest first. The estimated bill multiplies the typical home value by the tax rate; most cities assess below market value between revaluations, so treat it as a rough comparison, not a quote.
| City | Typical home value (Aug 2026) | 2025 tax rate | Est. yearly tax on a typical home | Population (2025 est.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | $441,000 | $20.24 | ~$8,930 | 116,818 |
| Nashua | $509,000 | $16.83 | ~$8,570 | 92,435 |
| Concord | $455,000 | $29.11 | ~$13,250 | 44,597 |
| Dover | $546,000 | $19.68 | ~$10,750 | 34,623 |
| Rochester | $410,000 | $15.30 | ~$6,270 | 33,716 |
| Keene | $359,000 | $34.37 | ~$12,340 | 23,072 |
| Portsmouth | $798,000 | $11.51 | ~$9,180 | 23,028 |
| Laconia | $443,000 | $12.98 | ~$5,750 | 17,246 |
| Lebanon | $465,000 | $21.53 | ~$10,010 | 15,481 |
| Claremont | $284,000 | $30.54 | ~$8,670 | 13,032 |
| Somersworth | $450,000 | $19.27 | ~$8,670 | 12,171 |
| Berlin | $186,000 | $33.60 | ~$6,250 | 9,502 |
| Franklin | $386,000 | $17.63 | ~$6,810 | 8,839 |
Sources as for the town table: Zillow ZHVI for August 2026, the DRA's 2025 rates (Manchester's $20.24 is confirmed on the city assessor's rate page) and the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates.
The best city to live in New Hampshire is Portsmouth — the most walkable downtown, a working harbor and the lowest tax rate of any New Hampshire city — if you can afford it; housing is scarce, and many buyers land in Dover or Somersworth next door instead. The rest of the best cities in New Hampshire to live in, by what they do well:
- Dover — the Seacoast at a lower price than Portsmouth, with a rebuilt mill downtown on the Cocheco River and its own Downeaster stop.
- Concord — the capital: state jobs, Concord Hospital, a lively Main Street and the shortest drive to both the Lakes Region and the mountains of any southern city. The tax rate is high.
- Nashua and Manchester — the two real cities, with the most jobs, restaurants and flights (Manchester-Boston Regional Airport), and the shortest commutes to Massachusetts.
- Keene — the Monadnock region's hub, with Keene State College, Cheshire Medical Center and a wide Main Street; the value is in the price, not the tax rate.
- Lebanon — the Upper Valley's working city, home to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, at less than half of Hanover's typical home value.
- Laconia — the Lakes Region's city, between Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Winnisquam, with the lowest estimated bill of any city in the table at about $5,750 a year.
Best commuter towns (southern New Hampshire)
Bedford. The state's standard-bearer suburb: large lots, a short drive to Manchester and its airport, and a price tag to match. The trade-off is that it is a suburb; there is no real downtown.
Amherst and Hollis. Bedford's quieter, more rural neighbors to the southwest, with village greens, orchards and a great deal of protected farmland. Amherst shares Souhegan High School with Mont Vernon; Hollis pairs with Brookline in its own cooperative district.
Exeter. The best downtown among the commuter towns — a brick Water Street, the Phillips Exeter campus, a Downeaster stop with service to Boston — and the Seacoast twenty minutes away. Prices are high and inventory is thin.
Windham and Londonderry. The I-93 corridor towns that trade downtown charm for the fastest possible drive to Massachusetts — Windham is about fifty minutes from Boston City Hall without traffic. Windham has the newest housing stock and Cobbetts Pond; Londonderry has the orchards and borders the airport.
The trade-off for all of them: Massachusetts-adjacent prices and traffic, and the mountains and big lakes are two hours away.
Best college towns
Hanover. Dartmouth, the medical center in Lebanon, a postcard Main Street and the Upper Valley's mix of trails, river and culture. Lebanon is the practical alternative with the same jobs at a lower entry price.
Durham. The University of New Hampshire's town: a Downeaster stop, Great Bay on the doorstep, and a large student rental market close to campus.
Plymouth. The college town we recommend most often to buyers who want Hanover's kind of life at well under half the price. Plymouth State University, Speare Memorial Hospital, the district courthouse, a walkable Main Street with the common at one end and campus at the other, and I-93 two minutes away. Waterville Valley is about half an hour north and Squam Lake fifteen minutes east. Our guide to moving to Plymouth NH and the Plymouth neighborhoods guide cover the town street by street. The trade-off: the blocks nearest campus are busy in term time and quiet in summer.
New London. Colby-Sawyer College, New London Hospital and a proper Main Street near Lake Sunapee.
Best lake towns in New Hampshire
New Hampshire's Lakes Region splits into the famous and the protected, and the difference shows in the tax bill. For the lakes themselves, see our list of the best lakes in New Hampshire.
Wolfeboro, Meredith and Moultonborough (Lake Winnipesaukee). Wolfeboro has the downtown, the town docks, Huggins Hospital and Brewster Academy; Meredith has the marina district, the Mill Falls hotels and the easiest drive to I-93. Moultonborough has miles of shoreline and a $5.33 tax rate, one of the lowest in the state. All three carry high assessments and low rates — the lake-town pattern, where the waterfront pays for everything. Gilford is the quieter alternative closer to Laconia. Our Lakes Region waterfront guide covers the buying side.
Holderness and Sandwich (Squam Lake). The "On Golden Pond" lake, protected by a conservation culture that has kept most of its shoreline undeveloped. Holderness has the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Holderness School and Plymouth ten minutes away; Sandwich is the classic village with its fall fair. Shoreline inventory is a trickle, but off-water homes along Route 3 and Route 175 sell for a fraction of it; see the Squam Lake buyer's guide.
Bristol, Hebron and Bridgewater (Newfound Lake). One of the clearest large lakes in the state, and the most attainable of the three: Bristol's typical home value is $410,000. Bristol has a real downtown on the Newfound River, Wellington State Park has the best public beach, and Alexandria and Hebron are where the hillside acreage is. The Newfound Lake guide goes deep on the towns around it.
The trade-off with lake towns is universal: the summer population swells, year-round services are thinner, and off-water homes in the same town can feel like a different place in February.
Best towns near the White Mountains
The White Mountains towns trade city services for trailheads, ski areas and land — and they are where New Hampshire still has value.
Campton and Thornton. The towns we think are the most underrated on this list. They sit off I-93 between Plymouth and the Lincoln–Woodstock exits, about twenty minutes below Waterville Valley and twenty-five from Loon, share Owl's Nest Resort across their town line, and offer single-family homes on acreage at typical values of $423,000 and $432,000. Thornton has the lower tax rate ($11.74) and open land along Route 3 and the Pemigewasset; Campton has the Route 49 corridor and the Waterville Estates community on the hill. The Campton and Thornton buyer's guide and our Plymouth vs Campton vs Thornton comparison walk through the choice.
Waterville Valley. A town that is also a resort: a ski area, a Nordic center, a town square with restaurants and an ice rink, and a year-round population of 515. Nearly everything is condominium, which makes it one of the easiest mountain towns to own in. Our Waterville Valley four-season guide explains its appeal.
Lincoln and Woodstock. Loon Mountain's towns at the western end of the Kancamagus. Lincoln has the resort condos and summer attractions; North Woodstock has the village and the quieter side streets. Short-term-rental demand is strong year-round; see things to do in Lincoln NH.
North Conway, Jackson and Bartlett. The Mount Washington Valley — the largest cluster of ski areas, outlets, restaurants and inns in the state. Conway is the working town (North Conway homes), Jackson the covered-bridge village, Bartlett the home of Attitash. Route 16 traffic on a holiday weekend is the trade-off.
Franconia, Sugar Hill and Littleton. The Cannon Mountain side of the notch. Franconia and Sugar Hill are the small, scenic, pricier villages; Littleton is the real town, with a Main Street, Littleton Regional Healthcare and some of the best-value housing in the mountains.
The mountain-town trade-off: winter is long, services can be twenty minutes away, and many of your neighbors on a Saturday are visitors. If a second home is the plan, start with our White Mountains second-home guide.
Best places to live in New Hampshire for families
When schools, commute and space top the list, three things separate New Hampshire towns: which high school the town feeds, how far the daily drive is, and how much land comes with the house.
- Southern tier: Bedford, Amherst, Hollis and Exeter pair well-regarded school districts with commutes to Manchester, Nashua and Boston; the cost is the highest home values in the state outside Hanover.
- Central New Hampshire: the SAU 48 towns — Plymouth, Campton, Thornton, Holderness, Ashland and Rumney — share Plymouth Regional High School and put a university, a hospital, Squam and Newfound lakes and two ski areas within half an hour, with typical home values of $365,000 to $432,000 in Ashland, Plymouth, Campton and Thornton.
- Upper Valley: Hanover and Lebanon, for the Dartmouth job market.
Check the school assignment for the specific address — on our schools page — before you check anything else. In a cooperative district the town line decides the school, not the mailing address.
Best places to live in New Hampshire for retirees
New Hampshire has no income tax on wages or retirement income, and the Interest and Dividends Tax was repealed as of January 1, 2025, so the property-tax bill is the tax that matters most. The towns that work best in retirement combine a hospital, a walkable center and one-level or condo housing:
- On the water: Wolfeboro (Huggins Hospital), Meredith and Moultonborough on Winnipesaukee; New London near Lake Sunapee, with its own hospital.
- College-town culture: Hanover and Lebanon for Dartmouth's lectures and the medical center; Plymouth for Plymouth State's arts calendar and Speare Memorial Hospital.
- Mountains without the upkeep: condominiums in Waterville Valley and at Owl's Nest Resort in Campton, and Littleton for a full-service North Country town.
Our guide to retiring to New Hampshire covers taxes, healthcare and housing in detail.
Best value towns that are still great places to live
Value in New Hampshire usually means being fifteen minutes from the expensive place:
- Ashland. Between Plymouth and Squam at Exit 24, with a town beach on Little Squam, a compact village and the Owl's Nest Vineyard Course golf community, at a typical home value of $365,000.
- Rumney and Wentworth. The Baker River valley west of Plymouth: farms, the Rumney Rocks climbing cliffs and Stinson Lake. A house on ten acres is still ordinary here.
- Bristol and New Hampton. Newfound Lake's gateway town and its quieter neighbor on Route 104, with its own I-93 exit.
- Franklin. A small mill city at the south end of the Lakes Region with a downtown whitewater park, about half an hour from Concord.
- Littleton and Keene. The two lowest typical home values in the town table ($357,000 and $359,000), each with a hospital and a real downtown.
New Hampshire is also one of the safest states in the country: SafeWise's 2026 report puts its violent crime rate at 1.09 incidents per 1,000 people, the lowest nationwide, against a national rate of 4.43.
Where to live in New Hampshire: matched to the life
The short version of the advice we give in person:
- Boston income, weekday commute: Windham, Londonderry, Bedford, Exeter.
- Remote work, weekends outdoors: Campton, Thornton, Plymouth, Holderness, Littleton.
- A small city: Portsmouth, Dover, Concord, Keene.
- Lake living year-round: Wolfeboro, Meredith, Bristol, Holderness.
- A ski house that rents when you're not there: Waterville Valley, Lincoln, Bartlett.
- First home on a budget: Littleton, Keene, Ashland, Plymouth — each under $380,000 typical value.
- Land, quiet and a barn: Rumney, Wentworth, Sandwich and the Connecticut River towns — see our guide to buying land in New Hampshire.
Whatever the town, run three checks before you fall for a house: the actual tax bill on the property (not the rate), the high school the address feeds, and the drive to the nearest hospital and full-size grocery store in February, not July. The moving to New Hampshire guide walks through all three, and the 2026 housing market guide explains what you will pay to get in. When you are ready to look, our buyer services start with a town shortlist.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best towns to live in New Hampshire?
The best towns in New Hampshire to live in, by our 2026 ranking, are Hanover, Portsmouth, Bedford, Exeter, Plymouth, Meredith, Wolfeboro, Holderness, Campton and Littleton. They combine a real town center, a hospital within about twenty minutes and a regional high school, at typical home values from about $357,000 (Littleton) to just over $1 million (Hanover).
What is the best place to live in New Hampshire?
Hanover is the best place to live in NH by most measures — Dartmouth, a major medical center and a classic Main Street — and it tops the national rankings. It is also the most expensive town in this guide. For the same college-town life at about 38% of the price, look at Plymouth.
What are the best cities to live in New Hampshire?
Portsmouth, Dover, Concord and Keene are the best cities to live in New Hampshire for a walkable downtown; Nashua and Manchester for jobs and the shortest Boston commute; Laconia for lake access and the lowest estimated tax bill of the 13 cities.
What is the best city in New Hampshire?
Portsmouth: the state's most walkable small city, with a 2025 tax rate of $11.51 and a typical home value of $798,000. Dover, next door, offers much of the Seacoast life at a typical value of $546,000.
What are the best places to live in NH for families?
In the south, Bedford, Amherst, Hollis and Exeter pair strong school districts with short commutes. In central New Hampshire, the SAU 48 towns — Plymouth, Campton, Thornton, Holderness, Ashland and Rumney — share Plymouth Regional High School, with lakes and ski areas within half an hour and lower home prices.
What are the best places to live in New Hampshire for retirees?
Wolfeboro, Meredith, New London, Hanover, Plymouth and Littleton all combine a hospital, a walkable center and housing that suits retirement. New Hampshire has no income tax and repealed its Interest and Dividends Tax in 2025, so compare towns on the property-tax bill.
What are the best towns near the White Mountains?
Campton, Thornton, Lincoln, Waterville Valley, North Conway, Franconia and Littleton. Campton and Thornton offer the most land for the money; Waterville Valley and Lincoln are the resort towns; Littleton has the most complete downtown.
Is New Hampshire a good place to live?
Yes, for most people who can handle winter: there is no income or sales tax, the violent crime rate is the lowest in the country by SafeWise's 2026 count, and mountains, lakes and the coast are all within a few hours. The trade-offs are high property taxes in many towns, limited housing inventory and long winters in the north.
Choosing between two or three New Hampshire towns? That is the conversation we like most. Talk to an agent at Owl's Nest Real Estate — offices in Campton and Plymouth — or browse the town pages for live listings and local detail.