Rentals in Plymouth NH are tight year-round: most apartments sit in older converted houses near Main Street and Plymouth State University, and many lease on the academic calendar. In September 2026, local listings ran from about $1,600 for a two-bedroom apartment to $2,900–$3,250 for a three- or four-bedroom house. Start looking months before a late-summer move.
Plymouth is a Grafton County town of about 6,700 people (ZIP 03264) with two I-93 exits, a walkable Main Street, a 24-hour hospital and a university. About 44% of its households rent, according to the Census ACS 2019–2023 — far more than in the surrounding rural towns — and renters compete with students, hospital staff and investors for the same buildings. This guide covers the three rental markets that share the town: year-round apartments and houses, academic-year student leases, and short-term vacation rentals.
How much is rent in Plymouth NH?
There is no reliable published median rent for Plymouth alone, so the best guide is what is actually listed, read against the county trend.
| Rental | Rent listed (September 2026) | What was included |
|---|---|---|
| 2-bedroom apartment, Tenney Mountain Highway | $1,595 a month | Heat included; tenant pays other utilities |
| 3-bedroom one-level house near downtown and PSU | $2,895 a month | Heat and town water/sewer included; one-year lease; $50 application fee per adult |
| 4-bedroom Cape with mountain views | $3,250 a month | Tenant pays all utilities; one-year or six-month lease |
| Same house with in-law apartment (6 bedrooms total) | $4,500 a month | Tenant pays all utilities |
Source: residential lease listings in our PrimeMLS feed, early September 2026. Many Plymouth apartments are rented directly by local landlords and property managers without an MLS listing, so treat these as examples, not a survey.
The trend behind those numbers: Grafton County's median two-bedroom rent rose about 67% from 2019 to 2024, the largest increase of any New Hampshire county, and NH Fiscal Policy Institute analysis of NH Housing's annual rent survey attributes that rise to rents around Lebanon and Plymouth.
When you compare listings, compare what is included. Heat is the big variable: an apartment with heat included can be cheaper overall than one listed $200 lower where the tenant pays for oil or propane through a New Hampshire winter.
Where the apartments and houses are
In town. Most Plymouth NH apartments are in the grid of streets between Main Street and the Plymouth State campus, which climbs the hill at the south end of downtown. Much of it is older single-family housing converted into two-, three- and four-unit buildings, plus units above Main Street storefronts. These are on town water and sewer and within walking distance of the university, the hospital and the supermarket.
On the edges of town. Farther out — across the Pemigewasset and Baker rivers, along the Tenney Mountain Highway, and on the roads toward Texas Hill and Tenney Mountain — the picture shifts to whole houses, in-law apartments and a few small apartment buildings. These rent mostly to families, faculty and hospital staff on conventional twelve-month leases.
Next door. Renters who need an off-cycle lease or more space often widen the search to Holderness, Campton, Ashland and Rumney, each five to fifteen minutes from downtown. The Plymouth NH neighborhoods guide describes each part of town in detail.
The academic-year lease cycle: when to look
The calendar is the most useful thing a Plymouth renter can know. A large share of the walkable housing near campus is leased to students, and those leases are commonly written for the school year or for twelve months starting in late summer. The best units are often spoken for months before the current tenants move out.
| When you search | What you will find |
|---|---|
| January–March, for a late-August start | The widest choice of in-town units, as landlords sign next year's leases |
| April–June | What the spring cycle left behind; fewer walkable units, some summer sublets |
| July–August | Very little near campus; houses on the edges of town still appear |
| September–December | Occasional mid-year openings when students or staff move on |
Year-round renters compete with that cycle rather than sitting outside it. A nurse joining Speare Memorial, a new faculty hire or a teacher in SAU 48 is looking at many of the same buildings as a group of juniors, and landlords near campus price and time for the student market because it is dependable. That is why houses for rent in Plymouth NH — the three-bedroom across the river with a yard — draw a line of applicants the moment they list.
Expect screening: credit and background checks, landlord references, employment or income verification, and an application fee per adult.
Plymouth State University off-campus housing
Off-campus housing for Plymouth State students is concentrated within about a fifteen-minute walk of the academic buildings: the streets north and east of campus and the blocks along and behind Main Street. Inside that radius a student can walk to class, the Silver Center, the Flying Monkey and downtown without a car, which is why the closest units draw the most competition.
Three local rules matter more here than in most college towns:
- Three unrelated people per unit. Plymouth's zoning ordinance defines an unrelated household as a group of three persons or fewer. A four-bedroom apartment cannot legally be leased to four unrelated students, so be wary of any listing that suggests otherwise.
- No overnight street parking for most of the year. Plymouth bans parking on any town street from midnight to 6 a.m. between September 1 and June 1, with a $50 fine, according to the Plymouth Police Department. An off-street space is worth real money; confirm in the lease how many you get.
- Joint-and-several leases. Many leases near campus make every tenant responsible for the full rent if a roommate leaves, and many run the full twelve months even when students are away for the summer.
Deposits, notice periods and evictions follow New Hampshire's landlord-tenant statutes (RSA 540 and 540-A). A lease that spells out utilities, snow removal, parking and guests saves an argument in January. Our homes near Plymouth State University guide covers the same rules from the landlord's side.
Vacation rentals in and around Plymouth
Vacation rentals in Plymouth NH book by the night and the week, and their guests are here for the region rather than the town. Waterville Valley is 20 to 25 minutes away via Routes 175 and 49, Loon Mountain about 30 minutes north on I-93, Tenney Mountain about 15 minutes west, Squam Lake 10 to 15 minutes east through Holderness, and Newfound Lake 20 to 25 minutes southwest. A family can ski two mountains and swim two lakes in one week from a single Plymouth driveway, with a full-size supermarket and a hospital in town.
Plymouth also gives visitors what the resort villages cannot: a working downtown that stays busy after dark. Foliage season, university move-in and graduation weekends, hockey and football Saturdays and the summer lake season spread bookings across more of the year than a purely ski-driven property. The managed homes in Plymouth, Campton, Thornton, Waterville Valley and the surrounding towns are on the vacation rentals page, bookable direct.
Renting vs buying in Plymouth
The rent-versus-buy question has a different answer in Plymouth than it does twenty minutes north, because Plymouth is the valley's value market. Zillow's typical Plymouth home value was about $377,000 in August 2026, below Campton, Thornton and Holderness, and the lowest-priced homes — manufactured homes in co-op and land-lease communities — were listed from about $125,000.
A rough comparison. A renter paying $2,895 a month for a three-bedroom house is paying about $34,700 a year. On a $350,000 purchase, Plymouth's 2025 tax rate of $23.77 per $1,000 adds roughly $8,300 a year in property tax on top of the mortgage, insurance and upkeep. Whether buying wins depends on your down payment, rate and how long you stay — run the numbers with a lender, not a rule of thumb.
What each option buys. Renting buys flexibility, no maintenance and a clean exit. Buying buys a housing cost that does not reset every August, equity in a market with several buyer pools, and — for the owner-occupant of a two- or three-unit building — rental income that offsets much of the carrying cost.
The first-time buyer path starts with a pre-approval and a choice between in-town (smaller lots, walkable, louder in term time, strongest resale to investors) and the edges of town (quieter, more land, a five-minute drive). The lowest entry point is a manufactured home in a land-lease community, the subject of our guide to manufactured homes for sale in NH. The current homes for sale in Plymouth NH show what each choice costs right now, and the Plymouth homes-for-sale guide walks through price tiers, taxes and the offer process. If you are relocating, the moving to Plymouth NH guide covers schools, healthcare and commutes.
Own a Plymouth rental? Managing it
A year-round Plymouth rental runs on tenant screening, leases timed to the local cycle, and maintenance; a short-term rental runs on nightly pricing, guest communication, turnovers and a state tax that year-round landlords never deal with. Professional property management covers marketing, tenant and guest communication, vendor coordination, maintenance, reporting, tax administration and owner payouts; vacation rental management is the version built for short-term rentals, with Airbnb and VRBO listings on established Superhost and Premier Partner accounts, nightly-rate oversight and monthly direct-deposit payouts.
The short-term rental tax. New Hampshire charges an 8.5% Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax on stays of fewer than 185 consecutive days. Operators must obtain a Meals and Rentals license from the NH Department of Revenue Administration before hosting, collect the tax from guests and remit it monthly through Granite Tax Connect, and — under RSA 78-A:4-a — include the license number in every advertisement or online listing. There is no statewide short-term rental permit or ban; local rules are left to towns, so confirm current requirements with the Town of Plymouth before buying with a short-term plan.
Two guides go deeper: the vacation rental property management guide for New Hampshire on running a managed short-term operation, and the NH investment property guide on evaluating a year-round rental purchase. Owners weighing whether to keep renting a property or sell into the Plymouth NH real estate market can get in touch with a local agent who works both sides of it.
Frequently asked questions
How much is rent in Plymouth NH?
In September 2026, Plymouth rentals listed in our MLS feed ran from $1,595 a month for a two-bedroom apartment with heat included to $2,895 for a three-bedroom house near downtown and $3,250 for a four-bedroom Cape. Many apartments are rented directly by local landlords, so check several sources. Grafton County two-bedroom rents rose about 67% between 2019 and 2024, driven largely by the Lebanon and Plymouth areas.
When should you start looking for an apartment in Plymouth NH?
For a late-summer move, start in January through March. Much of the in-town stock near Plymouth State is leased on the academic calendar, and the best units are often signed months before the current tenants leave. Searching in June or July leaves what the spring cycle passed over. Houses on the edges of town come up year-round but go quickly.
Are there houses for rent in Plymouth NH that are not student rentals?
Yes, mostly outside the walk-to-campus area: across the Pemigewasset and Baker rivers, along the Tenney Mountain Highway, on the rural roads toward Texas Hill and Tenney Mountain, and in neighboring Holderness, Campton, Ashland and Rumney. They usually lease on conventional twelve-month terms, often require credit and background checks, and draw many applicants when they list.
How many roommates can share a rental in Plymouth NH?
Plymouth's zoning ordinance defines an unrelated household as three persons or fewer, so no more than three unrelated adults should share one dwelling unit. Children of a resident are not counted. The rule applies regardless of how many bedrooms the unit has, so a four-bedroom apartment cannot legally house four unrelated students. Ask the landlord how the unit is permitted before signing.
Where can you park overnight in Plymouth NH?
Not on the street for most of the year. Plymouth bans parking on any town street from midnight to 6 a.m. between September 1 and June 1, with a $50 fine. Renters with a car need an off-street space, so confirm in writing how many spaces come with the unit and where guests can park, especially near campus where lots are small.
Do you need a license to rent a Plymouth home short-term?
Yes, at the state level. You need a Meals and Rentals license from the NH Department of Revenue Administration before hosting, must collect and remit the 8.5% tax on stays under 185 consecutive days, and must show the license number in every listing. There is no statewide short-term rental permit, so also confirm any local rules with the Town of Plymouth.