What stands out worked out from the figures below

Amherst has the highest household income ($73k).

Cooper has the most people working from home (13.5%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Amherst	Cooper
People
Population	424Highest	157Lowest
Median age	50.9±9.9Highest 14% above ME	46.5±9.1Lowest 4% above ME
	Amherst and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.3%±8.6Highest ME: 18.1%	16.6%±17Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Amherst and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	24.3%±2.9Highest ME: 22.4%	22.9%±14Lowest ME: 22.4%
	Amherst and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	31.3%Highest ME: 36.2%	22.2%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.8%±2.5Lowest ME: 5.8%	4.5%±9.8Highest ME: 5.8%
	Cooper and Amherst are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$72,656±$12kHighest about the ME average	$48,750±$15kLowest 35% below ME
	Amherst and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$210,200±$38kLowest 29% below ME	$212,500±$66kHighest 28% below ME
	Cooper and Amherst are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,527Lowest 50% below ME	$1,929Highest 36% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	50%±100 ME: 48.4%	—
Below poverty line	6.1%Lowest ME: 10.7%	20.4%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	96.9%Highest ME: 74.3%	95%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1982Highest 5 yrs newer than ME	1977Lowest same as ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minLowest 11% above ME	44 minHighest 78% above ME
Work from home	11%±5.5Lowest ME: 15.9%	13.5%±11Highest ME: 15.9%
	Cooper and Amherst are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
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ME average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.