What stands out worked out from the figures below

Amherst has the most people working from home (32.4%).

Manchester has the most renters (51.3% rent).

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	Manchester
People
Population	11,861Lowest	115,643Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+4.9%Lowest NH: +4.6%	+5.5%Highest NH: +4.6%
Median age	45.9±3.5Highest 6% above NH	38±1Lowest 12% below NH
Kids under 18	22.4%±3.3Highest NH: 18.2%	18%±1Lowest NH: 18.2%
Age 65+	20.2%±3Highest NH: 20.1%	15.5%±0.8Lowest NH: 20.1%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	65.7%Highest NH: 40.6%	34%Lowest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.7%±1.5Lowest NH: 6%	6.4%±0.7Highest NH: 6%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$153,196±$10kHighest 55% above NH	$81,007±$2kLowest 18% below NH
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$537,600±$30kHighest 34% above NH	$365,600±$7kLowest 9% below NH
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,462±$256Lowest about the NH average	$1,564±$37Highest 5% above NH
	Manchester and Amherst are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$9,773Highest 47% above NH	$5,922Lowest 11% below NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	31.4%±9Lowest NH: 48.2%	50%±3.6Highest NH: 48.2%
Below poverty line	4.4%Lowest NH: 7.2%	11.2%Highest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	91.9%Highest NH: 72.8%	48.7%Lowest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Highest 1 yr older than NH	1966Lowest 13 yrs older than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	33 minHighest 22% above NH	24 minLowest 10% below NH
Work from home	32.4%±5.5Highest NH: 16.8%	14.1%±1.3Lowest NH: 16.8%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#20 of 120 in NH	#115 of 120 in NH
School district	Amherst School District · Souhegan Cooperative School District	Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies · Manchester School District
High school in town	Souhegan Coop High School	Manchester Memorial High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.4Lowest	14.3Highest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	None yet	6 photos →

NH 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.