What stands out worked out from the figures below

Benton has the most affordable homes ($288k median).

Randolph has the most people working from home (19.5%).

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	Benton	Randolph
People
Population	386Lowest	420Highest
Median age	62.1±1.9Highest 43% above NH	57.5±10.9Lowest 33% above NH
	Benton and Randolph are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	6.7%±4.2Lowest NH: 18.2%	14.5%±6.5Highest NH: 18.2%
	Randolph and Benton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	37.3%±12.5Highest NH: 20.1%	31.7%±2.8Lowest NH: 20.1%
	Benton and Randolph are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	18.2%Lowest NH: 40.6%	60.1%Highest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.8%±1.4Lowest NH: 6%	5.5%±3.7Highest NH: 6%
	Randolph and Benton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$67,895±$4kLowest 31% below NH	$101,750±$16kHighest about the NH average
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$288,300±$46kLowest 28% below NH	$407,000±$57kHighest about the NH average
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,667±$215 12% above NH
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,922Lowest 56% below NH	$4,269Highest 36% below NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	100%±100Highest NH: 48.2%	50%±53.1Lowest NH: 48.2%
	Benton and Randolph are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	15.9%Highest NH: 7.2%	6.7%Lowest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	92.1%Highest NH: 72.8%	83.3%Lowest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1980Highest 1 yr newer than NH	1963Lowest 16 yrs older than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	32 minHighest 20% above NH	27 minLowest about the NH average
Work from home	2.6%±3.4Lowest NH: 16.8%	19.5%±5.3Highest NH: 16.8%
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

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.