What stands out worked out from the figures below

Castle Hill has the most expensive homes ($145k median).

Patten has the most people working from home (24.3%).

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	Castle Hill	Patten
People
Population	281Lowest	607Highest
Median age	57.8±15.8Highest 29% above ME	56.1±5.8Lowest 25% above ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	14.2%±5.8Lowest ME: 18.1%	16.5%±4.8Highest ME: 18.1%
	Patten and Castle Hill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	44.8%±6.5Highest ME: 22.4%	32.9%±5.6Lowest ME: 22.4%
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	26.7%Lowest ME: 36.2%	30.6%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.1%±5.3Highest ME: 5.8%	1.6%±2.7Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$54,250±$14kHighest 27% below ME	$45,750±$19kLowest 39% below ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$145,300±$18kHighest 51% below ME	$83,000±$51kLowest 72% below ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$950±$574Highest 17% below ME	$389±$99Lowest 66% below ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,449Highest 52% below ME	$857Lowest 72% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	75%±100Highest ME: 48.4%	56%±58.6Lowest ME: 48.4%
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	4.3%Lowest ME: 10.7%	28.4%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	94.3%Highest ME: 74.3%	72.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1982Highest 5 yrs newer than ME	1955Lowest 22 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	19 minLowest 24% below ME	25 minHighest about the ME average
Work from home	10.3%±9.8Lowest ME: 15.9%	24.3%±24.5Highest ME: 15.9%
	Patten and Castle Hill 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.