What stands out worked out from the figures below

Ellsworth has the most kids (13.7% under 18).

Waterville Valley has the most expensive homes ($563k median).

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	Ellsworth	Waterville Valley
People
Population	51Lowest	290Highest
Median age	61.8±13.1Highest 43% above NH	61.6±16.5Lowest 42% above NH
	Ellsworth and Waterville Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	13.7%±59.8Highest NH: 18.2%	8.6%±11.6Lowest NH: 18.2%
	Ellsworth and Waterville Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	39.2%±46.4Lowest NH: 20.1%	43.1%±9.7Highest NH: 20.1%
	Waterville Valley and Ellsworth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	25%Lowest NH: 40.6%	71.6%Highest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±33.3Lowest NH: 6%	0.3%±4.3Highest NH: 6%
	Waterville Valley and Ellsworth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$89,375±$39kLowest 10% below NH	$105,625±$50kHighest 7% above NH
	Waterville Valley and Ellsworth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$350,000±$170kLowest 13% below NH	$562,500±$193kHighest 40% above NH
	Waterville Valley and Ellsworth are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,150±$382 23% below NH
Property taxmedian, yearly	$3,813Lowest 43% below NH	$5,745Highest 14% below NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	33.3%±100 NH: 48.2%
Below poverty line	0%Lowest NH: 7.2%	6.9%Highest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	100%Highest NH: 72.8%	81.5%Lowest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1978Lowest 1 yr older than NH	1984Highest 5 yrs newer than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	—	14 min 48% below NH
Work from home	23.1%±26.3Highest NH: 16.8%	19.7%±12.6Lowest NH: 16.8%
	Ellsworth and Waterville Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
School district	—	Waterville Valley School District
High school in town	—	None in town
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	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.