What stands out worked out from the figures below

Haverhill has the most renters (37.2% rent).

Bow has the highest household income ($173k).

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	Haverhill	Bow
People
Population	67,698Highest	8,335Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+11.3%Highest U.S.: +7.4%	+9.4%Lowest U.S.: +7.4%
Median age	39.4±1.1Lowest about the U.S. average	41.5±2Highest 7% above U.S.
	Bow and Haverhill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	21.3%±1.5Lowest U.S.: 22%	25%±3.6Highest U.S.: 22%
	Bow and Haverhill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	15.5%±1.2Lowest U.S.: 17.2%	17.6%±2.5Highest U.S.: 17.2%
	Bow and Haverhill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	32.6%Lowest U.S.: 35.7%	60.3%Highest U.S.: 35.7%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.5%±0.6Lowest U.S.: 6.4%	5.6%±1.9Highest U.S.: 6.4%
	Bow and Haverhill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$88,326±$4kLowest 9% above U.S.	$172,857±$16kHighest 114% above U.S.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$453,900±$9kLowest 36% above U.S.	$506,500±$34kHighest 52% above U.S.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,668±$49Highest 18% above U.S.	$1,539±$178Lowest 9% above U.S.
	Haverhill and Bow are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,772Lowest 53% above U.S.	$9,584Highest 207% above U.S.
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	60.2%±5.3Highest U.S.: 51.1%	39%±13.2Lowest U.S.: 51.1%
Below poverty line	11.3%Highest U.S.: 12.5%	2.7%Lowest U.S.: 12.5%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	62.8%Lowest U.S.: 65.2%	87.5%Highest U.S.: 65.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1964Lowest 16 yrs older than U.S.	1985Highest 5 yrs newer than U.S.
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	27 minHighest 4% above U.S.	27 minLowest about the U.S. average
Work from home	12.5%±1.5Lowest U.S.: 15.1%	22.7%±4.7Highest U.S.: 15.1%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#243 of 282 in MA	#26 of 120 in NH
School district	Haverhill · Whittier Regional Vocational Technical	Bow School District
High school in town	Haverhill High	Bow High School
Students per teacherat that high school	12.5Lowest	12.8Highest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	None yet	None yet

U.S. 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.