What stands out worked out from the figures below

Manchester has the most renters (51.3% rent).

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

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	Manchester	Amherst
People
Population	115,643Highest	11,861Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+5.5%Highest NH: +4.6%	+4.9%Lowest NH: +4.6%
Median age	38±1Lowest 12% below NH	45.9±3.5Highest 6% above NH
Kids under 18	18%±1Lowest NH: 18.2%	22.4%±3.3Highest NH: 18.2%
Age 65+	15.5%±0.8Lowest NH: 20.1%	20.2%±3Highest NH: 20.1%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	34%Lowest NH: 40.6%	65.7%Highest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.4%±0.7Highest NH: 6%	3.7%±1.5Lowest NH: 6%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$81,007±$2kLowest 18% below NH	$153,196±$10kHighest 55% above NH
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$365,600±$7kLowest 9% below NH	$537,600±$30kHighest 34% above NH
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,564±$37Highest 5% above NH	$1,462±$256Lowest about the NH average
	Manchester and Amherst are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,922Lowest 11% below NH	$9,773Highest 47% above NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	50%±3.6Highest NH: 48.2%	31.4%±9Lowest NH: 48.2%
Below poverty line	11.2%Highest NH: 7.2%	4.4%Lowest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	48.7%Lowest NH: 72.8%	91.9%Highest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1966Lowest 13 yrs older than NH	1978Highest 1 yr older than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 10% below NH	33 minHighest 22% above NH
Work from home	14.1%±1.3Lowest NH: 16.8%	32.4%±5.5Highest NH: 16.8%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#115 of 120 in NH	#20 of 120 in NH
School district	Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies · Manchester School District	Amherst School District · Souhegan Cooperative School District
High school in town	Manchester Memorial High School	Souhegan Coop High School
Students per teacherat that high school	14.3Highest	10.4Lowest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in Our Story	6 photos →	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.