What stands out worked out from the figures below

Manchester has the most renters (51.3% rent).

Bedford has the highest household income ($167k).

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	Bedford
People
Population	115,643Highest	23,746Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+5.5%Lowest NH: +4.6%	+10%Highest NH: +4.6%
Median age	38±1Lowest 12% below NH	45±2.2Highest 4% above NH
Kids under 18	18%±1Lowest NH: 18.2%	22.7%±2.5Highest NH: 18.2%
Age 65+	15.5%±0.8Lowest NH: 20.1%	20.5%±2.1Highest NH: 20.1%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	34%Lowest NH: 40.6%	63%Highest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.4%±0.7Highest NH: 6%	4.7%±2.1Lowest NH: 6%
	Manchester and Bedford are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$81,007±$2kLowest 18% below NH	$167,418±$12kHighest 69% above NH
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$365,600±$7kLowest 9% below NH	$612,100±$26kHighest 52% above NH
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,564±$37Lowest 5% above NH	$2,099±$274Highest 41% above NH
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,922Lowest 11% below NH	$9,803Highest 47% above NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	50%±3.6Lowest NH: 48.2%	59.4%±15.3Highest NH: 48.2%
	Bedford and Manchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	11.2%Highest NH: 7.2%	2.7%Lowest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	48.7%Lowest NH: 72.8%	82.9%Highest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1966Lowest 13 yrs older than NH	1990Highest 11 yrs newer than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 10% below NH	25 minHighest 5% below NH
Work from home	14.1%±1.3Lowest NH: 16.8%	27%±3.4Highest NH: 16.8%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#115 of 120 in NH	#7 of 120 in NH
School district	Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies · Manchester School District	Bedford School District
High school in town	Manchester Memorial High School	Bedford High School
Students per teacherat that high school	14.3Highest	13.5Lowest
On TownTapestry
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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.