What stands out worked out from the figures below

Moose River has the highest household income ($76k).

Smyrna has the most people working from home (6.4%).

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	Moose River	Smyrna
People
Population	248Lowest	380Highest
Median age	32.9±8.2Highest 27% below ME	31±9.6Lowest 31% below ME
	Moose River and Smyrna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	32.3%±5.2Lowest ME: 18.1%	33.2%±5.5Highest ME: 18.1%
	Smyrna and Moose River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	8.5%±10.4Lowest ME: 22.4%	10.8%±4.3Highest ME: 22.4%
	Smyrna and Moose River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	14.6%Lowest ME: 36.2%	17.7%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4%±6.2Highest ME: 5.8%	0.3%±2.9Lowest ME: 5.8%
	Moose River and Smyrna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$76,324±$9kHighest about the ME average	$57,750±$19kLowest 23% below ME
	Moose River and Smyrna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$144,900±$31kHighest 51% below ME	$117,100±$10kLowest 61% below ME
	Moose River and Smyrna are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$425±$63 63% below ME
Property taxmedian, yearly	$928Lowest 69% below ME	$1,200Highest 60% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100 ME: 48.4%	0%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	14.9%Lowest ME: 10.7%	15.8%Highest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	91.3%Lowest ME: 74.3%	95.4%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1951Lowest 26 yrs older than ME	1977Highest same as ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	15 minLowest 39% below ME	15 minHighest 37% below ME
Work from home	4.5%±5.9Lowest ME: 15.9%	6.4%±6.1Highest ME: 15.9%
	Smyrna and Moose River 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.