What stands out worked out from the figures below

Orange has the most kids (20.6% under 18).

Brookfield has the most expensive homes ($428k 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	Orange	Brookfield
People
Population	320Lowest	567Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	—	+6% NH: +4.6%
Median age	41.3±9.1Lowest 5% below NH	58.1±9.7Highest 34% above NH
	Brookfield and Orange are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20.6%±5.6Highest NH: 18.2%	8.6%±4Lowest NH: 18.2%
Age 65+	20%±5Lowest NH: 20.1%	38.4%±3.4Highest NH: 20.1%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	37.2%Highest NH: 40.6%	36.8%Lowest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.7%±3.7Lowest NH: 6%	5.5%±5Highest NH: 6%
	Brookfield and Orange are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$118,750±$39kHighest 20% above NH	$81,406±$31kLowest 18% below NH
	Orange and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$302,600±$35kLowest 25% below NH	$428,000±$61kHighest 6% above NH
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,132Lowest 23% below NH	$5,926Highest 11% below NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100 NH: 48.2%	—
Below poverty line	9.4%Highest NH: 7.2%	3.9%Lowest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	97.5%Lowest NH: 72.8%	98.4%Highest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1986Highest 7 yrs newer than NH	1975Lowest 4 yrs older than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 minHighest 5% above NH	27 minLowest about the NH average
Work from home	20.8%±8.9Highest NH: 16.8%	13.7%±6.8Lowest NH: 16.8%
	Orange and Brookfield are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
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.