What stands out worked out from the figures below

Orange has the most expensive homes ($303k median).

Union has the most kids (35.9% under 18).

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	Union
People
Population	320Highest	131Lowest
Median age	41.3±9.1Highest 5% below NH	23.6±30.9Lowest 45% below NH
	Orange and Union are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	20.6%±5.6Lowest NH: 18.2%	35.9%±42.8Highest NH: 18.2%
	Union and Orange are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	20%±5Highest NH: 20.1%	0%±31.7Lowest NH: 20.1%
	Orange and Union are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	37.2%Lowest NH: 40.6%	48.3%Highest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.7%±3.7Highest NH: 6%	0%±13Lowest NH: 6%
	Orange and Union 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	$75,117±$19kLowest 24% below NH
	Orange and Union are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$302,600±$35kHighest 25% below NH	$162,900±$135kLowest 60% below NH
	Orange and Union are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,132Highest 23% below NH	$1,258Lowest 81% below NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100 NH: 48.2%	—
Below poverty line	9.4%Lowest NH: 7.2%	10.7%Highest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	97.5%Lowest NH: 72.8%	100%Highest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1986Highest 7 yrs newer than NH	1938Lowest 41 yrs older than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	28 min 5% above NH	—
Work from home	20.8%±8.9Lowest NH: 16.8%	21.4%±25.5Highest NH: 16.8%
	Union and Orange are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	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.