What stands out worked out from the figures below

Patten has the most people working from home (24.3%).

Castle Hill has the most expensive homes ($145k 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	Patten	Castle Hill
People
Population	607Highest	281Lowest
Median age	56.1±5.8Lowest 25% above ME	57.8±15.8Highest 29% above ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.5%±4.8Highest ME: 18.1%	14.2%±5.8Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Patten and Castle Hill are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	32.9%±5.6Lowest ME: 22.4%	44.8%±6.5Highest ME: 22.4%
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	30.6%Highest ME: 36.2%	26.7%Lowest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	1.6%±2.7Lowest ME: 5.8%	2.1%±5.3Highest ME: 5.8%
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$45,750±$19kLowest 39% below ME	$54,250±$14kHighest 27% below ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$83,000±$51kLowest 72% below ME	$145,300±$18kHighest 51% below ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$389±$99Lowest 66% below ME	$950±$574Highest 17% below ME
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$857Lowest 72% below ME	$1,449Highest 52% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	56%±58.6Lowest ME: 48.4%	75%±100Highest ME: 48.4%
	Castle Hill and Patten are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	28.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	4.3%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	72.4%Lowest ME: 74.3%	94.3%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1955Lowest 22 yrs older than ME	1982Highest 5 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minHighest about the ME average	19 minLowest 24% below ME
Work from home	24.3%±24.5Highest ME: 15.9%	10.3%±9.8Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Patten and Castle Hill 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

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.