What stands out worked out from the figures below

Waterville Valley has the shortest commute (14 min average).

Eaton has the most affordable homes ($377k 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	Waterville Valley	Eaton
People
Population	290Lowest	501Highest
Median age	61.6±16.5Highest 42% above NH	59.6±14Lowest 38% above NH
	Waterville Valley and Eaton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	8.6%±11.6Lowest NH: 18.2%	9.6%±5Highest NH: 18.2%
	Eaton and Waterville Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	43.1%±9.7Highest NH: 20.1%	41.3%±15.7Lowest NH: 20.1%
	Waterville Valley and Eaton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	71.6%Highest NH: 40.6%	51.5%Lowest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0.3%±4.3Lowest NH: 6%	1.2%±2.9Highest NH: 6%
	Eaton and Waterville Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$105,625±$50kHighest 7% above NH	$79,063±$9kLowest 20% below NH
	Waterville Valley and Eaton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$562,500±$193kHighest 40% above NH	$377,300±$62kLowest 6% below NH
	Waterville Valley and Eaton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,150±$382 23% below NH	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,745Highest 14% below NH	$4,014Lowest 40% below NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	33.3%±100Highest NH: 48.2%	0%±100Lowest NH: 48.2%
	Waterville Valley and Eaton are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	6.9%Lowest NH: 7.2%	11%Highest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	81.5%Lowest NH: 72.8%	96.9%Highest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1984Highest 5 yrs newer than NH	1978Lowest 1 yr older than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	14 minLowest 48% below NH	33 minHighest 24% above NH
Work from home	19.7%±12.6Lowest NH: 16.8%	24.4%±12.8Highest NH: 16.8%
	Eaton and Waterville Valley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
School district	Waterville Valley School District	—
High school in town	None in town	—
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.