What stands out worked out from the figures below

Wells River has the most renters (52.1% rent).

Chapman has the highest household income ($93k).

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	Wells River	Chapman
People
Population	340Lowest	388Highest
Median age	42.7±12.7Lowest 10% above U.S.	45.7±11.4Highest 17% above U.S.
	Chapman and Wells River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	17.1%±6.5Lowest U.S.: 22%	27.6%±5.9Highest U.S.: 22%
	Chapman and Wells River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	19.4%±3.5Lowest U.S.: 17.2%	27.6%±3.8Highest U.S.: 17.2%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	16.3%Lowest U.S.: 35.7%	22.8%Highest U.S.: 35.7%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0.6%±3.1Lowest U.S.: 6.4%	5.2%±2.6Highest U.S.: 6.4%
	Chapman and Wells River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$38,688±$5kLowest 52% below U.S.	$93,125±$17kHighest 15% above U.S.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$170,800±$103kLowest 49% below U.S.	$185,700±$22kHighest 44% below U.S.
	Chapman and Wells River are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$900±$336 36% below U.S.	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,154Highest 33% above U.S.	$1,850Lowest 41% below U.S.
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	47.6%±14.8Highest U.S.: 51.1%	0%±100Lowest U.S.: 51.1%
	Wells River and Chapman are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	38.8%Highest U.S.: 12.5%	6.4%Lowest U.S.: 12.5%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	47.9%Lowest U.S.: 65.2%	94.5%Highest U.S.: 65.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1938Lowest 42 yrs older than U.S.	1982Highest 2 yrs newer than U.S.
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	34 minHighest 27% above U.S.	23 minLowest 12% below U.S.
Work from home	5.2%±9.3Highest U.S.: 15.1%	4.8%±3.5Lowest U.S.: 15.1%
	Wells River and Chapman 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

U.S. 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.