What stands out worked out from the figures below

Winchester has the shortest commute (29 min average).

Bennington has the most people working from home (14.7%).

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	Winchester	Bennington
People
Population	4,212Highest	1,588Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	-4.4%Lowest NH: +4.6%	+1.7%Highest NH: +4.6%
Median age	42.6±4.5Highest about the NH average	42.1±7.8Lowest about the NH average
	Winchester and Bennington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	18.9%±4.7Lowest NH: 18.2%	26%±5.2Highest NH: 18.2%
	Bennington and Winchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	17.9%±3.9Highest NH: 20.1%	15.2%±1.7Lowest NH: 20.1%
	Winchester and Bennington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	20.3%Lowest NH: 40.6%	33.6%Highest NH: 40.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	2.4%±1.8Lowest NH: 6%	2.8%±1.3Highest NH: 6%
	Bennington and Winchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$67,723±$11kLowest 32% below NH	$83,875±$7kHighest 15% below NH
	Bennington and Winchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$242,900±$20kLowest 40% below NH	$267,300±$15kHighest 34% below NH
	Bennington and Winchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,209±$143Lowest 19% below NH	$1,292±$150Highest 13% below NH
	Bennington and Winchester are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$5,314Lowest 20% below NH	$5,944Highest 11% below NH
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	45%±17.7Highest NH: 48.2%	37.2%±20.6Lowest NH: 48.2%
	Winchester and Bennington are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	14.1%Highest NH: 7.2%	4%Lowest NH: 7.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	72.7%Lowest NH: 72.8%	74.3%Highest NH: 72.8%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Lowest 2 yrs older than NH	1978Highest 1 yr older than NH
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	29 minLowest 7% above NH	37 minHighest 38% above NH
Work from home	4.3%±2.4Lowest NH: 16.8%	14.7%±4.8Highest NH: 16.8%
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#120 of 120 in NH	—
School district	Winchester School District	Contoocook Valley School District
High school in town	None 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.