
Pelham ranks #17 in New Hampshire for growth
Pelham is ranked on 38 lists against the 126 New Hampshire towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 7.
The lists Pelham does best on
Each list ranks every NH town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Pelham marked.
Pelham lands in the top half on 18 of 24 lists
Each dot is Pelham’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in NH, the right end is last. Areas where Pelham does best come first.
Hotter summers than 94% of New Hampshire
Not better or worse, just Pelham’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
3 spots from the top 25 for fewest smokers
Lists where Pelham sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Pelham out-ranks 4 of its 5 ranked neighbors
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Pelham lands in every NH ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Bartlett · 66.5%
#94
Most trails#1 Exeter · 3.1 mi / sq mi
#18
Most walkable#1 Nashua · 91.8 / sq mi
#25 Health
Healthiest#1 Hanover · 99 / 100
#46
Lowest obesity#1 Hanover · 21%
#69
Fewest smokers#1 New London · 6%
#28
Most active#1 Hanover · 14%
#54
Fewest uninsured#1 Stratham · 4%
#34
Lowest depression#1 Bedford · 20%
#18
Closest to a top hospital#1 Nashua · 0.5 mi
#36 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Bartlett · 62%
#104
Most new homes#1 Tuftonboro · 15.3 per 1,000
#49
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Walpole · +101.6%
#102
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Grantham · 8.6 per home
#30 People
Most educated#1 Hanover · 88.2%
#59
Youngest#1 Durham · 20.8
#32
Oldest#1 Moultonborough · 58.3
#94
Most residents 65+#1 New London · 37.5%
#102
Most kids#1 New Ipswich · 29.9%
#25 Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Gilford · 11.3 per resident
#60
Most library borrowing#1 Hanover · 18.8 per resident
#58
Best libraries for kids#1 Sunapee · 45.4 per child
Safety
Safest#1 Deerfield · 2.1
#47 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Lebanon · 14 min
#79 The number on the right is Pelham’s spot. All of New Hampshire’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every NH list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.










