2023 Best Places to Live in Merrimack County

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.86 out of 5  36 reviews

Current Resident: Lived in Bow for a year and am so happy we got in here. We have a young child and I feel good about where we will be raising our family. It’s nice to be in a small town community with a quick 15 min (less than 10 for us) drive to both Concord and Hooksett both ways. Library is great for kids with so many activities and the park is so quiet and a great spot for older and little kids. Haven’t experienced schools yet but I have made friends with older children who love them. We are also possibly getting a new microbrewery/ restaurant in town and I’d love to see more of those types of places pop up!... Read 36 reviews

• grade A

• grade A minus

• Population 8,227

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 4 out of 5  5 reviews

Current Resident: Canterbury is very community-oriented, small town vibes but is close to cities to run errands. It has beautiful landscapes, great area to raise kids.... Read 5 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade B minus

• Population 2,280

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.89 out of 5  18 reviews

Current Resident: Dunbarton has to be one of the best towns ever. The small population and quiet life are very pleasing. I love being in a town where everyone connects with each other and work together as a team. I also love the small shops that exist in this town.... Read 18 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade A

• Population 3,006

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 4.17 out of 5  18 reviews

Current Resident: Hopkinton is a great town to live in and grow up in. For a kid, it really encourages you to enjoy the simple life and spend time outdoors. I love walking, running, and biking the neighborhoods. There are no bad parts of town as far as I know. Getting involved in sports is common, great library, and great hiking trails. Right off the highway to ski mountains and Vermont. Not too far from Manchester, Portsmouth, and Boston. It is nice living right near Concord.... Read 18 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade A minus

• Population 5,941

• Suburb of Manchester, NH

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  Rating 3.53 out of 5  15 reviews

Current Resident: Hooksett is a great are to live. Close enough to downtown Manchester and the capital Concord yet far enough to have privacy. Hooksett has many small business owners and it is very friendly and save.... Read 15 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade B+

• Population 5,906

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.78 out of 5  189 reviews

Former Resident: Concord is great and very safe. Great place for families and those interested in the outdoors. Not a lot of night life, and most places close early, but that's not always a bad thing! The public schools are plentiful and it is a great system, but there are also a number of private schools available. Close to the White Mountains and about an hour outside of Boston, so if you are looking to go to a game or experience a higher volume of night life it's not far away. Alternatively, Manchester NH is only about 20 minutes away and also offers more nightlife, but it not as safe as concord.... Read 189 reviews

• grade B+

• grade B+

• Population 43,552

• Suburb of Manchester, NH

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  Rating 3.94 out of 5  36 reviews

Current Resident: Friendly community, great schools and education, caring neighbors, and recreational areas for the park. Hooksett is a magnificent place to raise a family and to grow up as a kid! It's close driving distance to Boston, the beach, and more places such as The White Mountains. It's quiet but active in terms of community support, with groups on Facebook for Hooksett residents. It would be better if there was more diversity and more night/life, but I feel this isn't the place for people to discover new restaurants, go to parties, etc. It's mostly a nice little town that is good to grow up in.... Read 36 reviews

• grade B+

• grade B+

• Population 14,772

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.91 out of 5  34 reviews

Current Resident: Small Town vibes, nice friendly welcoming people, beautiful places to walk, hike, bike, swim, ect. Ski area, local amazing eateries, epic Autumn views with astounding colors. Covered bridges, stone arch bridges, New England College, cozy bed and breakfast, hometown hotel and Inn. Relatively close to just about anywhere, 30 minutes or so gets you somewhere else amazing. Back roads can take you on amazing nature trips discovering little known hidden gems in our forest, waterfalls, walkways, marshlands, natural beauty isn't far.... Read 34 reviews

• grade B+

• grade B minus

• Population 5,671

• Suburb of Manchester, NH

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  Rating 3.38 out of 5  8 reviews

Current Resident: Allenstown is a very small town in the forest-y area of New Hampshire. It is great for the elderly who want to live a life close to home. We have almost everything within a 20-minute drive. Fast food, grocery stores, gas stations, libraries, retail stores, you name it. It's wonderful for adults to be able to see each other a few times at the local Sully's Superette and feel like you know them closely. Allenstown is also great for children, as neighbors live close to each other, making it easy for children to really feel at home. Allenstown politics are a little touchy, sometimes things that were planned on happening do not, which can cause an uproar with the faithful taxpayers. All in all, Allenstown is a cute, little place to live, full of friendly faces.... Read 8 reviews

• grade B minus

• grade C

• Population 4,704

• Suburb of Manchester, NH

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  Rating 3.53 out of 5  30 reviews

Former Resident: I lived in Suncook for many years. I relocated due to work, but if I have the opportunity, I'd buy another house here. The history of the downtown area is just incredible. I wish more people knew about it - the connection with historic giants like Lafayette and Louis Riel, etc. The Meet Me in Suncook organization works hard to keep the area alive and I hope they are successful.... Read 30 reviews

• grade B minus

• grade C+

• Population 5,008

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.5 out of 5  20 reviews

Current Resident: I have lived here my entire life, on separate halves of the town, and personally my experience has been amazing. The community is so tight knit that you know almost everybody who lives near you, and neighbors are extremely kind and actually neighbor-like. It is also extremely easy to make friends. the night life is very quiet, making it easy to go outside and enjoy the silence.... Read 20 reviews

• grade B minus

• grade C

• Population 4,895

• Suburb of Manchester, NH

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  Rating 3.35 out of 5  17 reviews

Current Resident: The schools in Pembroke do well sports wise and academically wise. But, the school board administration has been extremely bad at managing money, so this caused the taxes to rise very high. It is a fairly quiet town after dark, and the people in the community are very nice and welcoming. The whole town gets together every year and we have Old Home Day, a day where everyone can just have fun and socialize. Its a small town feel, and everyone knows everyone.... Read 17 reviews

• grade B minus

• grade C+

• Population 7,298

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 4 out of 5  10 reviews

Visitor: Boscawen is a nice little town in New Hampshire. It has a lot of places like to go, like Alans resturant, Black Forest Nursery and The Hannah Duston Memorial Site. Its community is a lot like it's neighbor's (Penacook), everyone acts like they know one another. I live in Penacook so I see on a daily basis what Boscawen is like.... Read 10 reviews

• grade C+

• grade C+

• Population 3,947

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.22 out of 5  37 reviews

Current Resident: I love being close to the downtown. New restaurants and recreation has sprung up in the last few years. I feel safe and that I am a part of my community. I contribute to my church as a worship leader and my kids soccer team as an assistant coach. The roads are walkable, the rail trail is clean and safe, and the locals are friendly!... Read 37 reviews

• grade C

• grade D minus

• Population 8,766

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.75 out of 5  4 reviews

Current Resident: Small town but well run. Where the lake meets the mountain, people are friendly, locals don’t want change but change is inevitable, a happy medium will be found.... Read 4 reviews

• grade A+

• grade A minus

• Population 1,912

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.83 out of 5  18 reviews

Current Resident: Many businesses close fairly early. An international restaurant would be lovely someday. Overall, not very diverse but an extremely kind and welcoming community!... Read 18 reviews

• grade A

• grade A minus

• Population 4,301

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 5 out of 5  1 review

Current Resident: Sutton is a fantastic town. Though it doesn't really have a "center", the people are really nice. It contains a few beautiful lakes and Kearsarge Mountain. Which is a very pleasant hike. Sutton is a very nice place to live and visit.... Read 1 review

• grade A

• grade A minus

• Population 2,147

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 5 out of 5  1 review

Former Resident: Wilmot, NH is a very small town in the lakes region. It is my favorite town because of the pure beauty. Wilmot is the home to two of my favorite mountains; Mt. Kearsarge and Bog Mountain. I have hiked Mt. Kearsarge over 100 times and every time the view takes my breath away. 360 degree views, on a clear day you can see the white mountains, Mt. Sunapee, lake Sunapee and many other natural land marks. The natural beauty of Wilmot, NH is better than any other that I have seen.... Read 1 review

• grade A

• grade A minus

• Population 1,512

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.87 out of 5  30 reviews

Current Resident: Epsom is an extremely safe and welcoming town in New Hampshire. The library in the town acts as an extremely supportive community center whether you read or not. The locals are extremely willing to help and give information whenever possible. Our police officers are incredible at keeping us safe and also love to help participate in fundraisers to help the community. The food pantry is extremely good at what they do and the community is extremely helpful and donates a lot to the pantry. At the holidays the library and local elementary and middle school holds a wishing tree to help support less fortunate families and it is an amazing event. Overall, Epsom is a town worth living in.... Read 30 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade B

• Population 4,843

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.33 out of 5  3 reviews

Current Resident: Bradfrord is a fairly quiet town in New Hampshire. It has plenty of hiking, wildlife, and lakes to enjoy. Yet its not but a 10 minute drive to the interstate where you can easily get to lebanon, or concords stores. Bradford is great for people looking for a small town community feeling with community activities like music at the town meeting house or fourth of july fireworks, food trucks, and library events for kids.... Read 3 reviews

• grade B+

• grade A minus

• Population 1,543

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 4.2 out of 5  10 reviews

Current Resident: I just recently moved to Warner, but have known of it for sometime, and so far have not experienced anything bad. In my area alone, we have a very cute soccer field that opens up to an old rail trail that goes on for some miles. Both are very busy and almost always have a walker or a family and dog running in the field. Not being too far from exit 8 makes it easy to get to Concord. The center town of Warner is also about 2 minutes by car. Unfortunately, because of COVID a lot has changed it. But its otherwise a great town to walk around and have lunch in. And don't forget the Warner Fall Foliage Festival in October! That's the BEST time to be in Warner. Not to mention all the other little town events that we have throughout the year either.... Read 10 reviews

• grade B+

• grade A minus

• Population 2,923

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 5 out of 5  2 reviews

Current Resident: The school is unlike any other I’ve ever experienced. The staff go over and beyond for the students. For a tiny little school, they have everything (and more!) a big school has to offer... with more one on one attention. Highly recommend to any family with young kids.... Read 2 reviews

• grade B

• grade B

• Population 819

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3.57 out of 5  14 reviews

Current Resident: Chichester is a wonderful family friendly town with many farms. My family has lived her for over 200 years. There are high taxes in our town because of all the beautiful views, the rural atmosphere, and the close proximity to our state's capitol. This town is only an hour from Boston and many people commute to work. We have a wonderful school in town that serves kindergarten through 8th grade. This school is one of the best in the state.... Read 14 reviews

• grade B

• grade B+

• Population 2,677

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 3 out of 5  1 review

• grade B

• grade B

• Population 2,558

• Town in New Hampshire

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  Rating 4.33 out of 5  3 reviews

Current Resident: I have just recently moved to Contoocook from another small, but much worse, town in Vermont. Overall this town has been absolutely amazing since I've moves here and I would definitely recommend living here to everyone!... Read 3 reviews

• grade B

• grade A minus

• Population 1,218