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Towns / New Hampshire

Amherst, New Hampshire

Amherst is a suburb of about 12,000 people in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, in the Nashua area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Boston, is about 47 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Nashua

Population
11,985
up 2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$537,600
Hillsborough County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$153,196
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Manchester area
105.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Nashua, NH
To Boston
47 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.7% above the U.S. average in the Manchester-Nashua metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySt. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 47 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Amherst meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Amherst runs into the built-up area around Nashua (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$537,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Hillsborough County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,462 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$153,196U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
92%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$9,773 a yearNew Hampshire: $6,667
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
105.7U.S. average = 100 (the Manchester-Nashua metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Manchester-Nashua metro area, not Amherst alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
11,9852020: 11,755
Median age
45.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
66%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (22%); professional and business services (21%); manufacturing (15%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
32%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

5 public schools in Amherst, run by Amherst School District and Merrimack School District.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Hampshire's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
93%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
98%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
14°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
11 a year
Nights at or below freezing
159 a year
Rain and melted snow
46 inches a year
Snow
57 inches a year
Elevation
294 feet

Weather station: Milford (3 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, Boston.

Hillsborough County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Amherst Village Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lowell National Historical Park21 miles
  • Minute Man National Historical Park30 miles
  • Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site41 miles
  • Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site42 miles
  • Boston National Historical Park44 miles

Read about Amherst's history on Wikipedia.

Know Amherst?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.