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Towns / New Hampshire

Boscawen, New Hampshire

Boscawen is a small town of about 4,300 people in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 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 75 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,255
up 6.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$286,500
Merrimack County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$77,328
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural New Hampshire
100.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Franklin, NH
To Boston
75 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.5% above the U.S. average in the parts of New Hampshire outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Csi Charter School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byConcord Hospital- Franklin in Franklin, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 75 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 Boscawen 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$286,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Merrimack County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,265 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$77,328U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,549 a yearNew Hampshire: $6,667
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.5U.S. average = 100 (the parts of New Hampshire outside metro areas)

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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New Hampshire outside metro areas, not Boscawen 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
4,2552020: 4,005
Median age
46 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
25%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (19%); retail (14%); government (12%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Concord Hospital- Franklin, Franklin, NH, about 10 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Concord Hospital- Laconia, Laconia, NH, about 18 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

2 public schools in Boscawen, run by Merrimack Valley School District. The nearest public high school is Csi Charter School, about 4 miles away.

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
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
85%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
13°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
7 a year
Nights at or below freezing
171 a year
Rain and melted snow
42 inches a year
Snow
68 inches a year
Elevation
660 feet

Weather stations: Salisbury (5 miles away) and Concord Muni Ap (12 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Concord Hospital- Franklin, Manchester, Boston.

Merrimack County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail36 miles
  • Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park37 miles
  • Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park48 miles
  • Lowell National Historical Park49 miles
  • Minute Man National Historical Park59 miles

Read about Boscawen's history on Wikipedia.

Know Boscawen?

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.