The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.3% above the U.S. average in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood14 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town5 public schools: 2 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
- A hospital close byWentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 54 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 Durham 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
College town. About 55% of residents are college students, with University of New Hampshire-Main Campus in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.
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
- $504,300U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 27%Strafford County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,429 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $124,056U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 64%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $10,000 or more a yearNew Hampshire: $6,667
- Homes built before 1940
- 14%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 22%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 3%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 108.3U.S. average = 100 (the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 27% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area, not Durham 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
- 15,3462020: 15,564
- Median age
- 20.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 12%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 10%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 75%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 28%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 55%share of all residents
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 (32%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (20%); professional and business services (13%)
- Unemployment rate
- 4%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 19%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 15%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Dover, NH, about 7 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 Durham, run by Oyster River Coop School District and Newmarket School District.
Colleges in or next to town: University of New Hampshire-Main Campus (10,000 to 19,999 students).
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
- 79%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 86%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
- 81°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 8 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 155 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 45.4 inches a year
- Snow
- 39 inches a year
- Elevation
- 51 feet
Weather stations: Durham 2 SSW (2 miles away) and Durham (2 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: Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Haverhill, Boston.
Strafford County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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, including the Gen. John Sullivan House and the Durham Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Lowell National Historical Park38 miles
- Salem Maritime National Historical Park41 miles
- Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site45 miles
- Minute Man National Historical Park49 miles
- Boston National Historical Park51 miles
Campus life. Check University of New Hampshire-Main Campus's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about Durham's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Newmarket, NH9,600 people, 3 miles
- Madbury, NH1,900 people, 4 miles
- Lee, NH4,600 people, 4 miles
- Dover, NH35,000 people, 5 miles
- Newfields, NH1,800 people, 6 miles
- Greenland, NH4,100 people, 6 miles
Smaller places
- Newington, NH847 people, 5 miles
- New Castle, NH997 people, 11 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.