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Towns / New Hampshire

Lebanon, New Hampshire

Lebanon is a small town of about 15,500 people in Grafton County, New Hampshire. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.9 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 109 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
15,481
up 8.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$385,400
Grafton County prices up 31% since 2022
Household income
$98,147
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural New Hampshire
100.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital
To Boston
109 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 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood21 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 17.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 109 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 Lebanon 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
$385,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 31%Grafton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,744 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$98,147U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
51%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$8,149 a yearNew Hampshire: $6,667
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
9%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 31% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New Hampshire outside metro areas, not Lebanon 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
15,4812020: 14,309
Median age
38.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
57%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
13%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%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 (46%); professional and business services (12%); retail (8%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
23%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, Lebanon, NH, in town. It's a general hospital. 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

5 public schools in Lebanon, run by Lebanon School District and Ledyard Charter School.

Colleges in or next to town: Dartmouth College (5,000 to 9,999 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
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%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
9°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
163 a year
Rain and melted snow
40.1 inches a year
Snow
61 inches a year
Elevation
607 feet

Weather stations: Lebanon Muni Ap (3 miles away) and Hanover (5 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: Manchester, Boston.

Grafton County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, 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 Colburn Park Historic District (Additional Documentation) and Colburn Park Historic District (Boundary Increase).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail4 miles
  • Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park11 miles
  • Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park13 miles

Campus life. Check Dartmouth College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Lebanon's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lebanon?

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

Smaller places

  • Pomfret, VT940 people, 14 miles
  • Croydon, NH876 people, 14 miles

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.