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Towns / New Hampshire

Lincoln, New Hampshire

Lincoln is a tourist town of about 1,700 people in Grafton County, New Hampshire. It has grown about 2% since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Boston, is about 125 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
1,664
up 2.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$342,000
Grafton County prices up 31% since 2022
Prices, rural New Hampshire
100.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
18 miles
Littleton, NH
To Boston
125 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Lincoln to say.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byLittleton Regional Healthcare in Littleton, about 18 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 125 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 Lincoln 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

Tourist town. About 73% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

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
$342,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 31%Grafton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,143 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,984 a yearNew Hampshire: $6,667
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
73%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 Lincoln 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
1,6642020: 1,630
Median age
46.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
28%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
39%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%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 (12%); finance, insurance and real estate (12%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Littleton Regional Healthcare, Littleton, NH, about 18 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Concord Hospital- Laconia, Laconia, NH, about 40 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

3 public schools in Lincoln, run by Lincoln-Woodstock Cooperative 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
83%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.

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: Littleton Regional Healthcare, 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail2 miles
  • Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park54 miles
  • Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park55 miles

Read about Lincoln's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lincoln?

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

  • Easton, NH298 people, 8 miles
  • Benton, NH357 people, 11 miles
  • Sugar Hill, NH687 people, 12 miles
  • Landaff, NH438 people, 13 miles
  • Waterville Valley, NH515 people, 14 miles
  • Warren, NH823 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.