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Sunapee, New Hampshire

Sunapee is a tourist town of about 3,400 people in Sullivan County, New Hampshire. It has grown about 3% 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 91 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
3,442
up 2.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$393,000
Sullivan County prices up 28% since 2022
Household income
$101,393
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural New Hampshire
100.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
New London, NH
To Boston
91 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 neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byNew London Hospital in New London, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 91 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 Sunapee 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 40% 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
$393,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 28%Sullivan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,713 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$101,393U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$4,400 a yearNew Hampshire: $6,667
Homes built before 1940
23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
40%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 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of New Hampshire outside metro areas, not Sunapee 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
3,4422020: 3,349
Median age
56.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
33%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
10%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
51%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 (41%); manufacturing (19%); retail (8%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: New London Hospital, New London, NH, about 5 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, Lebanon, NH, about 19 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 Sunapee, run by Sunapee 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
79%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
2 a year
Nights at or below freezing
152 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.5 inches a year
Snow
85 inches a year
Elevation
1,160 feet

Weather station: Mt Sunapee (4 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: New London Hospital, Manchester, Boston.

Sullivan County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, 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:

  • Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park16 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail22 miles
  • Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park27 miles

Read about Sunapee's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sunapee?

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

  • Croydon, NH876 people, 6 miles
  • Goshen, NH809 people, 8 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.