Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,928, chartered in 1735. Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Trash & recyclingAlstead’s best subject grade is an A− for civic life; its weakest is a D for walkability. Alstead’s median age is 56 years, above both the New Hampshire town median (44.8 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Only 1 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score lower on walkability. Its National Register listings include Jewett-Kemp-Marlens House and Shedd-Porter Memorial Library. Alstead has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Alstead beats most towns.
Jewett-Kemp-Marlens House
Census counts: 1,111 in 1790, a low of 616 in 1930, 1,864 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 5 maps from 1927 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Alstead is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alstead, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 19, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Alstead.
Its public schools are run by the Fall Mountain Regional School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vilas Elementary SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 108 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Alstead for work: only 3% work in town. Alstead’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, above both New Hampshire’s towns (28 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Alstead’s median household income is $65,000.
| Alstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 12% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Alstead home is worth about $351,000, up 1.8% in a year, 31% below the New Hampshire typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Alstead beats the New Hampshire average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 76% of adults had a checkup this year in Alstead.
| Alstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Alstead | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.8% | 8.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 6.2% |
| More smokers | 13.7% | 10.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Alstead has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Alstead is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1987, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Alstead.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No town among the 126 in New Hampshire we compare has a lower property crime rate than Alstead. Alstead's reported crime rate is well below New Hampshire's. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025.
| Alstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
29 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Only 7 of the 127 New Hampshire towns we compare have a lower share of conserved land than Alstead. The biggest park or preserve is Alstead Conservation Land, at 295 acres.
| Alstead | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 18% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Vilas Pool Park | 0.8 mi | 37 |
| 2. Alstead Conservation Land | 0.1 mi | 295 |
| 3. Feuer State Forest | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Alstead
About 3 of every 100 Alstead residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Where Alstead’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Alstead on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Alstead.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Alstead () is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,864 at the 2020 census. Alstead is home to Feuer State Forest.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Alstead.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alstead | — | — | C | — | C− | B+ |
| Gilsum | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marlow | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Langdon | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Walpole | #94 | C+ | C− | A | C− | B+ |
| Surry | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Acworth | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Alstead has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Alstead reports no FBI crime data of its own. Gilsum, Marlow, Langdon, Surry and Acworth aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Alstead with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
That is 4.2 years of the area's median household income ($83,329 across the Keene, NH area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
Alstead was chartered in 1735 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 6 notable people were born here, including Samuel Thomson and Salma Hale.
