Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Atkinson earns an A+, 7th of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire. It reports less crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, it is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns, and the median household earns $146K. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. Atkinson’s median age is 57.1 years, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 44.6 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. Only 6 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score higher on hazard risk. Atkinson Academy School is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Atkinson beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Atkinson | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5% | 8.9% |
Census counts: 479 in 1790, a low of 407 in 1930, 7,087 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1784 and 6 maps from 1935 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Atkinson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Atkinson. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
2 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
Big draw35 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
29 mi LakeWalden Pond
34 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
5 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake ParkFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Atkinson, 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 Atkinson.
Atkinson carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of New Hampshire (mostly inland flooding), reports less crime than Hampstead or any other graded neighbor and sends many workers across the state line to Haverhill.
18 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. Atkinson’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. Schafer Woods, at 144 acres with 1.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sawyer Conservation Area | 2 mi | 143 |
| 2. Schafer Woods | 1.9 mi | 144 |
| 3. Caroline Orr Town Forest | 1 mi | 45 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Timberlane Regional School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atkinson AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 364 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Its A+ tops all 4 graded towns on its borders; Hampstead (A) comes closest.
The property crime rate in Atkinson is 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Atkinson | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 4.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with New Hampshire is tooth loss: 5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 8.9% statewide. Against the 3,018 U.S. towns with household incomes like Atkinson’s, it is healthier than 68%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
27% of Atkinson adults feel lonely. Atkinson beats the New Hampshire average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 14% of Atkinson adults report frequent mental distress.
| Atkinson | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Atkinson | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5% | 8.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.2% | 9.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.4% | 9.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of New Hampshire towns, with expected losses of about $151 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Only 6 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare have a lower FEMA risk score than Atkinson. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Atkinson since 1984.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
37% of working residents cross a state line to work, Haverhill among the top destinations. Jobs based here grew from 1,028 in 2013 to 1,341.
Most working residents leave Atkinson for work: only 5% work in town. 1.8% of residents live below the poverty line in Atkinson. Since 2013, Atkinson has added 313 jobs, to 1,341 in 2023.
| Atkinson | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $146,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.8% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.4% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Atkinson home is worth about $650,000, about the same as a year ago, 27% above the New Hampshire typical home.
| Atkinson | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,140 a month | $1,393 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Haverhill weather station, 8 miles away, records that 58 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 83% of New Hampshire places with climate records.
Atkinson has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 27% of residents (20% statewide); children under 18 are 14% of residents (18% statewide). Atkinson has grown 4.3% since 2020, to 7,397 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 43% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 41% across New Hampshire.
| Atkinson | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 27% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 14% | 18% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 43% | 39% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4 points. Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Atkinson | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.3% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.8% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.7% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.1% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.9% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.6% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 25.2% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.7% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.7% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.7% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.6% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.1% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4 within 15 miles of the center of Atkinson
About 6 of every 100 Atkinson residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
18.5% of the town is conserved land, across 19 parks and preserves.
4 notable people were born in Atkinson.
Place in New Hampshire, United States
Atkinson is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2020 census. It is located 34 miles north of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston region.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Atkinson.
At #7 in NH, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Hampstead (A) comes closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Atkinson grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #7 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A for health, A+ for safety and B for schools.
That is 5.6 years of the area's median household income ($115,863 across the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
4 notable people were born here, including Karoline Leavitt and John Noyes.
