Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Bennington’s subject grades are an A for safety and history and an A− for the outdoors; the weakest is a C for walkability. Bennington’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 28 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare, none has a lower property crime rate than Bennington. Bennington Village Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Bennington has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Bennington beats most towns.
Where Bennington’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Bennington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 541 in 1850, 1,501 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bennington, 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 Bennington.
Bennington’s violent crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents, against 0.7 in New Hampshire’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Contoocook Valley School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 55 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
The typical Bennington home is worth about $335,000, about the same as a year ago, 34% below the New Hampshire typical home.
| Bennington | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 74% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,292 a month | $1,388 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Bennington for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Bennington has added 58 jobs, to 426 in 2023. The top destinations are Peterborough (10%), Manchester (8%) and Concord (8%).
| Bennington | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $84,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bennington tracks New Hampshire closely on all 32 CDC measures. 33% of Bennington adults feel lonely.
| Bennington | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 20% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bennington has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Bennington is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 26% of residents (18% statewide); people 65 and older are 15% of residents (20% statewide). Among 127 New Hampshire towns, just 4 have a higher share of children under 18 than Bennington. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 41% across New Hampshire.
| Bennington | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.1 years | 44.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 39% | 29% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.4 points. Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 73% are men (NH 49%).
| Bennington | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.1% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.9% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.2% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.2% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.8% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.7% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.3% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.3% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.8% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.8% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,500, single groups can be off by several points
14 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Bennington’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Bruce Edes Memorial Forest, at 29 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bruce Edes Memorial Forest | 0.2 mi | 29 |
| 2. Sawyer Memorial Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Bennington Town Beach | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bennington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bennington. Close and well known come first.
15 mi MountainMount Monadnock
37 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
37 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
22 mi Stadium & arenaSNHU Arenain town Ski areaCrotched Mountain Ski & Ride22 runs · 881 ft vertical
23 mi Ski areaMount Sunapee77 runs · 1,469 ft verticalMount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · SNHU Arena: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Mount Sunapee: User:Josephbrophy, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bennington
About 3 of every 100 Bennington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Bennington is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,501 at the 2020 census. The main village of the town, where 338 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Bennington census-designated place (CDP) and is located on the Contoocook River at the intersection of New Hampshire routes 31 and 47.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Bennington.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennington | — | — | C+ | A | B− | B+ |
| Antrim | #68 | B | C+ | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Francestown | — | — | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Hancock | — | — | C | — | B− | A |
| Deering | — | — | B− | — | D | B+ |
| Greenfield | — | — | B− | — | B− | B+ |
Bennington, Francestown, Hancock, Deering and Greenfield have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Francestown, Hancock, Deering and Greenfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bennington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.2 years of the area's median household income ($103,545 across the Manchester-Nashua, 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 C+.
