Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Chichester grades B+ overall, ranked 65th of 125 in New Hampshire. It is healthier than 91% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $109K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $553K for a typical one and 5.7 times the Concord area’s $97K median household income. Chichester’s median rent is $2,055 a month, above both New Hampshire’s towns ($1,382 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Only 8 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score lower on civic life. Pineground Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Chichester beats most towns.
Census counts: 491 in 1790, a low of 491 in 1790, 2,665 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2013 and a map from 1986 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 Chichester is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chichester, 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 Chichester.
Chichester has added half again as many jobs in ten years and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of New Hampshire; it also reports more crime than Pembroke and its other graded neighbors.
28% of adults feel lonely in Chichester. Chichester beats the New Hampshire average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 18% of adults get no exercise outside work in Chichester.
| Chichester | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 20% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 9.5% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Chichester | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 9.5% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 71.9% | 68.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Chichester School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chichester Central SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 192 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests
Jobs based here grew from 537 in 2013 to 814.
Most working residents leave Chichester for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Chichester grew to 814 in 2023, 277 more than in 2013. Chichester’s average trip to work is 30 minutes.
| Chichester | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.8% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons average 82°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 78% of New Hampshire places with climate records; January nights average 13°.
Chichester has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Chichester is 13°F. About 68 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Chichester | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 13°F | 13°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 81°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Chichester is safe by national standards, yet each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Pembroke (A−) to Loudon (A). Reported crimes fell from 37 to 17 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Chichester sits closer to the middle.
| Chichester | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
17 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 9 have a lower share of conserved land than Chichester. The biggest park or preserve is Chichester Town Forest, at 122 acres.
| Chichester | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.6% | 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. Carpenter Memorial Park | 1.1 mi | 35 |
| 2. Madeline Sanborn Conservation Area | 0.6 mi | 29 |
| 3. Chichester Town Forest | — | 122 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (40% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (21% statewide). Chichester has grown 6.3% since 2020, to 2,834 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 41% across New Hampshire.
| Chichester | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 43 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 39% | 29% |
45% women, 55% men
About 124 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.5 points). Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women. Among residents 25 to 34, 76% are men (NH 52%).
| Chichester | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.5% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.3% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.6% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.6% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.6% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.9% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.4% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.1% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,800, single groups can be off by several points
The typical Chichester home is worth about $553,000, up 1.7% in a year, 8% above the New Hampshire typical home. 86% of Chichester households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Chichester since 2007.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chichester. Close and well known come first.
23 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
31 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
34 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
8 mi MuseumCanterbury Shaker Village
20 mi Stadium & arenaSNHU Arena
7 mi MuseumMcAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center50K visitors a yearLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Canterbury Shaker Village: SayCheeeeeese, Public domain · SNHU Arena: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center: Starhop, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Chichester
About 4 of every 100 Chichester residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Where Chichester’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Chichester.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Chichester is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,665 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Chichester.
Pittsfield next door grades lower for schools (C− to Chichester’s B) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chichester | #65 | B+ | D | B | B | A |
| Pittsfield | #101 | C+ | C | A− | C− | B |
| Loudon | #52 | B+ | C | A | B− | B+ |
| Epsom | #38 | A− | C | A− | B | A |
| Pembroke | #92 | C+ | C | A− | B− | B |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Chichester grades B+ overall, better than 65% of U.S. towns and #65 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A for health, B for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Chichester sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including Jonathan Pearson and Samuel Porter Putnam.
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