Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Francestown’s best subject grades are an A+ for history and an A for the outdoors; its weakest is a D for walkability. 33% of the land in Francestown is conserved, against 18% in New Hampshire’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Old County Road South Historic District and Levi Woodbury Homestead. Francestown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Francestown beats most towns.
Census counts: 982 in 1790, a low of 342 in 1940, 1,610 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 4 maps from 1900 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Francestown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Francestown, 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 Francestown.
Francestown’s concentration of trails is 1.9 miles per square mile, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 1.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. 58 miles of trail wind through 16 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Crotched Mountain Town Forest, 856 acres with 9 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crotched Mountain Town Forest | 9 mi | 856 |
| 2. Rand Brook Forest | 2.6 mi | 502 |
| 3. Fisher Hill Town Forest | 2.3 mi | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The public schools here belong to the Contoocook Valley School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francestown Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 41 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
0.9% of Francestown working residents work locally. No town among the 127 in New Hampshire we compare has a higher average commute than Francestown. Jobs based in Francestown grew to 130 in 2023, 29 more than in 2013. For Francestown, the middle household income is $104,000.
| Francestown | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 42 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.9% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $104,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.2% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The share of adults in Francestown who have diabetes: 12%. The town beats the New Hampshire average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. Among 127 New Hampshire towns, just 8 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Francestown.
| Francestown | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 78% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Francestown | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.7% | 76.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.8% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Francestown’s midsummer high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Of the 125 New Hampshire towns we compare, none has a lower property offense rate than Francestown. Francestown's reported crime rate is well below New Hampshire's. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2024.
| Francestown | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.5 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Of the losses FEMA expects in Francestown, 73% come from inland flooding and 11% from hurricanes. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in three fifths of U.S. communities. Federal aid has come to Francestown households in 13 declared disasters; the latest was in 2015.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
95% of households own their home in Francestown. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 7.8% in value. Also worth knowing: the going rate for rent for Francestown comes to $1,358 a month.
| Francestown | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 95% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,358 a month | $1,388 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Francestown. Close and well known come first.
17 mi MountainMount Monadnock
33 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
32 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
18 mi Stadium & arenaSNHU Arena4 mi Ski areaCrotched Mountain Ski & Ride22 runs · 881 ft vertical
27 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 Francestown
About 3 of every 100 Francestown residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Where Francestown’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Francestown on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Francestown.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Francestown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,610 at the 2020 census. The village of Francestown, population 201 in 2020, is in the center of the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Francestown.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francestown | — | — | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Bennington | — | — | C+ | A | B− | B+ |
| Greenfield | — | — | B− | — | B− | B+ |
| New Boston | #12 | A | C+ | A+ | A | A |
| Deering | — | — | B− | — | D | B+ |
| Weare | #74 | B | C− | A | C− | A |
Francestown, Bennington, Greenfield and Deering have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Francestown, Greenfield and Deering report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Francestown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.1 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.
7 notable people were born here, including Levi Woodbury and Sylvester H. Roper.
