Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gorham's standout: it has 66 miles of trail and 46% conserved land. Overall it grades B−, 89th among New Hampshire's 125 graded towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with avalanches at the top. 46% of the land in Gorham is conserved, above both the New Hampshire town median (18%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Ice Gulch Town Forest, 1,111 acres with 1.8 miles of trail. Among 120 New Hampshire towns, just 1 have a lower median rent than Gorham.
Where Gorham beats most towns.
Census counts: 156 in 1840, 2,698 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1872 and 6 maps from 1893 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 Gorham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gorham, 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 Gorham.
Gorham keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Hampshire and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New Hampshire (mostly avalanches).
Its 9,540 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 96% of New Hampshire towns.
66 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. At 2.1 miles per square mile, Gorham’s trail density is above both New Hampshire’s towns (1.2) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Moose Brook State Park | 9.6 mi | 738 |
| 2. Ice Gulch Town Forest | 1.8 mi | 1,111 |
| 3. Appalachian National Scenic Trail | 0.4 mi | 56 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Gorham Randolph Shelburne Cooperative School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Fenn SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 143 | A− |
| Gorham High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 149 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Values fell 2.9% in the past year while the New Hampshire typical home rose 2.9%.
The typical Gorham home is worth about $248,000, 52% below the New Hampshire typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of New Hampshire towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Only 5 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Gorham. Since 1982, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gorham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 9,248 U.S. towns with household incomes like Gorham’s, it is healthier than 93%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within New Hampshire it is less healthy than 78% of the 126 graded towns: New Hampshire sets a high bar.
Gorham beats the New Hampshire average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Gorham. Only 7 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Gorham.
| Gorham | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Gorham | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.5% | 76.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.8% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Berlin weather station records that 82 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Berlin weather station records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Gorham has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Gorham is 79°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Gorham has about as many jobs (1,526) as working residents, but only 331 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Gorham’s working residents works in town. Gorham’s median household income is $61,000. The top destinations are Berlin (20%), Concord (6%) and Conway (5%).
| Gorham | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Gorham sits closer to the middle.
| Gorham | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 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
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gorham. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi MountainMount Washington
23 mi National forestWhite Mountain National Forest
24 mi Scenic railwayConway Scenic Railroad
19 mi Theme parkStory Land
29 mi Ski areaCannon Mountain104 runs · 2,201 ft vertical
18 mi LandmarkWilley House, New HampshireMount Washington: wwoods, CC BY-SA 3.0 · White Mountain National Forest: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Conway Scenic Railroad: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Story Land: AnotherMaker, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cannon Mountain: Mikespenard at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Willey House, New Hampshire: alans1948, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Gorham
About 7 of every 100 Gorham residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
46.4% of the town is conserved land, across 6 parks and preserves.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Gorham is a town in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,698 at the 2020 census. Gorham is located in the White Mountains, and parts of the White Mountain National Forest are in the south and northwest. Moose Brook State Park is in the west. Tourism is a principal business. It is part of the Berlin, NH-VT Micropolitan Statistical Area. The central village in Gorham, where 1,851 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Gorham census-designated place and is located between the two intersections of US 2 and NH 16, along the Androscoggin River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Gorham.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorham | #89 | B− | C+ | B− | C+ | B+ |
| Berlin | #124 | D− | C | C+ | D | C− |
| Randolph | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shelburne | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Randolph and Shelburne aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Gorham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gorham grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #89 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Gorham sits nearer the middle.
That is 4.3 years of the area's median household income ($57,677 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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