Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Grafton’s best subject grades are an A+ for safety and an A− for health; its weakest is a D for walkability. Grafton’s average trip to work is 43 minutes, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 28 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 11 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score lower on walkability. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 81% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. The biggest place to walk is Grafton Pond Reservation, 908 acres with 2.1 miles of trail. Grafton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Grafton beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Grafton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 403 in 1790, a low of 348 in 1960, 1,385 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 4 maps from 1927 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Grafton, 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 Grafton.
Grafton’s violent crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents, below both the New Hampshire town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). Grafton’s property crime rate is 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Grafton | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Grafton home is worth about $306,000, about the same as a year ago, 40% below the New Hampshire typical home.
| Grafton | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,243 a month | $1,388 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Grafton beats the New Hampshire average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 75% of adults had a checkup this year in Grafton.
| Grafton | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Grafton | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.7% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Among 127 New Hampshire towns, just 6 have a higher FEMA risk score than Grafton.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No town among the 127 in New Hampshire we compare has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Grafton. The top destinations are Lebanon (14%), Bristol (8%) and Concord (6%). Half commute less than 19 miles.
| Grafton | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 0.8% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Grafton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Grafton is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Grafton | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 18% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grafton Pond Reservation | 2.1 mi | 908 |
| 2. Blodgett Forest | 0.2 mi | 114 |
| 3. McDaniels Marsh Wildlife Management Area | — | 88 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Grafton. Close and well known come first.
32 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
18 mi Ski areaMount Sunapee77 runs · 1,469 ft vertical
34 mi Ski areaWaterville Valley Resort84 runs · 1,990 ft vertical
39 mi WaterfallFlume Gorge
36 mi Ski areaLoon Mountain Resort80 runs · 2,189 ft vertical
8 mi Ski areaRagged Mountain Resort42 runs · 1,103 ft verticalLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · Mount Sunapee: User:Josephbrophy, Public domain · Waterville Valley Resort: MConradWard, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Flume Gorge: MyCatIsAChonk, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Loon Mountain Resort: Own work, Public domain · Ragged Mountain Resort: Tom Morgan, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Grafton
About 5 of every 100 Grafton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
Where Grafton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Grafton.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Grafton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,385 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
3 notable people were born here, including Monroe Heath and Cyrus A. Sulloway.
.jpg){kind=link}
_east_side_from_Elbow_Pond.jpg){kind=link}