Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hillsborough grades C+ overall, ranked 93rd of 125 in New Hampshire, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 44 miles of trail. On the other side, its schools rank behind 87% of the state's. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. Hillsborough’s average trip to work is 41 minutes, above both the New Hampshire town median (28 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Its National Register listings include Franklin Pierce Homestead and Contoocook Mills Industrial District.
Where Hillsborough beats most towns.
Franklin Pierce Homestead is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 798 in 1790, 5,939 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1884 and 4 maps from 1926 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Hillsborough is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hillsborough, 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 Hillsborough.
Hillsborough is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in New Hampshire; it also reports more crime than Antrim and its other graded neighbors and has commutes longer than most of New Hampshire.
Its public schools are run by the Hillsboro-Deering Cooperative School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hillsboro-Deering High School, with 334 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsboro-Deering Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 418 | C− |
| Hillsboro-Deering High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 334 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 2,987 working residents takes 41 minutes, against 26.7 across New Hampshire.
Most working residents leave Hillsborough for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Concord (12%), Manchester (9%) and Henniker (4%). Half commute less than 23 miles.
| Hillsborough | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $84,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 14% | 16% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Hillsborough home is worth about $375,000, about the same as a year ago, 27% below the New Hampshire typical home. 92% of households own their home in Hillsborough.
| Hillsborough | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 92% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,198 a month | $1,393 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Fox State Forest, at 1,462 acres with 19 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Hillsborough’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fox State Forest | 19 mi | 1,462 |
| 2. Low State Forest | 2.7 mi | 700 |
| 3. Riverwalk | 1.3 mi | 64 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Hillsborough is safe by national standards, yet each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Antrim (B+) to Bradford (A+).
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Hillsborough sits closer to the middle.
| Hillsborough | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within New Hampshire it is less healthy than 83% of the 126 graded towns: New Hampshire sets a high bar.
Hillsborough beats the New Hampshire average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 33% of Hillsborough adults feel lonely. Only 7 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Hillsborough.
| Hillsborough | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 20% | 25% |
| What stands out | Hillsborough | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.2% | 8.9% |
| More smokers | 13.2% | 10.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.4% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Hillsborough has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Hillsborough is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 30 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hillsborough.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hillsborough. Close and well known come first.
21 mi MountainMount Monadnock
14 mi Ski areaMount Sunapee77 runs · 1,469 ft vertical
27 mi Stadium & arenaSNHU Arena8 mi Ski areaPats Peak39 runs · 751 ft vertical
32 mi National Historical ParkSaint-Gaudens National Historical Park28K visitors a year
27 mi MuseumCanterbury Shaker VillageMount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mount Sunapee: User:Josephbrophy, Public domain · SNHU Arena: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canterbury Shaker Village: SayCheeeeeese, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hillsborough
About 3 of every 100 Hillsborough residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Where Hillsborough’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Hillsborough on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Hillsborough.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Hillsborough, frequently spelled Hillsboro, is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,939 at the 2020 census. The town is home to Fox State Forest and part of Low State Forest. The main village of the town, where 2,156 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Hillsborough census-designated place (CDP), and is located along the Contoocook River at the junction of New Hampshire Route 149 with Henniker Street and Main Street. The town also includes the villages of Hillsborough Center, Hillsborough Upper Village, Hillsborough Lower Village, and Emerald Lake Village.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Hillsborough.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough | #93 | C+ | C+ | B+ | D | B+ |
| Deering | — | — | B− | — | D | B+ |
| Henniker | #34 | A− | C+ | A− | B− | A |
| Windsor | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bradford | — | — | C | A+ | B | A |
| Antrim | #68 | B | C+ | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Washington | — | — | C | — | — | B+ |
Deering, Bradford and Washington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Deering and Washington report no FBI crime data of their own. Windsor isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Hillsborough with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hillsborough grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #93 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Hillsborough sits nearer the middle.
That is 3.6 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+.
14 notable people were born here, including Franklin Pierce and Wilson Bethel.
