Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Holderness’ subject grades are an A for health, an A− for schools, and an A+ for history; the weakest is a D for cost of living. 31% of residents are 65 or older in Holderness, against 20% in New Hampshire’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 14 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns do worse. 23% of the land in Holderness is conserved, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Its National Register listings include Trinity Church and Webster Estate. Holderness's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 84% of U.S. towns. Holderness has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Holderness beats most towns.
Trinity Church| Widest gap | Holderness | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 76.8% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Holderness Central School | K–8 | 156 |
| White Mountain Montessori School | PK–K | 27 |
Census counts: 329 in 1790, a low of 329 in 1790, 2,004 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 3 maps from 1925 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Holderness is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Holderness, 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 Holderness.
29% of Holderness adults sleep under 7 hours. Among 127 New Hampshire towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Holderness. 10% of Holderness adults smoke cigarettes.
| Holderness | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Holderness | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.1% | 76.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.3% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Holderness School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holderness Central SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 156 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Holderness for work: only 15% work in town. Since 2013, Holderness has added 183 jobs, to 629 in 2023. 12% of residents live below the poverty line in Holderness.
| Holderness | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 9.4% | 16% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 10% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $108,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest place to walk is Burleigh Land LP Conservation Easement, 2,147 acres with 8.8 miles of trail. 41 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves. The trail density in Holderness is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Burleigh Land LP Conservation Easement | 8.8 mi | 2,147 |
| 2. Squam Lakes Natural Science Center | 2.7 mi | 209 |
| 3. Webster Ridge Conservation Easement | 1.6 mi | 475 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Holderness home is worth about $661,000, up 4.5% in a year, 29% above the New Hampshire typical home. Holderness’ median rent is $2,068 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Holderness has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 9° and about 68 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 75 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Holderness.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Holderness. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi MountainMount Washington
17 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
25 mi National forestWhite Mountain National Forest
30 mi Scenic railwayConway Scenic Railroad
14 mi Ski areaWaterville Valley Resort84 runs · 1,990 ft vertical
29 mi Ski areaCannon Mountain104 runs · 2,201 ft verticalMount Washington: wwoods, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · White Mountain National Forest: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Conway Scenic Railroad: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Waterville Valley Resort: MConradWard, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cannon Mountain: Mikespenard at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Holderness
About 3 of every 100 Holderness residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Where Holderness’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
11 places in Holderness on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Holderness is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,004 at the 2020 census. An agricultural and resort area, Holderness is home to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center and is located on Squam Lake. Holderness is also home to Holderness School, a co-educational college-preparatory boarding school.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Holderness.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holderness | — | — | D | B− | A− | A |
| Plymouth | #78 | B | C | B− | B+ | A |
| Ashland | — | — | C | C | B | B |
| Center Harbor | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
Holderness, Ashland and Center Harbor have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Center Harbor reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Holderness with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 7.9 years of the area's median household income ($83,269 across the Lebanon-Claremont, NH-VT area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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