Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jaffrey's standout: it has 69 miles of trail and 30% conserved land. Overall it grades B+, 56th of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire. It is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. 31% of the land in Jaffrey is conserved, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 9 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score higher on cost of living. The biggest place to walk is Monadnock Reservation, 2,702 acres with 15.5 miles of trail.
Where Jaffrey beats most towns.
Jaffrey Center Historic District| Widest gap | Jaffrey | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 9.5% |
Census counts: 1,235 in 1790, 5,320 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 5 maps from 1898 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 Jaffrey is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jaffrey, 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 Jaffrey.
Its 7,783 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 88% of New Hampshire towns.
Walkers can cover 69 miles of trail in 28 parks and preserves. In Jaffrey, the trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile, against 1.2 in New Hampshire’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Parks and preserves here: 28, covering 5,670 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Monadnock Reservation | 15.5 mi | 2,702 |
| 2. Monadnock State Park | 9.7 mi | 989 |
| 3. Jaffrey Monadnock Lot | 4.2 mi | 251 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Conant Middle High School (H), with 336 students. The Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District runs its public schools. 3 public schools serve Jaffrey, with 827 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaffrey Grade SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 250 | B− |
| Conant Middle High School (H)Largest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 336 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Among adults in Jaffrey, 75% had a checkup this year. 29% of adults in the town have obesity; 8.6% have diabetes.
| Jaffrey | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 9.5% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Jaffrey | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 9.5% |
| More adults seeing a dentist | 73.1% | 68.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (40% statewide). Jaffrey has grown 5.7% since 2020, to 5,633 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of Jaffrey residents are under 18. New Hampshire has just over two in five adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 31%.
| Jaffrey | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 23% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.9 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 20% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Jaffrey | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.8% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.3% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.1% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.2% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.6% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.4% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.9% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.4% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.8% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.4% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Jaffrey’s typical July afternoon high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among 120 New Hampshire towns, just 5 have a lower rent at the middle of the market than Jaffrey. Values rose 2.5% in the 12 months to September 2026. The share of households in Jaffrey who live in a home they own: 82%.
| Jaffrey | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $962 a month | $1,393 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 82% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Only 8 of the 125 New Hampshire towns we compare have a higher level of violent crime than Jaffrey. New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Jaffrey sits closer to the middle. In Jaffrey, the level of property crime is 5.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Jaffrey | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In Jaffrey, the average trip to work is 25 minutes. One in 3 of the town’s working residents works locally. For residents here, the share who live below the poverty line is 3.8%. The median commute is under 10 miles.
| Jaffrey | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in Jaffrey than in 50% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Jaffrey break down as 65% from inland flooding and 9% from hurricanes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Jaffrey
About 3 of every 100 Jaffrey residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
30.5% of the town is conserved land, across 28 parks and preserves.
4 places in Jaffrey on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Jaffrey.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Jaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,320 at the 2020 census. The main village in town, where 3,058 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Jaffrey census-designated place (CDP) and is located along the Contoocook River at the junction of U.S. Route 202 with New Hampshire routes 124 and 137.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Jaffrey.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaffrey | #56 | B+ | B− | B | C+ | A |
| Dublin | — | — | C− | — | B− | A |
| Rindge | #54 | B+ | C− | A | C+ | A |
| Fitzwilliam | #118 | C− | C− | — | C− | A− |
| Troy | — | — | C+ | — | C− | A− |
| Marlborough | — | — | C | A | D | A− |
Dublin, Troy and Marlborough have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Dublin, Fitzwilliam and Troy report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Jaffrey with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Jaffrey grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #56 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A for health, B for safety and C+ for schools.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Jaffrey sits nearer the middle.
That is 4.9 years of the area's median household income ($83,329 across the Keene, NH area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
8 notable people were born here, including Oliver L. Spaulding and Leila Ernst.
