Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Merrimack grades B+ overall, 47th among New Hampshire's 125 graded towns. The median household earns $127K. It reports less crime per resident than 94% of U.S. towns and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 93% of the country. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $527K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Manchester metro’s $104K median household income. Merrimack’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile, against 1.2 in New Hampshire’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Merrimack is home to Thomas More College of Liberal Arts. On the outdoors, just 17 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns do better.
Where Merrimack beats most towns.
Census counts: 819 in 1790, 26,632 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 5 maps from 1905 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Merrimack is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 14%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Merrimack. Close and well known come first.
30 mi LakeWalden Pond
30 mi MountainMount Monadnock
16 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
39 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard Stadium
15 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
40 mi Stadium & arenaAlumni StadiumWalden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Alumni Stadium: Quintinsoloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Merrimack, 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 Merrimack.
Merrimack sees little violent crime and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of New Hampshire.
57 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. Horse Hill Nature Preserve, at 592 acres with 12.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Horse Hill Nature Preserve | 12.7 mi | 592 |
| 2. Grater Woods | 12.2 mi | 574 |
| 3. Fields Farm Conservation Area | 7.2 mi | 96 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Merrimack School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Mastricola Upper Elementary SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 533 | B− |
| Merrimack High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,057 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 6 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
Merrimack’s violent crime rate is 0.2 per 1,000 residents, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 1.6. The property crime rate in Merrimack is 3.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Merrimack | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Merrimack. Merrimack beats the New Hampshire average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 9.2% of adults smoke cigarettes in Merrimack.
| Merrimack | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 11% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 9.5% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Merrimack | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.2% | 9.5% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.2% | 6.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Nashua 2 Nnw weather station, 5 miles away, records that 53 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 92% of New Hampshire places with climate records. January nights average 14.6°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 85% of New Hampshire places with climate records; July afternoons average 83.8°.
Merrimack has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 3 have a higher July high than Merrimack. Merrimack’s January low is 15°F.
| Merrimack | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 15°F | 13°F | 22°F |
| July high | 84°F | 81°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Merrimack for work: only 17% work in town. 3% of Merrimack residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Merrimack has added 1,510 jobs, to 17,827 in 2023.
| Merrimack | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $127,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 21% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Hampshire average. Merrimack has grown 12% since 2020, to 29,699 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 50% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 41% across New Hampshire.
| Merrimack | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 50% | 39% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 22% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.5 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.5 points. Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Merrimack | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.8% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.8% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.1% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.9% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 16.8% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.8% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 32.1% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.2% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 51 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Merrimack.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Merrimack home is worth about $527,000, up 3% in a year, close to the New Hampshire typical home.
| Merrimack | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,932 a month | $1,382 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 89% | 82% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8 within 15 miles of the center of Merrimack
About 5 of every 100 Merrimack residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
19.2% of the town is conserved land, across 21 parks and preserves.
2 places in Merrimack on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Merrimack.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 26,632 as of the 2020 census. There are four villages in the town: Merrimack Village (formerly known as Souhegan Village), Thorntons Ferry, Reeds Ferry, and South Merrimack. It also contains the census-designated place of East Merrimack.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Merrimack.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrimack | #47 | B+ | D | A | B− | A |
| Nashua | #91 | C+ | D | B | C | A− |
| Litchfield | #32 | A− | D | A+ | B+ | A |
| East Merrimack | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Amherst | #21 | A | C | A− | B+ | A+ |
| Bedford | #10 | A | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Manchester | #120 | C− | C− | C | D− | B+ |
| Hollis | #1 | A+ | C | A+ | A | A |
East Merrimack isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Merrimack with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Merrimack grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #47 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A for health, A for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
4 notable people were born here, including Forrest Sherman and Tim Schaller.
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