Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,757, settled in 1773.
Few places in the country grade higher. Northwood earns an A+, 9th of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country, it reports less crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns, and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest mark, a B, is in incomes. Northwood’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, against 28 minutes in New Hampshire’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Only 1 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score higher on cost of living. The biggest place to walk is Northwood Meadows State Park, 661 acres with 6.9 miles of trail.
Where Northwood beats most towns.
Census counts: 744 in 1790, a low of 744 in 1790, 4,641 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 6 maps from 1917 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Northwood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Northwood, 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 Northwood.
Northwood carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of New Hampshire (mostly inland flooding), owes part of its health edge to its incomes and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of New Hampshire.
Against the 4,622 U.S. towns with household incomes like Northwood’s, it is healthier than 71%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
28% of Northwood adults feel lonely. Northwood tracks New Hampshire closely on all 32 CDC measures. 13% of Northwood adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Northwood | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 9.5% | 12% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Coe-Brown Northwood Academy School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, with 654 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwood Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 413 | B− |
| Coe-Brown Northwood AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 654 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Northwood is 2.8 per 1,000 residents. New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Northwood sits closer to the middle. The violent crime rate in Northwood is 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Northwood | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
39 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. Northwood’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Northwood Meadows State Park | 6.9 mi | 661 |
| 2. Guptill Lamprey Pasture Conservation Area | 3.1 mi | 102 |
| 3. Parsonage Lot Town Forest | 2.2 mi | 183 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of New Hampshire towns, with expected losses of about $210 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 5 have a lower FEMA risk score than Northwood. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Northwood since 2007.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 2,515 working residents takes 36.5 minutes, against 26.7 across New Hampshire.
Most working residents leave Northwood for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Northwood grew to 1,211 in 2023, 268 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Concord (9%), Portsmouth (8%) and Manchester (7%).
| Northwood | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $129,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.5% | 6.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Epping weather station, 14 miles away, records that 57 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 87% of New Hampshire places with climate records. January nights average 13.7°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 75% of New Hampshire places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.4°.
Northwood has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain.
| Northwood | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 81°F | 82°F | 85°F |
| January low | 14°F | 13°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Hampshire average. 18% of residents are under 18 in Northwood. Northwood has grown 2.5% since 2020, to 4,757 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Northwood | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 39% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.4 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Northwood | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.4% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.8% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.7% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.9% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.6% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.7% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.4% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.1% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.1% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.7% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,800, single groups can be off by several points
The typical Northwood home is worth about $529,000, up 3.3% in a year, close to the New Hampshire typical home.
| Northwood | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,201 a month | $1,393 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Northwood. Close and well known come first.
27 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
26 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
29 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
20 mi Stadium & arenaSNHU Arena
32 mi LighthouseCape Neddick Light
25 mi MuseumStrawbery BankeLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · SNHU Arena: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Strawbery Banke: Ken Gallager (Ken Gallager from en.wikipedia), Public domain
None within 15 miles of Northwood; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Northwood residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Where Northwood’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 notable people were born in Northwood.
Place in New Hampshire, United States
Northwood is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,641 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Northwood.
At #9 in NH, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Deerfield (A) comes closest.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwood | #9 | A+ | B | A | B | A |
| Deerfield | #23 | A | C+ | A+ | B | A |
| Strafford | #72 | B | B− | A+ | C− | A− |
| Pittsfield | #101 | C+ | C | A− | C− | B |
| Nottingham | #26 | A | C− | A+ | A− | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Northwood grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #9 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A for health, A for safety and B for schools.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Northwood sits nearer the middle.
That is 4.6 years of the area's median household income ($115,863 across the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-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 B.
6 notable people were born here, including Albert O. Brown and Francis Samuel Drake.
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