Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ossipee grades C+ overall, ranked 100th of 125 in New Hampshire, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It has 110 miles of trail. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $427K for a typical one and 4.9 times the county’s $86K median household income. 20% of the land in Ossipee is conserved, near the New Hampshire town median (18%) and above the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Ossipee Mountains Forest Legacy Tract, at 2,963 acres with 19.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 73% of U.S. towns.
Where Ossipee beats most towns.
Census counts: 339 in 1790, a low of 339 in 1790, 4,372 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and 4 maps from 1928 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Ossipee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ossipee, 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 Ossipee.
Ossipee is a second-home town and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports more crime than Wolfeboro and its other graded neighbors.
At 1.5 miles per square mile, Ossipee’s trail density is above both New Hampshire’s towns (1.2) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ossipee Mountains Forest Legacy Tract | 19.2 mi | 2,963 |
| 2. Pine River State Forest | 5.4 mi | 995 |
| 3. Charles C. Norman Munroe Preserve | 2.2 mi | 174 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Governor Wentworth Regional School District. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ossipee Central SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 276 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Within New Hampshire it is less healthy than 82% of the 126 graded towns: New Hampshire sets a high bar.
Ossipee beats the New Hampshire average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 14% of adults report frequent physical distress in Ossipee.
| Ossipee | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Ossipee | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.8% | 76.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.1% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 84 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ossipee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Tamworth 4 weather station, 11 miles away, records that 83 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Ossipee has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Ossipee’s July high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Ossipee for work: only 17% work in town. The average trip to work in Ossipee is 33 minutes. Since 2013, Ossipee has added 172 jobs, to 1,516 in 2023.
| Ossipee | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.1% | 6.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
72% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.2% across New Hampshire.
The typical Ossipee home is worth about $427,000, up 3% in a year, 16% below the New Hampshire typical home.
| Ossipee | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,601 a month | $1,382 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 82% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Ossipee is safe by national standards, yet each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Wolfeboro (A−) to Tamworth (A).
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Ossipee sits closer to the middle.
| Ossipee | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ossipee. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi MountainMount Washington
13 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
22 mi Scenic railwayConway Scenic Railroad
28 mi National forestWhite Mountain National Forest
26 mi Theme parkStory Land
25 mi Ski areaWaterville Valley Resort84 runs · 1,990 ft verticalMount Washington: wwoods, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · Conway Scenic Railroad: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · White Mountain National Forest: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Story Land: AnotherMaker, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Waterville Valley Resort: MConradWard, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Ossipee; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Ossipee residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
3 places in Ossipee on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Ossipee is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,372 at the 2020 census, and an estimated 4,599 in 2025. It is the county seat of Carroll County. Ossipee, which includes several villages, is a resort area and home to part of Pine River State Forest.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Ossipee.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Wakefield (C+) is closest. Wakefield next door grades lower for schools (D to Ossipee’s B) and higher for cost of living (C+ to D).
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ossipee | #100 | C+ | D | B | B | B+ |
| Freedom | — | — | C | — | — | B |
| Effingham | — | — | C | — | B | B+ |
| Wolfeboro | #66 | B | C− | A− | B | A− |
| Tamworth | #82 | B− | C− | A | C− | A |
| Tuftonboro | #42 | A− | C | A− | B | A |
| Moultonborough | #55 | B+ | C− | A− | C+ | A |
| Wakefield | #97 | C+ | C+ | A | D | B+ |
Freedom and Effingham have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Freedom and Effingham report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ossipee with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ossipee grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #100 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Ossipee sits nearer the middle.
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.
2 notable people were born here, including Fred H. Brown and John Clark Dore.
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