Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Stratham earns an A, 11th of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 98% of the country, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, and the median household earns $152K. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $776K, 6.7 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. 70% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Stratham, above both the New Hampshire town median (39%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). On hazard risk, just 12 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Deacon Samuel and Jabez Lane Homestead and John Crockett House.
Where Stratham beats most towns.
Cornet Thomas Wiggin House| Widest gap | Stratham | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.1% | 8.9% |
Its founding year, 1631, comes before those of 97% of the New Hampshire towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 882 in 1790, a low of 542 in 1920, 7,669 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1740 and 5 maps from 1916 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Stratham is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for health (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 9%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stratham. Close and well known come first.
19 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
23 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
9 mi MuseumStrawbery Banke
19 mi LighthouseCape Neddick Light
34 mi MuseumPeabody Essex Museum
11 mi LandmarkFort William and MaryAmerica's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Strawbery Banke: Ken Gallager (Ken Gallager from en.wikipedia), Public domain · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Peabody Essex Museum: Fletcher6, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort William and Mary: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stratham, 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 Stratham.
Stratham trades workers with Portsmouth and other neighbors and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of New Hampshire; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Hampshire.
Its widest gap with New Hampshire is tooth loss: 5.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 8.9% statewide.
26% of adults feel lonely in Stratham. Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Stratham. 13% of adults report frequent mental distress in Stratham.
| Stratham | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Stratham | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.1% | 8.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 9.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Exeter Region Cooperative School District. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooperative Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 945 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 31 to 9 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
Stratham’s property crime rate is 1 per 1,000 residents. Among 125 New Hampshire towns, just 5 have a lower violent crime rate than Stratham.
| Stratham | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 4.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 6.7 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $776K) costs more against local pay than in 89% of New Hampshire towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The median rent in Stratham is $2,511 a month. Typical home values rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026. 93% of Stratham households own their home.
| Stratham | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,511 a month | $1,382 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 93% | 82% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
18 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Squamscott River Wildlife Management Area, at 139 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gordon Barker Town Forest | 2.9 mi | 125 |
| 2. Stratham Hill Park | 2.8 mi | 86 |
| 3. Great Bay Discovery Center | 0.4 mi | 48 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 2006, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stratham.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Greenland weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 157 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 82% of New Hampshire places with climate records.
Stratham has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 16° and about 65 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Stratham has about as many jobs (4,092) as working residents, but only 269 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 3,011 in 2013 to 4,092.
Most working residents leave Stratham for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Stratham has added 1,081 jobs, to 4,092 in 2023. The top destinations are Portsmouth (19%), Exeter (10%) and Boston (3%).
| Stratham | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $152,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.4% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.4% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Stratham
About 4 of every 100 Stratham residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
8 places in Stratham on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Stratham.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Stratham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town had a population of 7,669 at the 2020 census. It is bounded on the west by the Squamscott River. The town is the home of the only U.S. Lindt & Sprüngli factory and the headquarters of the Timberland Corporation.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Stratham.
At #11 in NH, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Greenland (A) comes closest.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stratham | #11 | A | D | A+ | A− | A+ |
| Exeter | #28 | A− | D | A− | A− | A |
| Newfields | — | — | C+ | A+ | B+ | A+ |
| Greenland | #20 | A | D | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Newmarket | #37 | A− | C− | A | B | A |
| North Hampton | #31 | A− | D | A− | A− | A |
Newfields has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Stratham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Stratham grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #11 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A+ for health, A+ for safety and A− 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 Daniel Clark and David Barker, Jr..
