Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wakefield's schools rank behind 95% of the state's. Overall it grades C+, 97th of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire. It reports less crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Wakefield Public Library and Wakefield House. Only 14 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns score lower on the outdoors. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns.
Where Wakefield beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
District No. 2 Schoolhouse| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Elementary School | PK–8 | 410 |
Census counts: 646 in 1790, 5,201 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1855 and 4 maps from 1928 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Wakefield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wakefield, 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 Wakefield.
Wakefield is a second-home town, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in New Hampshire.
Its public schools are run by the Wakefield School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 410 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests
Reported crimes fell from 43 to 26 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
At 0.3 per 1,000 residents, Wakefield’s violent crime rate is close to New Hampshire’s towns (0.7) and below U.S. towns (1.6). New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Wakefield sits closer to the middle. The property crime rate in Wakefield is 3.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Wakefield | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 4.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average commute for its 2,142 working residents takes 35.7 minutes, against 26.7 across New Hampshire.
Most working residents leave Wakefield for work: only 13% work in town. At 36 minutes, Wakefield’s average trip to work is against 28 minutes in New Hampshire’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Jobs based in Wakefield grew to 800 in 2023, 81 more than in 2013.
| Wakefield | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 36 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 6.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within New Hampshire it is less healthy than 82% of the 126 graded towns: New Hampshire sets a high bar. Against the 8,445 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wakefield’s, it is healthier than 55%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Wakefield beats the New Hampshire average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 14% of adults report frequent physical distress in Wakefield.
| Wakefield | 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 | Wakefield | NH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81% | 76.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.4% | 6.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Hollis weather station, 17 miles away, records that 81 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Wakefield has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Wakefield’s July high is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1997, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wakefield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
18 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 2 have a lower trail density than Wakefield. The biggest park or preserve is Union Meadows Wildlife Management Area, at 122 acres.
| Wakefield | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 18% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Union Meadows Wildlife Management Area | — | 122 |
| 2. Wakefield Town Forest | 0.1 mi | 46 |
| 3. Wakefield Ballfields | — | 43 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $2,954, against $6,667 across New Hampshire, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Wakefield home is worth about $480,000, up 3.3% in a year, 6% below the New Hampshire typical home. 97% of Wakefield households own their home.
| Wakefield | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 97% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,375 a month | $1,393 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wakefield. Close and well known come first.
16 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
32 mi Scenic railwayConway Scenic Railroad
40 mi LandmarkFort Gorges
40 mi National forestWhite Mountain National Forest
37 mi Theme parkStory Land
36 mi LighthouseCape Neddick LightLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · Conway Scenic Railroad: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gorges: Dirk Ingo Franke, CC BY 3.0 · White Mountain National Forest: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Story Land: AnotherMaker, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Wakefield; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Wakefield residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Where Wakefield’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
9 places in Wakefield on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Wakefield.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Wakefield is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,201 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Wakefield Corner (the original town center), East Wakefield, North Wakefield, Sanbornville, Union, Woodman and Province Lake. Wakefield Corner, popular with tourists, is a picturesque hilltop village of antique buildings. The state of Maine forms the eastern border of Wakefield.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Wakefield.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | #97 | C+ | C+ | A | D | B+ |
| Brookfield | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Effingham | — | — | C | — | B | B+ |
| Milton | #112 | C | C+ | B | D− | B |
| Ossipee | #100 | C+ | D | B | B | B+ |
| Union | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Middleton | — | — | B− | — | D− | A− |
Effingham and Middleton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Effingham and Middleton report no FBI crime data of their own. Brookfield and Union aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wakefield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wakefield grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #97 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades B+ for health, A for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Wakefield sits nearer the middle.
That is 5.6 years of the area's median household income ($86,463 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
4 notable people were born here, including Joshua G. Hall and Harry Libbey.
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