Money's list of America's best small towns


43 of 100
BACKNEXT
43. Merrimack, NH
Merrimack
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 43
Population: 27,000
Compare Merrimack to Top 10 Best Places
Not only is Merrimack close to the state's largest cities, Manchester and Nashua, but it's only an hour away from the ocean and the White Mountains.

The town attracts people for its shopping along Route 3 and recreation on conservation land along a lake.

Housing in Merrimack has become more affordable lately thanks to the real estate downturn. However, property taxes are relatively high, offsetting the lack of income tax. --R.G.

Become a fan on facebookBecome a Facebook fan of Money's Best Places to Live
Is Merrimack a great town, or what?
Merrimack stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $94,975 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 10.77% 19.58%
See jobs near Merrimack
Median home price $204,467 $262,148
See Merrimack homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 10.8% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 15.9% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 13 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 173 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,295 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 81.0° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 10.1° 21.0°
Median age 38.0 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $94,975 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $80,283 $95,041
State sales tax N.A. 5.63%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 5.00%I 6.06%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 5.00%I 3.07%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,460 $1,744
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 10.77% 19.58%
See jobs near Merrimack
Median home price $204,467 $262,148
Average property taxes
(2007)		 $5,591 $3,853
See Merrimack homes for sale
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 15 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 10.8% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 15.9% 28.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 93.4/6.6 90.1/9.9
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 85.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 13 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 173 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 21.2 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 17.1% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 0.9% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 15 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,295 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 53 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 184 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 46 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 8 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 52 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.7 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 44.26 39.77
% clear days in the area 25 27
High temp in July ° F* 81.0° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 10.1° 21.0°
Median age 38.0 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 70.3% 71.9%
Married % 65.4% 62.9%
Divorced % 8.7% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 18.1 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2007 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.

(I) Income tax notes:
Applies to interest and dividend income only.
FORTUNE 500
There are no Fortune 500 companies in this state.
Help your town win!
Money picked the top 100. Now it’s your turn: Which town will be our fan favorite? Become a fan of your town and it might just make it to No. 1. Results updated monthly.
Town Become a fan # of fans
1. Louisville, CO Become a fan on facebook Add me! 4,256
2. Chanhassen, MN Become a fan on facebook Add me! 2,410
3. Papillion, NE Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,581
4. Middleton, WI Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,481
5. Milton, MA Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,425
See the rest
  • Find Homes for sale
    Real estate and homes for sale on Trulia

  • Property Type
  • Find a home in:
  • New York | Atlanta | Chicago | Los Angeles
  • Washington D.C | Houston | Philadelphia | More options
Video
Is your town a great place to live?
ireportDoes your city have nice cafes, great culture, friendly neighbors? A real-estate market that defied the downturn? Send your photos and videos and show us why. More
Data partners
ireport
Information powered by Onboard Informatics
Some data may be provided courtesy of its partners.
ireport
Homes for sale provided by Trulia Real Estate Search.

How we picked the Best Places
Using statistics from data provider Onboard Informatics, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families. (Last year, we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.) More

Comments? E-mail the editors
Contact Us Closed Captioning Manage Cookies+ Site Map

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.