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Looking for a rock solid place to retire in the Granite Place? You're in the right place, because we've found the top spots in New Hampshire to spend your golden years.
Luckily, there's a wide array of places to choose from, so whatever your retirement priorities are, there's definitely something for you. If you want to live in the middle of the action, Concord is the place to be, while if you always imagined retiring beside the sea, Portsmouth or Hampton are your best bets. Or if you'd like to be near the bigger cities like Manchester and Nashua, but still have apple orchards aplenty, then Londonderry is calling.
Interestingly, some of the top best cities to raise a family in New Hampshire are also featured on this list. That means that none of these cities will be age-segregated retirement hubs, but rather thriving communities where youth and experience are appreciated in equal measure.
Florida may have New Hampshire beat in terms of heat, but if natural beauty is your thing, it's certainly hard to top New Hampshire's rugged landscape (especially in autumn). And if you don't feel up for the often wild and steep trails in White Mountain National Forest, there's always the option to drive up Mountain Washington (and get the bumper sticker for proof). Even if you're just reading a book by the side of the Merrimack River, you can't help but appreciate the nature in New Hampshire.
Without further ado, let's turn to the absolute best places to retire in New Hampshire.
Why did Berlin take the top spot? And where are Manchester and Nashua?
So there you have it: these places are the cream of the crop in New Hampshire once you've called it quits on working. And not just then; more than half the cities on this list are also among the best places to live in New Hampshire overall, so they're objectively desirable at any stage of life.
How did we determine the best places to retire? For starters, we only looked at cities with a population of at least 5,000, which left us with 24 cities to rank. We then pulled data from the Census, the FBI's Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights and looked specifically for spots with a low cost of living and crime rate, combined with plenty to do and good weather. We then ranked each of these places for each criterion, with the lowest number being the best.
But which of these cities is the absolute best place to retire in New Hampshire? According to the data, Berlin is the #1 spot to spend your golden years.
For more New Hampshire state reading:
- Best Places To Live In New Hampshire
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Hampshire
- Best Places To Raise A Family In New Hampshire
- Best Places To Retire In America
The 10 Best Places To Retire In New Hampshire For 2023
/10
Population: 9,710
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $688
Distance to Closest Airport: 75 miles
More on Berlin: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 9,908
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $1,341
Distance to Closest Airport: 42 miles
More on Exeter: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 9,900
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Rent: $1,398
Distance to Closest Airport: 41 miles
More on Hampton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 11,616
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $1,173
Distance to Closest Airport: 46 miles
More on Durham: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 8,766
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Rent: $948
Distance to Closest Airport: 69 miles
More on Franklin: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 6,756
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Rent: $1,289
Distance to Closest Airport: 35 miles
More on Hudson: Real Estate | Data
/10
Population: 23,571
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Median Rent: $1,267
Distance to Closest Airport: 39 miles
More on Derry: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 21,897
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Rent: $1,499
Distance to Closest Airport: 46 miles
More on Portsmouth: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 8,437
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Rent: $1,269
Distance to Closest Airport: 47 miles
More on Milford: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 16,786
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Rent: $1,097
Distance to Closest Airport: 58 miles
More on Laconia: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Granite State for 2023
To create our list of the best places in New Hampshire to retire, we first used Census data to find all places in the Granite State -- 97 cities and towns.
We then narrowed it down to places with at least 5,000 people that weren't townships. This left us with 24 places from across the state.
For these 24, we looked at the following criteria taken from the Census, the FBI's Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights:
- Low cost of living as measured by rent
- Low crime
- Things to do (Museums, Colleges, and Libraries in town)
- Nice weather
- Distance to the closest international airport
- Other retirees (High median age)
We then ranked each of these places for each criteria from one to 24, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Berlin, with the lowest average rank was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second careers. You can download the data here.
Summary: Maybe You're Not Ready To Retire In New Hampshire Yet...
So there you have it, the best place to retire in New Hampshire goes to Berlin.
If you're not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley:
- Lebanon
- Manchester
- Hooksett
For more New Hampshire reading, check out:
