Census-designated place · Carroll County, New Hampshire

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

Wolfeboro is a census-designated place in Carroll County, New Hampshire. It has 2,531 residents. Wolfeboro, New Hampshire has a quality-of-life score of 85 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,283 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Hampshire it ranks #40 of 66 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), restaurants and bars (high) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), home price to income ratio (high) and natural hazard risk (high).

85Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,283 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Hampshire: #40 of 66 in NH
Population: 2,531 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 322.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 3386340

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety80#3,106/15,637
Economy44#8,815/15,631
Housing51#7,358/14,977
Health73#4,201/15,609
Healthcare71#4,584/15,650
Environment61#6,092/15,453
Education92#1,258/15,649
Infrastructure55#7,067/15,650
Community97#421/15,651
Leisure & amenities98#341/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Wolfeboro, New Hampshire ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Carroll County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Students per teacher · low9.9×
98/100New Hampshire 11.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCarroll County value
Restaurants and bars · high18.2 /10k
98/100New Hampshire 9.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarroll County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high13.8 /10k
98/100New Hampshire 7.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarroll County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.8 µg/m³
97/100New Hampshire 5.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCarroll County value
Public libraries · high3.0 /10k
96/100New Hampshire 1.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCarroll County value
Grocery stores · high3.0 /10k
94/100New Hampshire 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarroll County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low22.9%
7/100New Hampshire 22.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCarroll County value
Home price to income ratio · high9.2×
13/100New Hampshire 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Natural hazard risk · high82.7
16/100New Hampshire 54.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCarroll County value
Child care cost burden · high36.2%
19/100New Hampshire 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarroll County value
Drought exposure · high72%
21/100New Hampshire 64%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACarroll County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.506
22/100New Hampshire 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,845 (2015-2019) → 2,531 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
70.2% (2015-2019) → 42.9% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 18.1% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
5.0% (2015-2019) → 14.1% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Average commute timeWorsening
20.6 min (2015-2019) → 29.6 min (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeImproving
37.4% (2015-2019) → 28.8% (2020-2024)
−8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.6 min2015-2019	29.6 min2020-2024	+9.0 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	40.8%2015-2019	43.3%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Broadband subscriptions	90.4%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Effective property tax rate	1.17%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	85%
High school diploma or higher	92.5%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Home price to income ratio	7.5×2015-2019	9.2×2020-2024	+1.7×	Within the margin of error	7%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5202015-2019	0.5062020-2024	−0.014	Within the margin of error	63%
Median household income	$43,8022015-2019	$51,8392020-2024	+18%	Within the margin of error	30%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	37.4%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	−8.6 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent-burdened households	70.2%2015-2019	42.9%2020-2024	−27 points	Within the margin of error	97%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Wolfeboro, New Hampshire five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire itself moved +7 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,531 residents (±415)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under 10 men (−4.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

2,531 residents (±415)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

White94%2,390
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino1.3%†34
Asian0.7%†17
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races3.6%†90

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

2,165 residents (±322)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

No high school diploma0.0%0
High school or GED24%†522
Some college17%†368
Associate degree16%†337
Bachelor's degree28%609
Graduate degree15%†329

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: No high school diploma (−7.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,245 households (±196)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Under $25k24%†304
$25k–50k21%†267
$50k–75k10%†125
$75k–100k11%†143
$100k–150k18%†222
$150k–200k7.3%†91
$200k or more7.5%†93

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,245 households (±196)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Own84%1,047
Rent16%†198

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+17.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

126 households (±72)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Under $75017%†21
$750–1,00012%†15
$1,000–1,50044%†

Home values

1,047 homes (±194)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Under $150k7.3%†76
$150k–250k13%†134
$250k–400k21%†

Age of homes

1,841 homes (±267)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

2010 or later8.9%†164
2000–20098.3%†153
1980–199938%695

Size of homes

1,841 homes (±267)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom3.6%†66
2 bedrooms26%†484

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

976 workers (±336)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Drive alone61%†594
Carpool12%†121
Public transit0.0%0
Walk6.5%†63
Bike0.0%0
Work from home19%†183
Other1.5%†15

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−22.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

793 workers (±311)

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Under 15 min36%†282
15–29 min33%†264
30–44 min4.8%†38

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Carroll County, the county holding most of Wolfeboro's residents.

Carroll County has 1,896 employer establishments, 362 for every 10,000 residents (1.46× the US rate of 248; 1.29× New Hampshire's), with 17,163 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,599. The Census Bureau also counts 6,198 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,896; 6,198 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 362; US 248 · New Hampshire 280
Paid employees: 17,163
Average annual pay: $47,599; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Carroll County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	183	34.9	1.90×More than typical	2,544	$30,923	11
Specialty trade contractors	183	34.9	2.26×More than typical	790	$64,251	825
Full-service restaurants	101	19.3	2.51×More than typical	1,763	$33,007	4
Services to buildings and dwellings	84	16	2.38×More than typical	305	$82,311	514
Construction of buildings	82	15.6	2.07×More than typical	328	$71,918	416
Ambulatory health care services	80	15.3	0.73×Fewer than typical	705	$55,348	258
Building equipment contractors	77	14.7	2.44×More than typical	251	$62,020	150
Lessors of real estate	76	14.5	1.18×About typical	235	$52,472	778
Traveler accommodation	69	13.2	7.30×More than typical	1,430	$31,775	55
Landscaping services	64	12.2	3.49×More than typical	242	$93,149	179
Clothing and accessories stores	53	10.1	2.79×More than typical	487	$26,926	36
Automotive repair and maintenance	48	9.2	1.82×More than typical	182	$52,923	70

Rank places for an industry Open Carroll County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 52,398 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

0FY2017

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, so they do not add up across cities.

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire's figures are part of those of Carroll County, NH ($2.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Wolfeboro is mostly in Carroll County.

See federal money in Carroll County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).