Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 42/100
D−
Median home value$688,500
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,869/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households39%
Boston 36%
Portsmouth
Rockingham County22,545 residentsPortsmouth School District
72
B−
Suburbgrade score
10th of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on schools and commute & transport, held back by housing & affordability.
72
Boston median 61
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Portsmouth yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 72 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Portsmouth is like to live in, by category
Bars show Portsmouth against Boston. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 87/100
A−
Within-state proficiency89th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio10.1
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate95%
Boston median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 80/100
B+
Housing cost index96
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate1.03%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax0.00%
Boston median 6.25%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 81/100
B+
Mean commute22.2 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes77%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi7.7
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 78/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés112
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks50
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 66/100
C+
Median household income$106,219
Boston $115,863
Unemployment2.5%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations60%
Boston 54%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Portsmouth yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Portsmouth on housing & affordability
Portsmouth's weakest grade is D−. One suburb is within 25 miles and scores higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Newburyport18 mi from PortsmouthC− 61 C Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Portsmouth
Is Portsmouth, NH a good place to live?
Portsmouth scores 72 out of 100, 10th of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Portsmouth expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $688,500, 7% above the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.03%. $1,869/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Portsmouth?
Schools grade A−. The districts serving Portsmouth sit at the 89th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 95% graduation rate and a 10.1 student–teacher ratio. Portsmouth is served by Portsmouth School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Portsmouth?
The mean commute is 22.2 min, with 77% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 22% working from home. Transit density is 7.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Portsmouth?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 112 restaurants and cafés and 50 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Portsmouth old or new?
The median home in Portsmouth was built in 1959 — older than the Boston median of 1964. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 49% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.