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Cost of living, pay and housing

42.87° N · 72.32° W · GEOID 3383700

West Swanzey

Cheshire County, New Hampshire · part of the Keene, NH metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_household_income

New HampshireWest Swanzey, NHWest SwanzeyWest Swanzey

The short answer

West Swanzey is home to 1,188 people. Median household income is $83,329 a year and median rent is $1,645 a month, 23.7% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $193,400, about 2.3x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,645
21% above the median place
Median household income
$83,329
4% above the median place
Median home value
$193,400
39% below the median place
Unemployment
3.3%
32% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about West Swanzey

  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent rose 7% a year while household income rose -4.2%, so rent outran pay by more than in 98% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 26 New Hampshire places.
  • Owning with a mortgage costs about $324 a month less than the median rent, which is rarer than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 26 New Hampshire places.
  • Renters occupy 59% of homes, more than in 96% of places its size. It is the 2nd-lowest of 26 New Hampshire places.
  • Half the homes were built before 1946, older housing than in 95% of places its size. It is the 2nd-lowest of 26 New Hampshire places.
  • 71% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on rent, a higher share than in 93% of places its size. It is the 2nd-highest of 25 New Hampshire places.
01

Moving to West Swanzey

Cheshire County gains about 6.0 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in3,169
Moved out2,789
Net+380

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within New Hampshire, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within New HampshireOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$78K
Leavers$69K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Cheshire County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
5.4% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 3.7% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Cheshire County report $77,800 a year in income on average; those leaving, $68,800, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$65,800 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,645 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,321 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $193,400.
Getting to work
34 minutes each way on average; 13.1% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Glenwood, IL matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
3.7%
87% above the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people5
6.0
above the median place (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in5
$77,831
10% above the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureWest SwanzeyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure5.4%6% below
Moved from another state1County figure3.7%87% above
Net movers per 1,000 people5County figure6.0above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in5County figure$77,83110% above
Income of households moving out5County figure$68,7762% below
02

What it costs to live here

Vacant homes is 0.0%, below the median place (median 7.1%).

West Swanzey23.7%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$65,800
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
23.7%
16% above the median place
Home price to income
2.3x
39% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
24%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$63,300
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in West Swanzey, $1,645 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in West Swanzey.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to West Swanzey? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Vacant homes1
0.0%
below the median place (median 7.1%)
Median year built1
1946
2% below the median place
Renters paying 30%+1
70.8%
40% above the median place
All 14 cost and housing measures
MeasureWest SwanzeyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,64521% above
Rent to income123.7%16% above
Property tax rate12.0%125% above
Home price to income12.3x39% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$1,7347% above
Property tax paid (median)1$3,95821% above
Median home value1$193,40039% below
Home prices, 1-year change3County figure4.2%31% above
Home prices, 5-year change3County figure66.8%30% above
Homeownership141.1%38% below
Renters paying 30%+170.8%40% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,32129% below
Vacant homes10.0%below (median 7.1%)
Median year built119462% below
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Mean commute1
34 min
37% above the median place
Income per person1
$32,367
19% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureWest SwanzeyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1County figure$83,3294% above
Income per person1$32,36719% below
Unemployment1County figure3.3%32% below
Average annual pay4County figure$61,6077% below
Pay growth, 1 year4County figure3.7%0% above
Jobs4County figure30,75380% below
Poverty rate1County figure8.7%19% below
Mean commute134 min37% above
Works from home1County figure13.1%5% above
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Homes with broadband is 82.1%, 11% below the median place.

Homes with broadband1
82.1%
11% below the median place
Household size1
2.1
18% below the median place
Median age1
44.5
14% above the median place
All 8 people measures
MeasureWest SwanzeyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,1886646th largest
Median age144.514% above
Bachelor's or higher142.6%33% above
High school or higher193.9%2% above
Household size12.118% below
Born abroad1County figure2.9%67% below
No health insurance1County figure6.2%3% below
Homes with broadband182.1%11% below
05

Life in West Swanzey

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places, one of them a National Historic Landmark.

  • West Swanzey Covered Bridge listed 1980

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k8.4 4.0×
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k16.8 +51%
Libraries per 10k16.8 19.4×
Named paths and bike trails6 km 2.8×
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars19.3 −7%
Shops42.8 +41%
Arts, recreation and fitness6.0 +46%
Doctors' offices and clinics12.4 −39%
Child care centers3.4 +48%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Shops per 10k6
42.8
41% above the median place
Students per teacher9
11.4
26% below the median place
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k6
12.4
39% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureWest SwanzeyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools9County figure39333% above
Public school students9County figure8,29869% above
Students per teacher9County figure11.426% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k6County figure19.37% below
Shops per 10k6County figure42.841% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k6County figure6.046% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k6County figure12.439% below
Child care centers per 10k6County figure3.448% above
Parks per 10k70.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k70.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k78.4297% above
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k716.851% above
Libraries per 10k716.8above (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails75.6180% above
Transit stops per sq mi70.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings8192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Average temperature is 46°F, 17% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached West Swanzey. Larger places are fetched first.

Average temperature10
46°F
17% below the median place
January average low10
12°F
52% below the median place
July average high10
80°F
7% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureWest SwanzeyAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high10County figure80°F7% below
January average low10County figure12°F52% below
Average temperature10County figure46°F17% below
Annual precipitation10County figure47.5 in8% above
Natural hazard risk11County figure60.535% below
Hurricane risk11County figure76.08% above
Tornado risk11County figure43.646% below
Wildfire risk11County figure24.560% below
Heat wave risk11County figure51.643% below
Median air quality index12County figure3714% below
Good air days12County figure78.9%15% above
08

West Swanzey in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 45% of the median income in 2030, up from 42% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,645/mo (2024)$2,130/mo$1,750 to $2,590/mo+4.4%
Median household income$47,090 (2024)$56,500$48,000 to $67,000+3.1%
Median home value$193,400 (2024)$266,000$193,000 to $367,000+5.5%

The median home would be worth 4.7 years of the median income in 2030, against 4.1 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like West Swanzey

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Glenwood, IL$1,493$77,391Compare
Matteson, IL$1,580$95,457Compare
Finneytown, OH$1,456$83,424Compare
Casas Adobes, AZ$1,650$83,683Compare
Casas Adobes, AZFinneytown, OHMatteson, ILGlenwood, ILWest Swanzey, NHWest SwanzeyGlenwoodMattesonFinneytownCasas AdobesWest SwanzeyGlenwoodMattesonFinneytownCasas Adobes

Common questions

Is West Swanzey a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent rose 7% a year while household income rose -4.2%, so rent outran pay by more than in 98% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 26 New Hampshire places. Owning with a mortgage costs about $324 a month less than the median rent, which is rarer than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 26 New Hampshire places. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is West Swanzey expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 23.7% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $193,400.

What salary do you need to live in West Swanzey?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $65,800 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to West Swanzey?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Glenwood, IL, Matteson, IL, Finneytown, OH and Casas Adobes, AZ.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  4. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  5. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  6. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  7. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  8. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  9. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  10. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  11. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  12. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares West Swanzey with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for West Swanzey itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/west-swanzey-new-hampshire

Citytistics. “West Swanzey, New Hampshire.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/west-swanzey-new-hampshire/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.