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ZIP code

03603

in Charlestown, New HampshirePopulation 5,238

ZipVitals Score
How is the ZipVitals Score calculated? →

49.07/ 100

Ranked #17,566 of 32,066 US ZIPs (bottom 45%)

Ranked #233 of 243 New Hampshire ZIPs (bottom 4.2%)

Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.

Robust across all 9 health domains

What defines this ZIP

Metrics where this ZIP sits in the tails of the national distribution — the ones that most set it apart. Select any tile for its definition and methodology.

Distance to a Superfund site

0.1 mi

in the bottom 4.1% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST9th
US4th
Definition & source ›

The distance in miles from this ZIP’s edge to the nearest Superfund site — an abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous-waste site the EPA has listed for cleanup.

Full methodology ›

Energy-cost burden

5.6%

in the top 4.5% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST96th
US96th
Definition & source ›

The modeled share of household income spent on home energy bills — electricity, gas, and heating fuels.

A modeled share of household income spent on home energy. Estimates that hit the model’s 100% ceiling are suppressed rather than published, because at that point the figure reflects the model’s limit rather than a measured burden.

Full methodology ›

Grocery access

0.2 per 1,000 residents

in the top 7.6% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST85th
US92nd
Definition & source ›

The number of full supermarkets inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.

Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one. ZipVitals’s food-access signal is derived from these in-ZIP densities — it is not USDA’s food-desert designation, which measures distance to the nearest supermarket. Where a leg is missing, a ZIP reads “not determinable,” never “not a food desert.”

Full methodology ›

Tree cover

69.3%

in the top 9.5% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST48th
US91st
Definition & source ›

The share of this ZIP’s land area covered by forest.

Full methodology ›

Crowded housing

5.2%

in the top 13.4% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST95th
US87th
Definition & source ›

The share of occupied homes with more than one person per room, the Census definition of crowded housing.

Full methodology ›

Home broadband subscription

81.3%

in the bottom 20% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST2nd
US20th
Definition & source ›

The share of households with a broadband internet subscription.

Full methodology ›

Fine-particle (PM2.5) exceedance

0.27%

in the top 23% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST97th
US77th
Definition & source ›

The share of days in the year when modeled fine-particle (PM2.5) pollution was above the EPA’s daily limit of 35 micrograms per cubic meter.

Full methodology ›

Median household income

$56,731

in the bottom 24% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST3rd
US24th
Definition & source ›

The middle household income in this ZIP — half of households earn more, half earn less — in dollars per year.

Full methodology ›

The read

In its overall standing, Charlestown, New Hampshire (ZIP 03603) lands in the bottom 45% nationally (17,566th) and the bottom 4.2% of New Hampshire (233rd).

continue reading

Taken together, the data gives a genuinely mixed reading: grocery rests in the top 7.6% nationally, and modeled tree cover registers in the top 9.5% nationally. Modeled extreme heat resides at the national minimum, shared with about 19% of ZIPs. Distance to a community health center settles at the national minimum, shared with about 23% of ZIPs. Modeled industrial-pollution burden is in the bottom 12.8% nationally, and loneliness sits in the bottom 19% nationally. On the other side, distance to a Superfund site lands in the bottom 4.1% nationally, and modeled energy burden lies in the top 4.5% nationally. Crowded housing stands in the top 13.4% nationally. Distance to a hazardous-chemical facility rests at the national minimum, shared with about 31% of ZIPs.

Against the wider neighborhood, park land runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. Put simply, distance to a Superfund site is an abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous-waste site the EPA has identified for cleanup. Industrial-pollution burden is the EPA's modeled screening score weighting industrial chemical releases by their toxicity and how many people live nearby. Distance to a hazardous-chemical facility is a plant handling large amounts of hazardous chemicals that must file an EPA risk-management plan for accidental releases. On the overall standing, ZIP 03601, just across the boundary, ranks healthier.

What’s driving this score

Nine domains make up the ZipVitals Score — here is how this ZIP does on each, and how much each one counts.

Compared with the ZIP codes measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes.

Compare within

Lifting this score

Risk Behavior

healthier than 61%

11%

Climate / Disaster Risk

healthier than 68%

5%

Healthcare Access

healthier than 74%

5%

About typical

Environmental Hazard

healthier than 59%

14%

Preventive Care

healthier than 54%

13%

Disability

healthier than 45%

7%

Holding it back

Chronic Disease Burden

healthier than 37%

21%

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 13%

16%

Mental Health

healthier than 37%

8%

Lifting this score

Healthcare Access

healthier than 88%

5%

About typical

Environmental Hazard

healthier than 41%

14%

Holding it back

Chronic Disease Burden

healthier than 9%

21%

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 3%

16%

Preventive Care

healthier than 12%

13%

Risk Behavior

healthier than 5%

11%

Mental Health

healthier than 11%

8%

Disability

healthier than 7%

7%

Climate / Disaster Risk

healthier than 31%

5%

“Share” is how much of this ZIP’s score the domain accounts for. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain. How the score works, and who it compares you with ›

Nearby & similar ZIPs

Editorially selected — see how this ZIP compares to nearby and similar places.

How these were chosen: only ZIPs with a published Score appear — a nearby ZIP with too little data to score won’t. Nearby means closest by distance between ZIP boundaries, which can cross state lines. A similar health profile is a close match across the nine Score domains, not similar demographics. Distances are measured between ZIP boundaries — ZIPs that touch share a border. How distance is measured

Evidence

Every measure this page draws on, by source. Collapsed by default — the full data stays in the page for search engines either way.

Health OutcomesCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Arthritis among adults33.2%30.0–36.4
High blood pressure among adults37.7%34.0–41.2
Cancer (non-skin) or melanoma among adults10.4%9.4–11.5
Current asthma among adults11.4%10.0–12.8
Coronary heart disease among adults7.8%7.0–8.8
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adults9.1%7.7–10.3
Depression among adults25.1%21.6–28.6
Diagnosed diabetes among adults12.2%10.6–14.0
High cholesterol among adults who have ever been screened38.4%34.6–42.2
Obesity among adults35.4%29.8–41.0
Stroke among adults4.2%3.7–4.6
All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years13.8%11.4–16.4
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18-64 years8.0%6.5–10.0
Taking medicine to control high blood pressure among adults with high blood pressure77.6%74.2–80.5
Visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults76.5%72.7–79.8
Cholesterol screening among adults87.2%85.2–89.0
Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years65.9%61.4–70.2
Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults60.3%56.8–63.8
Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years78.5%72.6–83.9
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Binge drinking among adults14.7%12.1–17.4
Current cigarette smoking among adults14.9%12.4–17.4
No leisure-time physical activity among adults26.4%22.4–30.5
Short sleep duration among adults35.3%30.5–40.4
Health StatusCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Fair or poor self-rated health status among adults18.7%16.0–21.4
Frequent mental distress among adults16.8%14.7–18.9
Frequent physical distress among adults14.6%12.8–16.5
DisabilityCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Cognitive disability among adults14.4%12.5–16.4
Any disability among adults31.8%27.8–35.8
Hearing disability among adults8.9%7.9–10.0
Independent living disability among adults8.7%7.6–9.9
Mobility disability among adults15.8%13.6–17.9
Self-care disability among adults4.2%3.7–4.8
Vision disability among adults5.2%4.6–5.9
Health-Related Social NeedsCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Lack of social and emotional support among adults22.8%19.4–26.2
Food insecurity in the past 12 months among adults12.8%10.5–15.4
Received food stamps in the past 12 months among adults10.4%8.3–12.7
Housing insecurity in the past 12 months among adults10.1%8.4–12.0
Lack of reliable transportation in the past 12 months among adults7.3%6.2–8.4
Loneliness among adults29.6%25.5–33.7
Utility services shut-off threat in the past 12 months among adults7.2%6.1–8.4
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)NH median (p10–p90)
Poverty rate14.3%10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,3646.7% (2.0–13.3%) n=243
Uninsured 18–6414.0%9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,2867.1% (2.2–14.5%) n=242
No HS diploma (25+)3.4%7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,5054.5% (1.3–9.8%) n=243
Bachelor's or higher (25+)14.4%23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,50538.8% (21.4–60.3%) n=243
Unemployment rate (16+)4.7%3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,2742.8% (0.0–6.0%) n=243
Households without a vehicle2.9%3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,3222.5% (0.0–8.4%) n=243
Broadband subscription81.3%89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,32292.9% (85.7–99.0%) n=243
Housing cost burden (≥30% income)33.8%23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,32227.1% (17.2–36.4%) n=243
Homeownership rate80.6%78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,32286.0% (62.6–96.9%) n=243
Crowded housing (>1 per room)5.2%1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,3220.7% (0.0–3.1%) n=243
Foreign-born population0.7%2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,5533.1% (0.5–7.1%) n=243
Single-parent households61.7%53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,08760.9% (46.9–76.5%) n=243
Population 65+23.5%19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,55322.1% (15.1–37.1%) n=243
Median age44.8 yr42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,29247.1 yr (38.4–58.4) n=243
Median household income$56,731$72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318$98,684 ($67,733–$147,723) n=235
Median home value$230,400$222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049$371,500 ($252,560–$570,440) n=237
Median gross rent$1,096$1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670$1,360 ($1,037–$1,893) n=197
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)NH median (p10–p90)
Life expectancy at birth80.1 yr ± 2.0578.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,30881.2 yr (78.0–85.7) n=242

About the ± — it’s this estimate’s give-or-take (statisticians call it the standard error). The true life expectancy for this ZIP most likely falls within 2.05 years of 80.1, and it’s very unlikely to be off by more than twice that.

More ZIPs to explore ▾

How these lists were built: they draw only from ZIPs that have a published Score, so ZIPs with too little data to score are not listed. Distance-based lists use distance between ZIP boundaries with no state filter, so an out-of-state ZIP can appear. Statistically similar means a close match across the nine Score domains, not a demographic match: the measure is the cosine similarity between two ZIPs’ domain scores, taken over the domains both ZIPs have data for and only where that overlap covers at least six of the nine — and where no ZIP clears that minimum-overlap floor, that list is left out rather than filled with a weak match. How distance is measured