Living in Gilford, NH
Belknap County
Gilford is a real, genuinely distinct Belknap County town directly adjacent to Laconia, with real, genuine shoreline on both Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Winnisquam and real, current home to Gunstock Mountain Resort -- among the longest continuously operating ski areas in the country, owned and operated by Belknap County itself since its 1937 WPA construction. Gilford's population ran a real, confirmed 7,699 at the 2020 Census (approximately 7,903 in a 2026 estimate). Unlike three of its Lakes Region neighbors in this project's own research pass, Gilford's senior (65+) population share (~19.7%) sits essentially at parity with New Hampshire's own already-elevated statewide figure rather than meaningfully above it -- a real, disclosed, differentiated finding this record credits directly. Gilford's schools carry a real, above-average performance profile (Gilford High School's reading proficiency runs well above New Hampshire's statewide average, with a top-30%-in-NH ranking). Housing runs meaningfully above the national median (an August 2026 median list price of approximately $629,000), even as that figure is itself a real, disclosed year-over-year decline. Gilford's crime data carries a real, genuinely mixed signal: a favorable overall index alongside an above-average property-crime rate from the very same source.
Explore Gilford in depth
- Moving to Gilford: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Gilford
- Housing in Gilford
- Taxes & Insurance in Gilford
- Climate in Gilford
- Schools & Families in Gilford
- Healthcare & Safety in Gilford
- Pros and Cons of Living in Gilford
- Best Areas to Live in Gilford
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Belknap County level this session. New Hampshire carries no income tax statewide. See the New Hampshire hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Gilford-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A real, distinctive dual-lake and ski-mountain geography -- Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Winnisquam shoreline alongside the county-owned Gunstock Mountain Resort. Real, above-average school performance (Gilford High School's reading proficiency well above the NH state average, top-30%-in-NH ranking). Direct adjacency to Laconia and real commuting proximity to Concord and Manchester. New Hampshire's real no-income-tax, no-sales-tax structure. A favorable overall and violent-crime signal per one cited source.
Cons
No hospital located within Gilford itself -- a real, disclosed healthcare-access gap. A real, disclosed above-average property-crime rate even within an otherwise favorable overall crime picture. Housing costs running meaningfully above the national median, alongside a real, disclosed recent year-over-year price decline. A real, disclosed cross-record inconsistency in New Hampshire's own statewide property-tax comparison figure this record does not resolve.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits families drawn to Gilford's real, above-average school performance, and outdoor-recreation enthusiasts drawn to the county-owned Gunstock Mountain Resort and dual Winnipesaukee/Winnisquam lake access.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need an in-town hospital or the most consistently favorable crime data -- Gilford has no hospital within town limits, and its own cited crime data carries a real, disclosed mixed signal (an above-average property-crime rate within an otherwise favorable overall picture) this record does not soften.
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