Hampton Beach is a coastal tourist town in a central location
With front row seats to the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton Beach is a village district, tourist destination and census-designated place in the town of Hampton. It’s one of the busiest—if not the busiest—beach resorts in New Hampshire, where low-rise hotels, seasonal restaurants and entertainment venues pack the boardwalk on Ocean Boulevard. “Hampton Beach is a major second-home market, and we definitely have a very vibrant tourist community,” says Tom McGuirk, a local broker/owner of McGuirk Properties and a year-round Hampton resident for over two decades. He adds: “While tourists are prominent, there is still a solid, close-knit community of full-time residents who all know each other well.” This coastal community is approximately 15 miles south of Portsmouth and less than an hour’s drive north of Boston without traffic. McGuirk notes that this proximity puts Hampton Beach in a relatively central location for a coastal town.
Condos dominate housing stock in this beachside community
Just over half of the residential properties in Hampton Beach are condos, with single-family homes and townhouses making up the other half. The high number of condominiums is primarily due to the community’s status as a tourist destination. “People looking for second homes and investment properties definitely gravitate towards Hampton Beach,” McGuirk says. “We also attract a lot of retirees and see people moving here from out of state because New Hampshire has some of the most favorable tax codes in the country.” As a result of the rising interest from buyers, the community has seen an increase in new construction projects recently, particularly for condo developments and multifamily properties. “The beach does have its fair share of single-family cottages, but unoccupied ones are sometimes torn down for the condos,” McGuirk says. Condos can cost anywhere from $160,000 to just over $1 million, though they typically stay below $700,000. Townhouses are often between $520,000 and $920,000. Most single-family cottages and New Englanders range from $400,000 to $850,000, with larger waterfront homes frequently selling between $1 million and $2 million.
Summer brings outdoor recreation on the ocean and the beach
Life in Hampton Beach revolves around the waterfront and the wide, sandy beach stretching the length of the town. Surfing, parasailing and kayaking are popular water sports; free yoga classes, movie nights and sand-sculpting competitions take place on the beach during the summer. The Hampton River Marina offers sunset cruises and whale watching excursions on a seasonal basis. Lobster tours and fishing charters are also available for booking at several marinas. “The water can get a little cold because it comes right from the Gulf of Maine, but the colder water also means the beach stays clean. We don’t get the red tides you see in places like Cape Cod; we take pride in keeping our shores clean,” McGuirk says. Going inland, the community borders the Hampton Salt Marsh, an area known for birdwatching, but which lacks a developed trail system.
Events, dining and entertainment pack the boardwalk on Ocean Blvd
Hampton Beach’s shopping, dining and entertainment amenities sit front and center along the Ocean Boulevard boardwalk, which serves as the town’s lively commercial corridor. During tourist season, McGuirk says that events and community activities occur every night along the boardwalk: “People can go to free concerts and other performances hosted daily at the Seashell Oceanfront Pavilion or watch fireworks every Wednesday night during the summer,” he says. The Hampton Beach Seafood Festival takes place during the weekend following Labor Day and is perhaps the town’s largest annual event, with attendance numbers hovering around 150,000 people.
Alongside the boardwalk’s entertainment venues are rows of storefronts and outdoor dining patios. “You’ve got convenience stores, concessions, boutiques and, of course, ice cream stands all along the boulevard,” McGuirk says. Restaurants range from casual pubs and takeout stands to breakfast cafes and seafood diners. Many places are only open during tourist season and close for the winter. For weekly grocery trips, McGuirk says that Market Basket in Seabrook and Hannaford in Hampton are both within a 15-minute drive of residents. “Hampton also has plenty of your everyday urban amenities. If you need the dry cleaners, if you need Home Depot, you can go to Hampton,” he adds. Big-box stores like Hobby Lobby, Walmart and Kohl’s are in Seabrook.
Zoning for Hampton School District SAU 90
Students living in Hampton Beach are zoned for the Hampton School District School Administration Unit 90, which receives an overall A-minus rating from Niche. Hampton Centre School is for prekindergarten through second-grade students and is rated B-minus, while Grades 3 through 5 can attend the A-minus-rated Adeline C. Marston Elementary School. Hampton Academy for sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students is also rated A-minus. For their secondary education, students head to Winnacunnet High School, a B-plus-rated institution in the town of Hampton but outside the SAU 90 district. Incoming and current high school freshmen can participate in the school’s Sea to Summit summer enrichment program, which combines STEM-based academic instruction, local history and socialization over the course of three weeks.
Hampton Beach is well connected via state routes
New Hampshire Route 1A and Route 101 are the two main thoroughfares running through Hampton Beach; Route 1A is coastal and runs north-south beside the boardwalk, while Route 101 connects drivers 3 miles inland to Hampton’s town center. Residents can access Interstate 95 in Seabrook, roughly 8 miles west of the beach. Portsmouth International Airport is 17 miles away and offers limited flights through Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways. The Seabrook Emergency Room at Portsmouth Regional Hospital is open 24 hours and is a 15-minute drive from Hampton Beach.
