Peterborough is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) and the main village in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, Hillsborough County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States. The population of the CDP was 3,090 at the 2020 census, out of 6,418 in the entire town.

Geography

The CDP occupies the central to west-central part of the town of Peterborough, along both sides of the

Contoocook River The Contoocook River () is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/ Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire that ...

where it is joined from the west by

Nubanusit Brook Nubanusit Brook is a stream in southern New Hampshire in the United States. The brook begins at the outlet of Nubanusit Lake in Nelson. It is a tributary of the Contoocook River, part of the Merrimack River watershed. The brook flows south into ...

. The CDP includes the Peterborough town center and extends west up Nubanusit Brook to encompass the village of West Peterborough. The CDP extends north, down the Contoocook River, as far as the area known as North Village, and it extends south, upriver, to the 19th-century factory complex known as Noone.

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...

runs through the east side of the CDP, following the Contoocook River. It leads north to Hillsborough and south to

Winchendon, Massachusetts Winchendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,364 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Waterville and Winchendon Springs (also known as Spring Village). A census-designated place, ...

New Hampshire Route 101 New Hampshire Route 101 (NH 101) is a state-maintained highway in southern New Hampshire extending from Keene to Hampton Beach. It is the major east–west highway in the southern portion of the state. The western terminus of NH 101 is in Keene ...

crosses US 202 south of the village center, leading east to

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

and west to Keene. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Peterborough CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.51%, are water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,103 people, 1,442 households, and 750 families residing in the CDP. There were 1,577 housing units, of which 135, or 8.6%, were vacant. The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.3%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 1.8%

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.5% some other race, and 0.8% from two or more races. 1.4% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. Of the 1,442 households in the CDP, 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.0% were non-families. 41.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06, and the average family size was 2.79. 19.2% of residents in the CDP were under the age of 18, 6.9% were from age 18 to 24, 19.9% were from 25 to 44, 27.8% were from 45 to 64, and 26.1% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males. For the period 2011-15, the estimated median annual income for a household was $41,101, and the median income for a family was $82,558. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $40,090.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in New Hampshire Census-designated places in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire