Salem

Salem sits right on the Massachusetts border along I-93 and has built its identity around New Hampshire's lack of sales tax — Route 28 through town is one of the most concentrated retail corridors in northern New England. The Mall at Rockingham Park anchors the shopping district, but the bigger story is Tuscan Village, a 170-acre mixed-use development on the site of the former Rockingham Park horse racing track, which operated from 1906 to 2016 and once hosted Seabiscuit. When completed, Tuscan Village will be the largest mixed-use project of its kind in New England, adding restaurants, housing, hotels, and retail to what was already a commercial powerhouse. Beyond the commercial buzz, Salem offers some unexpected attractions. America's Stonehenge draws visitors to its mysterious 30-acre archaeological site featuring ancient stone structures and formations, including the so-called Sacrificial Table and various stone chambers that spark debate about New England's prehistoric past. Canobie Lake Park, a family amusement park dating to 1902, remains one of the most beloved seasonal attractions in the region — its wooden Yankee Cannonball coaster has been running since 1936. For local families, Field of Dreams provides indoor baseball training facilities and youth instruction programs. Salem is a town, not a city, governed by a board of selectmen, and its residential neighborhoods away from Route 28 are quieter and more suburban than the commercial strip suggests. The combination of no income tax, no sales tax, proximity to Boston-area jobs, and relatively affordable housing compared to Massachusetts keeps Salem growing steadily.