Cost of living in New Hampshire

Rent, income, home value and property tax for New Hampshire, home to 1.39M people, then the same for each of its 10 counties. Every figure is the published one, with its source named.

New Hampshire at a glance

Median rent
$1,491
Census ACS, B25064, monthly
Median household income
$99,031
Census ACS, B19013, yearly
Median home value
$402,500
Census ACS, B25077
Median property tax bill
$6,667
Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners
Mean commute
27 min
Census ACS, DP03, one way
Unemployment
3.3%
Census ACS, DP03

New Hampshire's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 4% above the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in New Hampshire

These are the most populous places in New Hampshire, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

New Hampshire, worth the trip

Ratified the Constitution on June 21, 1788, as the ninth state. Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter and Hampton were the main early settlements in a region that the colonial government of Massachusetts administered from 1641 to 1679. New Hampshire's vote in 1788 was decisive in securing ratification of the Constitution.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in New Hampshire

Current owners in New Hampshire pay a median 1.66% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $6,667 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $3,579 in Coos County to $7,839 in Rockingham County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in New Hampshire

Life expectancy
78.9 yrs
County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics
No health insurance
6.2%
County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65
Poor or fair health
14.4%
County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted
Injury deaths per 100K people
89
County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for New Hampshire as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in New Hampshire

Expected yearly loss, statewide
$462M
All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more
Building loss rate
$1.51
Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states
Costliest hazard
Inland flooding
$314M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses
Air quality
—
The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in New Hampshire

Permitted in 2025

5,030homes

Per 1,000 residents

3.6

Single-family · larger buildings

3,279 · 1,751

  1. 4,3202020
  2. 4,8922021
  3. 4,7832022
  4. 4,5552023
  5. 4,9652024
  6. 5,0302025

New Hampshire approved permits for 5,030 new homes in 2025. That is about 3.6 homes for every 1,000 people. 3,279 were single-family houses, and 1,751 were in buildings with two or more homes. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly count stayed between 4,320 and 5,030.

27th of the 50 states and DC by homes permitted per 1,000 residents in 2025.

A permit lets a home be built. It does not mean the home is finished. Some offices did not report, so part of this figure is a Census estimate. The offices that did report account for 4,085. Source: US Census Building Permits Survey, annual 2025 data.

Side by side

Hillsborough County, NH is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in New Hampshire

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

  1. 1Hillsborough County426K
  2. 2Rockingham County319K
  3. 3Merrimack County156K
  4. 4Strafford County133K
  5. 5Grafton County92.1K
  6. 6Cheshire County77.3K
  7. 7Belknap County64.7K
  8. 8Carroll County51.8K
  9. 9Sullivan County43.7K
  10. 10Coos County31.3K

All 10 counties in New Hampshire

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Belknap County$1,167$4,924
Carroll County$1,195$3,848
Cheshire County$1,276$6,048
Coos County$876$3,579
Grafton County$1,301$5,925
Hillsborough County$1,623$6,999
Merrimack County$1,360$6,783
Rockingham County$1,687$7,839
Strafford County$1,488$6,708
Sullivan County$1,211$5,756

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

  • State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
  • County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
  • Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
  • Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
  • Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
  • Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
  • Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: New Hampshire next to your own state, by what you value.

  • See New Hampshire beside your own state

    Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

    Find your fit

  • Pick a county here and make it your target

    The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

    See the three counties