New Hampshire’s story is often told through familiar but false assumptions: retirees driving population change, Massachusetts buyers pushing up home prices, and a uniquely low-tax landscape keeping the state affordable. But the latest data tells a different and more nuanced story.
First, younger adults, not retirees, are driving population growth. Between 2019 and 2023, around 77% of the people who moved to New Hampshire from another state or country were under the age of 45. When accounting for both in-migration and out-migration, the Granite State still attracts more people in their 30s and 40s, along with their children, than older adults. With deaths outpacing births in the state since 2017, New Hampshire has relied on in-migration to maintain population growth and support its workforce. However, rising costs, particularly housing and child care costs, can make establishing roots in the Granite State increasingly challenging.
Second, housing pressures come more from within than from Massachusetts. Between 2018 and 2022, around 70% of deed transfers occurred among Granite Staters, even amidst a national shift towards rural living and more flexible remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. While increased migration from Massachusetts likely had some influence on housing constraints during the pandemic, demographic shifts, including Millennials entering typical homebuying years, likely placed greater pressure on the housing market regardless of changes in interstate movers. With net gains from Massachusetts slowing in 2023, internal demands and limited housing supply likely continue to influence high prices.
Finally, New Hampshire’s low-tax reputation changes when property taxes enter the picture. While New Hampshire had the lowest state-level tax revenue collections per capita of any state during fiscal year 2022, perspectives shift when local taxes are factored in. New Hampshire fell closer to the middle when factoring in both state and local tax revenues, ranking 29th among the 50 states in the fiscal year 2022 data. This shift reflects the state’s heavy reliance on local property taxes, with more than half of all state and local government tax revenue coming from such taxes, placing a greater strain on homeowners.
Overall, New Hampshire is gaining the younger workers and families it needs to sustain its economy, but their ability to stay hinges on whether the state can tackle rising housing, child care and other costs. Addressing affordability concerns and strengthening support for families will be crucial to ensuring a thriving New Hampshire workforce and overall economy in the years ahead.
Jess Williams is a policy analyst with the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. The NHFPI Policy Memo is a partnership of the NH Fiscal Policy Institute and NH Business Review.
New Hampshire’s story is often told through familiar but false assumptions: retirees driving population change, Massachusetts buyers pushing up home prices, and a uniquely low-tax landscape keeping the state affordable.
The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (BFA) board of directors has approved a financing structure that will make New Hampshire the first state in the world to issue a municipal bond backed by bitcoin.
The award totals $1.6 million over four years and will support training, placement and sustainability efforts to strengthen the behavioral health workforce across rural Vermont and New Hampshire
A free-standing 24-hour emergency room operated by Parkland Medical Center was conditionally approved by planners Nov. 13
Despite some angst that the Trump Administration might vaporize the money, funds are coming to New Hampshire to expand broadband internet access throughout the state, although the amount isn’t what was originally allocated
New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi will no longer take part in cases before the state’s highest court, telling her colleagues on the bench that she will instead focus on administrative tasks until she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in February.
A well-known Seacoast developer is planning to demolish three 125-year-old buildings on Main Street and construct six condos in their place.
Keene plans to bring a new engineering consultant aboard the city’s downtown infrastructure project next spring when construction begins.
U.S. Rep. Christopher Pappas is sponsoring new legislation that seeks to exempt small businesses from tariffs and reimburse them for the trade war duties that the 1st District congressman described as “unnecessary and harmful.”
