Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is New Hampshire a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in New Hampshire.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Granite State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of New Hampshire, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 10 counties in the state.
Rockingham County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in New Hampshire. And you should avoid Coos County if you can — at least according to the data.
$118,331 median income · 3.6% unemployment
$103,545 median income · 3.1% unemployment
$97,004 median income · 3.1% unemployment
$92,783 median income · 3.1% unemployment
$88,570 median income · 3.5% unemployment
$88,261 median income · 3.2% unemployment
$86,463 median income · 5.1% unemployment
$83,329 median income · 3.3% unemployment
$80,858 median income · 3.1% unemployment
$57,677 median income · 4.3% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New Hampshire’s statewide median.
New Hampshire statewide median: $99,031
New Hampshire statewide median: $507,347
New Hampshire statewide median: 3.3%
On the map
Where New Hampshire’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which New Hampshire county is the best?
To give you the best county in New Hampshire, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in New Hampshire across each of the criteria from one to 10, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In New Hampshire.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Granite State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in New Hampshire.
Read on to see why Rockingham County is the best county, while Coos County is probably in contention for being the worst county in New Hampshire.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In New Hampshire
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockingham County | 319,082 | $118,331 | $619,521 |
| 2 | Hillsborough County | 426,378 | $103,545 | $517,338 |
| 3 | Merrimack County | 155,967 | $97,004 | $483,959 |
| 4 | Belknap County | 64,659 | $92,783 | $505,416 |
| 5 | Strafford County | 132,575 | $88,570 | $500,025 |
| 6 | Grafton County | 92,120 | $88,261 | $423,252 |
| 7 | Carroll County | 51,804 | $86,463 | $496,497 |
| 8 | Cheshire County | 77,297 | $83,329 | $380,746 |
| 9 | Sullivan County | 43,715 | $80,858 | $378,842 |
| 10 | Coos County | 31,271 | $57,677 | $251,611 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 10 New Hampshire counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In New Hampshire To Call Home For 2026
Living in New Hampshire can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in New Hampshire are Rockingham County, Hillsborough County, Merrimack County, Belknap County, Strafford County, Grafton County, Carroll County, Cheshire County, Sullivan County, and Coos County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome. Not sold on New Hampshire? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Counties In New Hampshire FAQs
What is the best county to live in New Hampshire?
Rockingham County is the best county to live in New Hampshire for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Hillsborough County and Merrimack County are next.
What are the best counties in New Hampshire?
The best counties to live in New Hampshire are Rockingham County, Hillsborough County, Merrimack County, Belknap County, Strafford County, Grafton County, Carroll County, Cheshire County, Sullivan County, and Coos County. We ranked all 10 New Hampshire counties.
How do you rank the best counties?
Counties are scored on crime, home values, income, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey and FBI data. The county with the best average across all seven, Rockingham County, wins.
How expensive is it to live in Rockingham County?
The median household income in Rockingham County is $118,331 and the median home costs $619,521. Statewide, the typical New Hampshire home runs $507,347.
Which county in New Hampshire should you think twice about?
Coos County lands at the bottom of the quality-of-life ranking for New Hampshire. People make good lives there anyway; the numbers just say it is the toughest of the 10 counties.
