New Hampshire by the numbers
In New Hampshire, the median worker earns $52,610 a year, the typical home is worth $367,200 and carries $6,505 of property tax, and the average household pays $167 a month for electricity at 27.33¢ per kilowatt-hour.
Northeast ISO New England Retail choice statewide
Energy
New Hampshire buys most of its power from the same ISO New England pool as the rest of the region, so it inherits the regional constraint: a marginal generation fleet dominated by natural gas, fed by pipelines that fill up in cold weather. The state's own generation mix is unusual for New England, since the Seabrook nuclear station alone supplies a large share of in-state output. That plant sells into the regional market, though, rather than serving New Hampshire ratepayers at cost.
The visible driver of recent movement is the default-service reset. Utilities procure default supply in six-month terms, and each reset republishes the market's view of forward gas prices as a step change in the residential rate. That mechanism makes New Hampshire look jumpy next to regulated states that smooth costs across a full rate case.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, New Hampshire households used 643 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $167. At the state median wage that is about 6.6 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, gas is still cheaper to run than a heat pump here, by about $6.62 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median New Hampshire worker earned $52,610 in 2024, 6.3% above the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Other | 10.38× | $46,360 |
| Cooks, Short Order | 4.27× | $29,000 |
| Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other | 3.39× | $53,860 |
| Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 3.32× | $67,890 |
| Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers, Except Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers | 3.08× | $46,940 |
Property tax
The median New Hampshire homeowner pays $6,505 a year on a home worth $367,200, an effective rate of 1.77% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 10 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in New Hampshire run at 104.2 where the national average is 100, ranking it #9 of 51. Goods sit at 98.6, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 114.9, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $52,610 therefore buys what $50,489 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Boston-Cambridge-Newton (108.3) , Manchester-Nashua (105.7) .
Housing
House prices in New Hampshire rose 3.1% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +124.4%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Who supplies the power
6 utilities report residential service in New Hampshire, together serving 421,087 customers. Retail choice statewide.
New Hampshire: common questions
What does it cost to live in New Hampshire?
Prices overall run at 104.2 against a national average of 100, with rents at 114.9. The typical home is worth $367,200 and carries $6,505 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.77% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $167 a month at 27.33¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $52,610.
What is the property tax rate in New Hampshire?
The effective rate is 1.77% of home value, from a median bill of $6,505. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 10 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in New Hampshire?
The median wage of $52,610 buys what $50,489 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line New Hampshire falls on.
Is New Hampshire expensive for electricity?
It ranks #9 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 27.33¢ per kilowatt-hour, +48.2% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 11 of 51, because households there use 643 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in New Hampshire?
$52,610 across all occupations, about $25.29 an hour, covering 683,160 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in New Hampshire?
6 utilities report residential service, the largest being Public Service Co of NH with 279,131 customers. Retail choice statewide.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources