Cost of Living in New Hampshire

By Jacqueline DeMarco

(Last Updated – 04/2025)

New Hampshire offers residents close proximity to stunning nature, rich history, and culture. All of the perks of residing in New Hampshire may be why it’s one of the most expensive states to live in.

To better understand the New Hampshire cost of living and how your budget would be affected by a move to the Granite State, keep reading.

What’s the Average Cost of Living in New Hampshire?

Average Cost of Living in New Hampshire: $65,908 per year

If you’re considering relocating to this New England state, the cost of living could affect your monthly budget.

According to MERIC data gathered, New Hampshire has the 42nd lowest cost of living in the country. If New Hampshire exceeds your budget, don’t bank on finding an affordable nearby state to move to. All of the states around New Hampshire — Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York — are some of the most expensive in the country to live in.

So, what is the cost of living in New Hampshire? According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average total personal consumption cost in New Hampshire comes to $65,908 per year. Here’s where that spending is going, specifically.

That works out to $5,492 in average monthly expenses for each resident of the White Mountain State.

Housing Costs in New Hampshire

Average Housing Costs in New Hampshire: $1,082 to $1,980 per month

New Hampshire has only 653,069 housing units, according to the latest census estimates. The typical home value in New Hampshire runs about $480,212 in February 2025, Zillow noted.

Here’s what you can expect to spend monthly on housing in New Hampshire, per the most recent census data:

•  Median monthly mortgage cost: $2,305

•  Median studio rent: $1,082

•  Median one-bedroom rent: $1,193

•  Median two-bedroom rent: $1,670

•  Median three-bedroom rent: $1,811

•  Median four-bedroom rent: $1,980

•  Median gross rent: $1,517

How much the average home costs depends on where it is, of course. Let’s take a look at the typical home values for major New Hampshire cities, according to Zillow data as of February 2025.

Utility Costs in New Hampshire

Average Utility Costs in New Hampshire: $424 per month

What should you expect to spend on utilities monthly in New Hampshire? Here’s a breakdown of the average utility spending across major categories.

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price; Statista.com, “Average monthly residential utility costs in the United States, by state”; DoxoInsights, U.S. Cable & Internet Market Size and Household Spending Report; and Rentcafe.com, What Is the Average Water Bill?

Groceries & Food

Average Grocery & Food Costs in New Hampshire: $450 per person, per month

So you can budget accordingly, let’s take a closer look at how much you’d likely spend on food on average in New Hampshire. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the average annual food and beverage cost per person at $5,396, or about $450 a month.

The Council for Community and Economic Research ranks the food costs in major American cities. The only major New Hampshire city the council examined was Manchester. This is Manchester’s grocery costs ranking for 2024.

Transportation

Average Transportation Costs in New Hampshire: $10,861 to $20,210 per year

How many people you need to schlep to work, school, and recreation activities will affect how much you spend on transportation each year. To give you a better idea of what your family may spend on transportation in New Hampshire, here’s a breakdown of average spending, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator for 2025.

Health Care

Average Health Care Costs in New Hampshire: $9,886 per person, per year

How much you’d need to budget for health care in New Hampshire depends on medical needs and type of coverage. That said, the average annual per-person cost of health care in New Hampshire is $9,886, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis Personal Consumption Expenditures by State report.

Child Care

Average Child Care Costs in New Hampshire: $839 to $1,150 or more per child, per month

Parents know that child care is a major expense.

Those who meet certain income requirements and are working, searching for work, or participating in a training program might catch a break with child care scholarships.

This is what many parents can expect to spend on child care costs in New Hampshire, per data from CostofChildCare.org.

Taxes

Tax Rate in New Hampshire: No income tax

New Hampshire recently repealed its taxes on interest and dividend income and has no personal income taxes, says the Tax Foundation’s State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2025. It has a 7.5% corporate income tax rate but no state sales tax, estate tax, or inheritance tax.

In fact, New Hampshire ranks 6th overall in the Tax Foundation’s 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index.

Miscellaneous Costs

If personal expenditures in New Hampshire average $37,054 per person each year, some of that could be spent on fun. Here are a few ideas (costs are accurate as of March 2025):

•  Learn more about architecture and the work of Frank Lloyd Wright at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester: General admission is $20 (adults), $15 (students and seniors), $5 (teens 13-17), and is free for kids under 12 years old.

•  Get the kids’ imagination flowing in the city of Glen at Story Land, where fairytales come to life: Single-day tickets start at $39.99 with certain conditions.

•  Enjoy some time high above nature with a round-trip ride on America’s first aerial tramway at Cannon Mountain in Franconia. Tickets start at $25 (all riders over the age of 5).

•  Grab a fresh apple cider donut and some apples (in season) right from the orchard at Meadow Ledge Farm in Loudon. A 6-pack of donuts is $6.50.

•  Interested in seeing some beautiful fall foliage? The Kancamagus Highway from Lincoln to Conway is 34.5 miles of scenery with hiking trails and more to do along the drive. It’s free to drive, but parking at one of the trailheads is $5 per vehicle per day.

How Much Money Do You Need to Live Comfortably in New Hampshire?

Your family size, lifestyle, and other factors will influence how accessible a comfortable style of living is in New Hampshire, but let’s just say that comfort will come at a price.

New Hampshire ranks 44th on U.S. News & World Report’s Affordability Rankings, which measures the average cost of living in a given state against the average amount of money that state’s households have.

MERIC’s ranking agrees: It found that New Hampshire has the 42nd lowest cost of living (or 9th highest) in the country among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

What City Has the Lowest Cost of Living in New Hampshire?

The Council for Community and Economic Research singled out Manchester as the only New Hampshire city for which they collected cost-of-living data.