Cheshire County, NH

County Profile

77,297 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Cheshire County, NH.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 36% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 15% of 1,255 counties measured74
GrowthTop 43% of 1,226 counties measured54
Housing affordabilityTop 43% of 1,255 counties measured95
Climate1051st of 1,254 counties measured58
Physical resilience936th of 1,255 counties measured40
Access688th of 1,255 counties measured80
Economic stabilityTop 37% of 1,255 counties measured70
The quick read

Cheshire County ranks in the top 15% of published profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.5% and median household income of $83,329.

Rent takes 18% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.4 times that income.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, hurricane and earthquake.

At a glance

Population
77,297
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$83,329
Top 15% nationally
Density
109/sq mi
706.7 sq mi of land
Median age
43.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Cheshire County
New Hampshire
Metro area
Keene, NH
Nearest major airport
MHT
41 mi · Manchester Boston Rgnl
Median home value
$280,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.5% is lower than 98% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 0.6% over the past year, to 38,796 employed residents.

36% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 86% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 85% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,984$83,329Top 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,311$43,485Top 16%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income$67,074Top 22%of 1,2062023
Poverty rate8.7%Bottom 16%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.1 minBottom 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher35.5%Top 14%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment38,796Bottom 47%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.9%Bottom 33%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.6%Top 49%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force39,794Bottom 47%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation62.5%Top 30%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.5%Bottom 16%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate2.5%Bottom 2%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.22.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.5% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202483k69k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $83,329 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

27% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 41% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.4 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
39
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
26.7%
Reading proficiency
40.6%
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Keene High SchoolKeene School District1,28812.3
Keene Middle SchoolKeene School District62611.017%42%
Monadnock Regional High SchoolMonadnock Regional School District44812.8
Conant Middle High School (H)Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District33622.4
Rindge Memorial SchoolJaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District32410.545%54%
Winchester SchoolWinchester School District32211.124%30%
Cutler Elementary SchoolMonadnock Regional School District31613.728%33%
Symonds Elementary SchoolKeene School District29911.141%51%
Fuller Elementary SchoolKeene School District27511.024%45%
Mt. Caesar Elementary SchoolMonadnock Regional School District26812.2
Chesterfield Central SchoolChesterfield School District25311.038%50%
Jaffrey Grade SchoolJaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District2508.941%45%

30.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against New Hampshire’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,276 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.4 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
18.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.4×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,276
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$280,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.36Top 35%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate72.7%Bottom 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6435,899Top 23%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$54$1,276Top 14%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,524$280,100Top 23%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.4%Top 34%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate14.7%Top 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
54/ 100
Top 43% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2022 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 78,078 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 2.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
187
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.4
Bottom 43% nationally
Year over year
+21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
5.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202478k77k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2022202320242025166141
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was close to 2022 (0%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 13°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JAFFREY MUNI AP, 14.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index54.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation46.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low13°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index36.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing48°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

40 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and earthquake.

LandslideModerate
Ice stormModerate
HurricaneModerate
Inland floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, cold wave, winter weather, tornado, avalanche, hail, strong wind, wildfire.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Cheshire County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 18.0 per 100,000 residents in Cheshire County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
18.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
23.2
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Cheshire County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Cheshire County rather than Cheshire County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 41 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Manchester Boston RgnlMHT41 mi9,250 ft
Westfield-Barnes RgnlBAF58 mi9,000 ft
Bradley IntlBDL72 mi9,510 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
65
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

Cities in Cheshire County, NH