Grafton County, NH

County Profile

92,120 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Grafton 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.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 35% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 1% of 1,463 counties measured92
GrowthTop 36% of 1,453 counties measured58
Housing affordabilityTop 48% of 1,462 counties measured74
Climate1,424th of 1,463 counties measured50
Physical resilience1,207th of 1,463 counties measured31
Access1,267th of 1,463 counties measured55
Economic stabilityTop 20% of 1,463 counties measured81
The quick read

Grafton County ranks in the top 1% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.3% and median household income of $88,261.

384 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 7% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.3 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
92,120
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$88,261
Top 11% nationally
Density
54/sq mi
1,708.6 sq mi of land
Median age
44.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Grafton County
New Hampshire
Nearest major airport
MHT
72 mi · Manchester Boston Rgnl
Median home value
$344,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.3%, lower than in 98% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.4% over the past year, to 49,045 employed residents.

47% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $88,261 is higher than in 89% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$104,69194th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$85,79691st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,8682024 ACS 5-Year$88,261Top 11%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2712024 ACS 5-Year$52,790Top 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$81,761Top 9%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.4%Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.5 minTop 34%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year46.7%Top 4%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.1%9th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202649,045Top 40%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.6%Top 10%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.4%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202650,22460th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%71st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 27%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20262.3%Top 2%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year17.2%92nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.51.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.3% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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

202120222023202488k74k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $88,261 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.

55% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.0 students for every full-time teacher across 50 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
51
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.0
across 50 of them
Math proficiency
54.9%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
64.4%
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 51 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Hanover High SchoolDresden School District67410.787%98%
Plymouth Regional High SchoolPemi-Baker Regional School District65112.847%72%
Lebanon High SchoolLebanon School District60611.762%77%
Lebanon Middle SchoolLebanon School District4649.554%63%
Bernice A. Ray SchoolHanover School District46311.380%80%
Frances C. Richmond SchoolDresden School District3699.071%78%
Plymouth Elementary SchoolPlymouth School District3658.949%56%
Newfound Regional High SchoolNewfound Area School District35711.537%47%
Hanover Street SchoolLebanon School District31610.582%67%
Mildred C. Lakeway SchoolLittleton School District3098.657%67%
Mascoma Valley Regional High SchoolMascoma Valley Regional School District30310.427%52%
Newfound Memorial Middle SchoolNewfound Area School District29611.442%56%

25.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Hampshire’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of New Hampshire is up 60% over five years, and up 4.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,925 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.72% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,301 a month.

A median home at $344,500 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $103,974, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
27.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,301
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$344,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Grafton County’s median household income of $88,261, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of New Hampshire’s figure2026 Q2+4.0%61st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New Hampshire’s figure2026 Q2+60.4%97th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of New Hampshire’s figure2026 Q2+127.1%94th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 21%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year71.3%34th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1782024 ACS 5-Year51,92083rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$702024 ACS 5-Year$1,301Bottom 13%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,5182024 ACS 5-Year$344,50086th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1272024 ACS 5-Year$5,92598th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,6872024 ACS 5-Year$103,974Top 11%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.72%94th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year27.9%Bottom 48%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±5442024 ACS 5-Year12,48198th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year24.0%94th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%11th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6302024 ACS 5-Year14,81394th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

58/ 100
Top 36% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 93,045 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 372 units authorized in 2025, 24% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Grafton County gained about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $104,691, above the $85,796 of households that moved out.

At 4.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
384
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.2
Top 35% nationally
Year over year
−7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
28.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202493k91k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
75%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$104,691
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$85,796
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Merrimack County, NH 301 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  2. Windsor County, VT 286 people · 5.5% of arrivals
  3. Middlesex County, MA 283 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  4. Belknap County, NH 228 people · 4.4% of arrivals
  5. Hillsborough County, NH 200 people · 3.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Merrimack County, NH 309 people · 6.1% of departures
  2. Sullivan County, NH 277 people · 5.5% of departures
  3. Windsor County, VT 277 people · 5.5% of departures
  4. Belknap County, NH 253 people · 5.0% of departures
  5. Hillsborough County, NH 193 people · 3.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025589372
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−37%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 7°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.9 inches, including 76.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 35, 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 WENTWORTH, 5.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year492024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals76.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals7°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year352024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
35
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
49
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

31 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 85% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Winter weatherModerate
Inland floodingHigh
LightningModerate
HurricaneModerate
Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, avalanche, cold wave, strong wind, wildfire, tornado, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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

Grafton County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 23.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.8 per 100,000 residents in Grafton County.

Homicide
2.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
23.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
11.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
31.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Grafton County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Manchester Boston Rgnl at 72 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year90.3%Top 24%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle72 miBottom 14%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.5%Top 20%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Manchester Boston RgnlMHT72 mi9,250 ft
Plattsburgh IntlPBG95 mi11,759 ft
General Edward Lawrence Logan IntlBOS116 mi10,083 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
63
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Grafton County, NH