NH Population Growth Slows to 50-Year Low

New Hampshire's population growth has slowed to its smallest gains since the 1950s because fewer people are moving to the state. According to the University of NH's Carsey Institute, recent census estimates show very slow growth between 2010 and 2011. This confirms findings from the 2010 census, showing that the state gained just 80,700 residents (a 6.5 percent increase) between 2000 and 2010, far fewer than in earlier decades.

Carsey senior demographer Ken Johnson reports that the recession has dramatically slowed the state's growth. Migration contributed 35,400 to the population gainfar less than in earlier decadesand the excess of births over deaths accounted for 45,300. Johnson also reports that NH currently does not have a large population of seniors, but a rapid increase in the older population is inevitable and coming soon. The population age 65 and over will almost certainly double in the next 20 years, according to the Carsey Institute, which added that racial diversity is growing because the minority child population is increasing. In spite of that, the number of non-Hispanic white children is diminishing. Diversity remains modest and concentrated in a few areas of the state.