The cost of living in NH has increased substantially in the last decade. Household spending on health care, as well as the price of child care, has
outpaced inflation.
Meanwhile, the cost of luxury items or otherwise optional expenses, such as televisions, toys, and recreational activities, have either grown slower than inflation or decreased relative to the value of the dollar. These trends can mask the growing costs of core necessities in the overall inflation statistics.
While buying a television might cost less than in prior decades, basic living expenses have grown. Health care costs are high on the list, and food, energy, and transportation costs have increased. But the primary driver of the cost increase has been housing.
Housing Costs Outpace Incomes
No matter how you slice it, housing costs in NH have outpaced income growth. From 2015 to 2024, the median statewide rent and utility costs for a two-bedroom apartment increased 58%, according to the NH Housing Finance Authority. For renters seeking relief, purchasing homes did not offer it. Single-family median house sale prices more than doubled during the same period, from $241,500 to $514,000.
Incomes did not keep pace with these price increases. The average hourly wage in NH grew 41% from 2015 to 2024, median household income rose 42%, and personal income per person increased 49%.
Housing Cost Drivers
Are housing prices rising quickly because people from Massachusetts or adults looking to retire here are paying cash and buying all the houses? While these groups certainly contribute to overall demand, the data does not support them as the cause of the recent increases.
According to an analysis by NH Housing, residents of NH accounted for more than 70% of deed transfers between 2018 and 2022. In other words, most property purchases were by people already living in NH.
In comparison, Massachusetts residents purchased between 15% and 20% of properties in the state during those years, with the highest percentage in 2021, the year following the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Similarly, while older adults are moving into NH, the state has continued its historical trend of being attractive to younger adults. Of the people who moved into NH from 2019 to 2023, about three quarters were under age 45. That included many families with children, all of whom helped keep the state’s 2024 median age of 43.6 years from climbing even faster during this period.
A Structural Affordability Crisis
Navigating high costs becomes more difficult as the numbers rise.
The cost of paying the monthly mortgage and average property taxes for a median-priced single-family house, with a 5% downpayment and an average 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.7%, rose from about $18,000 per year in 2015 to $47,000
in 2024.
Beyond housing, other essential needs are driving high costs for NH families. The price for center-based child care for an infant and a four-year-old increased by about $7,800 during this period. At the same time, the out-of-pocket health care costs for a family of four in NH increased from about $7,400 to $10,500.
While that’s what families face, it is not the whole picture. For example, average annual health care premiums for a family of four in NH, including the amounts paid by an employer and an employee, totaled about $26,000 in 2024. That’s the equivalent of buying a new compact car every year, just for the premium. Premium payments are the cost to maintain health coverage and do not include other health-related costs, such as copayments for doctor visits, deductibles, or costs when family members get sick.
In sum, these costs reflect a structural affordability crisis. Luxury goods might be getting cheaper, but essentials that all Granite Staters need are getting more expensive. Meaningfully addressing that challenge cannot come soon enough for many families, businesses, and people living in today’s economy.
Phil Sletten is research director at NH Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, independent research nonprofit that examines issues related to the state budget, the economy, policy decisions, and the financial security of Granite Staters. For more information, visit nhfpi.org.