Stop me if you’ve heard this before: New Hampshire’s population grew slightly last year but only because of transplants moving into the state, since more state residents are dying than are born.
That has been the story of state demographics for close to a decade, with some disruption caused by COVID. The most recent Census data shows that the pattern is continuing.
On July 1, 2024, New Hampshire’s population reached an estimate of 1,409,032. That represents an increase of 6,800 people or about one-half of one percent since the previous July, a similar year-to-year change as the past few years.
These small but steady population gains are widespread. In the four years since the 2020 census, nine of the state’s 10 counties have seen population growth with only Coös County falling short, although its estimated population loss is so tiny – 165 people over four years – that it might be a statistical error.
Ken Johnson, the UNH professor considered the state’s demographics guru, noted “such widespread population gains are surprising given that deaths exceeded births in nine of New Hampshire’s ten counties.” Only Hillsborough County, home to Manchester and Nashua, saw what is known as natural population increase during the past four years.
Hillsborough was also unique in that most people who moved there between 2020 and 2024 came from other countries. For all other counties, the majority of in-migration came from other parts of the U.S.
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