All-items parity
104.2
US = 100.0
New Hampshire (NH) | All-items parity 104.2
New Hampshire Cost of Living 2026
New Hampshire reads 104.2 on the BEA all-items price parity for 2024, priced like the New England state it is, housing rents at 114.9, utilities at 133.7, and a median home of $458,800. Its tax position is now unique in the nation: with the interest-and-dividends tax repealed at the end of 2024, New Hampshire levies neither a broad income tax nor any sales tax, the only state that can say both. The bill arrives once a year instead: a 1.86% effective property tax, among the nation's highest, funding schools and towns directly.
No income tax, no sales taxProperty tax 1.86% effectiveBoston salaries in commuting range
Median Home
$458,800
2BR rent $1,687/mo
Median Income
$99,782
Household, Census ACS
Category breakdown
The four BEA price parities vs the nation
| Category | NH index | National avg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 104.2 | 100.0 | 4.2% |
| Services: housing rents | 114.9 | 100.6 | 14.2% |
| Goods | 98.6 | 99.6 | -1.0% |
| Services: utilities | 133.7 | 98.4 | 35.9% |
| Services: other | 103.9 | 100.1 | 3.8% |
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes these four component parities and no others. There is no federal grocery, healthcare or transportation price parity, so this table shows none. Food at home sits inside Goods; medical and transport services sit inside Services: other.
Sources: BEA Regional Price Parities by State (table SARPP), 2024 reference year, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Census ACS 2024 1-year (median income, home value), NH Department of Revenue Administration (tax structure, local rates), Tax Foundation (effective property tax), EIA (electricity rates), KFF (uninsured rate).
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Pros / offsets
What works in New Hampshire.
The only no-income, no-sales-tax state. Wages, pensions, 401(k) withdrawals, capital gains, none of it is touched by Concord, and since the interest-and-dividends tax expired in 2025, investment income joined the list. There is no sales tax at any register, which is why Massachusetts license plates fill every border-town mall parking lot.
Boston money, New Hampshire costs. The southern tier (Nashua, Salem, Manchester) sits inside Greater Boston's labor market; capturing a Massachusetts salary while living tax-free across the line is the state's founding arbitrage, and remote work widened it.
High-income, high-functioning services. Median household income of $99,782 ranks among the nation's best, the uninsured rate is a low 5.5%, and New Hampshire consistently tops safety and child-wellbeing rankings; the famous frugality has not hollowed out outcomes.
Four-season New England without the premium neighbors charge. The White Mountains, the Lakes Region and eighteen miles of seacoast price well below equivalent Vermont, coastal Maine or Massachusetts markets for comparable settings.
Cons / drivers
Where New Hampshire costs more.
The property tax is the system. At 1.86% effective, among America's highest, the median homeowner pays roughly $7,900 a year, town by town, with school funding driving wide local variation. Low-income owners in high-rate towns feel it hardest, and renters pay it inside the rent.
Housing supply is New England-tight. The $458,800 median and $1,687 median two-bedroom rent reflect decades of slow building; vacancy rates in the southern tier run near zero, and the Boston spillover keeps bidding.
Heating and power cost real money. Electricity at 22.45 cents per kWh, winter gas averaging $105 a month and a utilities parity of 133.7 are the standard New England energy story; many rural homes still heat with oil or propane at the market's mercy.
No sales tax does not mean cheap services. Childcare, healthcare and trades price at New England rates (healthcare averages $9,090 a year per person in our data), and towns fund everything property taxes allow, so vehicle registration fees and local charges run higher than newcomers expect.
Tax + benefit signals
New Hampshire tax and access overview
State income tax
0%
No state income tax
Property tax effective
1.86%
Of assessed value, annual
Sales tax (state)
0.00%
Local can add 1-4% more
Uninsured rate
5.5%
Medicaid: expanded
Your take-home pay in New Hampshire
No state income tax: see exactly what federal tax and FICA leave you per paycheck.
The mortgage on a $458,800 home
Monthly payment at today’s rates with New Hampshire property tax (1.86%) and average home insurance.
Metro variation
State averages mask city variation.
New Hampshire averages 104.2 on the BEA all-items parity, arranged in bands that track distance from Boston:
The southern tier (Nashua, Manchester, Salem, Portsmouth): The state's economic engine and its priciest band: Boston commuters and seacoast demand push desirable towns well above the state median, with Portsmouth the standout premium market.
Concord and the Merrimack Valley: The capital region holds the practical middle, state-government stability and $400,000s family homes within an hour of both mountains and coast.
The Lakes Region and White Mountains: Second-home demand around Winnipesaukee and the ski towns (North Conway, Lincoln) sets resort pricing beside modest year-round local wages, the classic amenity-market split.
The west and north (Keene, Berlin, the North Country): The genuine value tier: Berlin and the far north sell homes under $250,000 where the mill economy used to be, with services and jobs to match that history.
Rule of thumb: every thirty minutes north of the Massachusetts line takes a tier off the price, until the ski resorts put one back on.
Frequently Asked
New Hampshire cost of living, answered
Does New Hampshire really have no income tax and no sales tax?
Yes, uniquely among the fifty states. There has never been a broad wage income tax or a general sales tax, and the last asterisk, the 3-5% tax on interest and dividends, was phased down and repealed as of the end of 2024, so investment income is now untaxed too. Alaska comes closest (no income tax, local-only sales taxes). The state funds itself through property taxes, business taxes, and sin-and-tourism revenue (meals, rooms, liquor sales).
How high is New Hampshire property tax in practice?
Among the top three nationally: 1.86% effective, roughly $7,900 a year on the $458,800 median home, though the town-by-town spread is enormous because each town's school and municipal budget sets its rate. Before buying, check the specific town's equalized rate, two adjacent towns can differ by thousands a year on the same house, and note that there is no general homestead exemption, only targeted credits (veterans, elderly, low-income relief).
Is the Massachusetts-commuter arbitrage still worth it?
Massachusetts taxes nonresidents on Massachusetts-source wages, so an office commuter still pays Massachusetts income tax on that salary; the New Hampshire advantage lands on everything else (spouse's NH income, investments, retirement withdrawals, every purchase untaxed). Fully remote workers employed by their NH home office keep the whole spread. Add cheaper housing than metro Boston and the southern tier remains one of New England's best total-cost positions, property tax included.
How is New Hampshire for retirees?
Strong and getting stronger: no tax on Social Security, pensions, IRA or 401(k) withdrawals, and since the interest-and-dividends repeal, none on investment income either, the complete set. The counterweights are the property tax (an elderly exemption exists town by town, means-tested) and New England heating and healthcare costs ($9,090 average annual per-person spend). Retirees who downsize the house, the property tax's base, capture the tax structure at its best.
What do utilities and heating cost?
New England prices: electricity at 22.45 cents per kWh (average bill $155), winter gas averaging $105 a month where pipelines reach, and oil or propane at market rates across much of the state. The utilities parity of 133.7 against the national 98.4 quantifies the premium. Budget heating as a four-figure annual line; weatherization and heat-pump conversions carry utility rebates worth checking.
New Hampshire or Vermont or Maine: how do they compare on cost?
The three price similarly overall (parities within a few points), so the tax structures decide: New Hampshire takes no income or sales tax and the nation's near-highest property tax; Vermont and Maine run graduated income taxes with somewhat gentler property bills and Maine adds a 5.5% sales tax. High earners and investment-income households almost always net best in New Hampshire; lower-income owners in expensive towns can fare better across either border. The /calculator runs your actual mix.