Counties in New Hampshire ranked
Hillsborough County is lowest at 3.0%, a gap of 1.7 times. The median New Hampshire county sits at 3.8%, against 3.3% for the median U.S. county. Source for New Hampshire: DOE LEAD 2022.
New Hampshire county map
- 3.0% to 3.4%
- 3.4% to 3.8%
- 3.8% to 3.9%
- 3.9% to 4.1%
- 4.1% to 5.0%
New Hampshire counties, darker = higher. Click one for its page.
Highest energy burden in New Hampshire
Coos County leads New Hampshire on burden at 5.0% of income and Carroll County follows at 4.1%. For lower-income homes the top is Carroll County: 11.3% of income, against 10.3% in the median New Hampshire county.
| Lowest burden in New Hampshire | Share of income (NH) | Residents (NH) |
|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough County | 3.0% | 424,732 |
| Rockingham County | 3.0% | 317,163 |
| Merrimack County | 3.4% | 155,018 |
| Strafford County | 3.5% | 131,743 |
| Grafton County | 3.8% | 91,759 |
Storm reports and FEMA risk in New Hampshire
NOAA logged 159 damaging-wind, tornado, tropical, ice, winter and heat reports in Coos County from 2015 to 2025, 507 for every 100,000 residents: the most in New Hampshire. FEMA scores Hillsborough County highest at 89.8 (relatively moderate). In New Hampshire these are weather reports and an index, not outage counts.
| Top 5 in New Hampshire | reports 2015-2025 (NH) | Residents (NH) | Rank (NH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coos County | 507 | 31,386 | 1st |
| Carroll County | 369 | 51,259 | 2nd |
| Cheshire County | 277 | 76,945 | 3rd |
| Sullivan County | 244 | 43,529 | 4th |
| Grafton County | 242 | 91,759 | 5th |
| Top 5 in New Hampshire | score 0-100 (NH) | Residents (NH) | Rank (NH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough County | 89.8 | 424,732 | 1st |
| Rockingham County | 85.8 | 317,163 | 2nd |
| Grafton County | 81.8 | 91,759 | 3rd |
| Merrimack County | 78.2 | 155,018 | 4th |
| Coos County | 72.8 | 31,386 | 5th |
Flood claims and flood insurance in New Hampshire
Rockingham County has the most NFIP flood claims per 1,000 homes in New Hampshire: 5.3 from 2015 to 2025, against 1.3 in the median New Hampshire county. Rockingham County has the highest share of homes with flood insurance (2.2%, median county 0.8%). Claims are a record of insured losses, not outage counts.
| Top 5 in New Hampshire | claims 2015-2025 (NH) | Residents (NH) | Rank (NH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham County | 5.3 | 317,163 | 1st |
| Grafton County | 1.9 | 91,759 | 2nd |
| Carroll County | 1.5 | 51,259 | 3rd |
| Sullivan County | 1.3 | 43,529 | 4th |
| Coos County | 1.3 | 31,386 | 5th |
| Top 5 in New Hampshire | % of homes insured (NH) | Residents (NH) | Rank (NH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham County | 2.2% | 317,163 | 1st |
| Grafton County | 1.1% | 91,759 | 2nd |
| Cheshire County | 0.9% | 76,945 | 3rd |
| Carroll County | 0.9% | 51,259 | 4th |
| Merrimack County | 0.8% | 155,018 | 5th |
FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP, as of 8 Sep 2026. Flood claims by county.
Outliers: New Hampshire counties far from the state median
4 county-measure pairs sit 3 or more scaled median-absolute-deviation units from the New Hampshire median. Most extreme: Rockingham County, share of homes with flood insurance 2.2% against a median of 0.8%.
| County | Measure | Value | New Hampshire median | Deviations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham County | Flood insurance penetration | 2.2% | 0.8% | +6.2 |
| Coos County | Homes heated by electricity | 4% | 11% | -4.9 |
| Sullivan County | Homes heated by electricity | 5% | 11% | -4.3 |
| Rockingham County | Flood claims per 1,000 homes | 5.3 | 1.3 | +4.1 |
Old homes, electric heat and utilities in New Hampshire
Coos County has the oldest stock: 64% of homes date from before 1980. Electric heat is most common in Merrimack County at 12% of homes, and Rockingham County lists 4 utilities, the most in New Hampshire.
| Top 5 in New Hampshire | % of homes (NH) | Residents (NH) | Rank (NH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coos County | 64% | 31,386 | 1st |
| Cheshire County | 62% | 76,945 | 2nd |
| Sullivan County | 61% | 43,529 | 3rd |
| Merrimack County | 54% | 155,018 | 4th |
| Hillsborough County | 54% | 424,732 | 5th |
| Top 5 in New Hampshire | % of homes (NH) | Residents (NH) | Rank (NH) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merrimack County | 12% | 155,018 | 1st |
| Hillsborough County | 11% | 424,732 | 2nd |
| Strafford County | 11% | 131,743 | 3rd |
| Rockingham County | 11% | 317,163 | 4th |
| Grafton County | 11% | 91,759 | 5th |
Each New Hampshire county in turn
- Belknap County, 64,300 residents: home energy burden 3.9% (5th of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 9.9% (6th of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 143 (6th of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 57.4 (9th of 10); share of homes built before 1980 51% (7th of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 9% (8th of 10); 2 utilities listed.
- Carroll County, 51,259 residents: home energy burden 4.1% (2nd of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 11.3% (1st of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 369 (2nd of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 71.0 (6th of 10); share of homes built before 1980 47% (9th of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 11% (6th of 10); 2 utilities listed.
- Cheshire County, 76,945 residents: home energy burden 3.9% (4th of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 9.8% (7th of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 277 (3rd of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 60.5 (8th of 10); share of homes built before 1980 62% (2nd of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 9% (7th of 10); 3 utilities listed.
- Coos County, 31,386 residents: home energy burden 5.0% (1st of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 10.7% (5th of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 507 (1st of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 72.8 (5th of 10); share of homes built before 1980 64% (1st of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 4% (10th of 10); 2 utilities listed.
- Grafton County, 91,759 residents: home energy burden 3.8% (6th of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 11.2% (2nd of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 242 (5th of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 81.8 (3rd of 10); share of homes built before 1980 50% (8th of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 11% (5th of 10); 3 utilities listed.
- Hillsborough County, 424,732 residents: home energy burden 3.0% (10th of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 8.3% (10th of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 57 (10th of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 89.8 (1st of 10); share of homes built before 1980 54% (5th of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 11% (2nd of 10); 2 utilities listed.
- Merrimack County, 155,018 residents: home energy burden 3.4% (8th of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 9.4% (9th of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 86 (7th of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 78.2 (4th of 10); share of homes built before 1980 54% (4th of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 12% (1st of 10); 3 utilities listed.
- Rockingham County, 317,163 residents: home energy burden 3.0% (9th of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 10.9% (3rd of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 59 (9th of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 85.8 (2nd of 10); share of homes built before 1980 46% (10th of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 11% (4th of 10); 4 utilities listed.
- Strafford County, 131,743 residents: home energy burden 3.5% (7th of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 9.8% (8th of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 72 (8th of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 64.1 (7th of 10); share of homes built before 1980 52% (6th of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 11% (3rd of 10); 2 utilities listed.
- Sullivan County, 43,529 residents: home energy burden 4.1% (3rd of 10); energy burden of lower-income homes 10.7% (4th of 10); storm reports per 100,000 residents 244 (4th of 10); FEMA National Risk Index score 37.6 (10th of 10); share of homes built before 1980 61% (3rd of 10); share of homes heated by electricity 5% (9th of 10); 3 utilities listed.
Find your New Hampshire county
- Pick a New Hampshire county to see its ranks.
All 10 New Hampshire counties, sortable
| Belknap County | 64,300 | 3.9% | 9.9% | 143 | 57.4 | 51% | 9% | 2 | no data | 0.6% | 92 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carroll County | 51,259 | 4.1% | 11.3% | 369 | 71.0 | 47% | 11% | 2 | 1.5 | 0.9% | 189 |
| Cheshire County | 76,945 | 3.9% | 9.8% | 277 | 60.5 | 62% | 9% | 3 | 0.8 | 0.9% | 213 |
| Coos County | 31,386 | 5.0% | 10.7% | 507 | 72.8 | 64% | 4% | 2 | 1.3 | 0.6% | 159 |
| Grafton County | 91,759 | 3.8% | 11.2% | 242 | 81.8 | 50% | 11% | 3 | 1.9 | 1.1% | 222 |
| Hillsborough County | 424,732 | 3.0% | 8.3% | 57 | 89.8 | 54% | 11% | 2 | 0.4 | 0.7% | 241 |
| Merrimack County | 155,018 | 3.4% | 9.4% | 86 | 78.2 | 54% | 12% | 3 | 0.3 | 0.8% | 133 |
| Rockingham County | 317,163 | 3.0% | 10.9% | 59 | 85.8 | 46% | 11% | 4 | 5.3 | 2.2% | 187 |
| Strafford County | 131,743 | 3.5% | 9.8% | 72 | 64.1 | 52% | 11% | 2 | 0.2 | 0.6% | 95 |
| Sullivan County | 43,529 | 4.1% | 10.7% | 244 | 37.6 | 61% | 5% | 3 | 1.3 | 0.7% | 106 |
New Hampshire: click a header to sort. Per-capita storm rates start at 5,000 residents.
Sources
| Source | Period | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|
| DOE LEAD (NH) | 2022 | 2 Oct 2026 |
| FEMA NRI (NH) | Dec 2025 | 2 Oct 2026 |
| NOAA Storm Events (NH) | 2015 to 2025 | 2 Oct 2026 |
| Census ACS (NH) | 2019 to 2023 | 2 Oct 2026 |
| EIA-861 (NH) | 2024 | 1 Oct 2026 |
New Hampshire LEAD figures are group estimates, not bills. Methodology.
Keep going
- New Hampshire prices, utilities and outages
- Help paying bills in New Hampshire
- Top 100 counties, city rankings, state burden ranking
Other states: New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio.
Questions
Which New Hampshire county has the highest home energy burden?
Coos County: 5.0% of income, against 3.8% for the median New Hampshire county (DOE LEAD 2022).
Which New Hampshire county has the lowest energy burden?
Hillsborough County at 3.0% of income.
How does New Hampshire compare with the whole country?
The median New Hampshire county has a burden of 3.8% and the median U.S. county 3.3%, across 10 New Hampshire counties and 3,053 U.S. counties with data.
Where do storms cause the most trouble in New Hampshire?
Coos County has the most NOAA storm reports per 100,000 residents: 507 between 2015 and 2025.
Which New Hampshire county has the highest FEMA risk score?
Hillsborough County: 89.8, rated relatively moderate by FEMA (Dec 2025).
Where are the oldest homes in New Hampshire?
Coos County: 64% of homes were built before 1980; the median New Hampshire county is at 53% (Census ACS 2023).
Which New Hampshire county relies most on electric heat?
Merrimack County: 12% of homes heat with electricity, against 11% in the median county.
Which New Hampshire county has the most flood claims per home?
Rockingham County: 5.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 homes from 2015 to 2025; the median New Hampshire county has 1.3 (FEMA OpenFEMA).
Are storm reports the same as power outages in New Hampshire?
No: in New Hampshire they are weather reports, not outage counts.
Where can New Hampshire households get help with bills?
See the New Hampshire help page. Highest burden: Coos County.