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The New Hampshire Food Stamp Program

March 10, 2017 State Economy
vegetables

The New Hampshire Food Stamp Program, also known by the federal designation Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provides resources to eligible individuals to purchase certain food items at grocery stores and other participating food retailers. SNAP benefits are designed to provide the difference between the cost of a nutritionally adequate food plan (designed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture) and 30 percent of the net household income, which is the portion expected to be used on food. The federal government funds 100 percent of SNAP benefits, and the cost of state-level administration is split evenly with the state government.

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The State of Working New Hampshire

April 27, 2016 State Economy
grocery store cashier smiling

In its present state, the New Hampshire economy offers a number of encouraging signs. Both employment – the total number of people working in the Granite State – and economic output – the value of the goods and services those individuals produce – have been on the rise over the past several years. Yet, the state of working New Hampshire – the circumstances faced by many individual workers and their families – is somewhat less favorable. Moreover, recent years have seen a continuation of a longer-term shift in the types of jobs available in the Granite State, with service sector employment – and the comparatively lower wages associated with it – becoming more prominent.

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Taking the Measure of Need in the Granite State

March 24, 2016 State Economy
mother and sleeping baby at table

New Hampshire’s poverty rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest in the nation in 2014. While that distinction should inspire some pride, it should not engender complacency, for, as a means of assessing economic security, official federal poverty statistics often come up short. Indeed, economists and other analysts have long understood that the federal poverty threshold does not accurately reflect the level of income required to secure basic necessities, particularly in a state like New Hampshire, where the cost of living tends to be higher than in many other parts of the country.

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State’s Diverse Tax Base Stabilizes Revenue, But Business Tax Changes May Increase Volatility

29 Jun 2017

tree with coins

New Hampshire’s state tax revenue is relatively stable, but the State’s largest tax may be among the most volatile types of common taxes, a new analysis from The Pew Charitable Trusts suggests. Between 1997 and 2016, New Hampshire’s tax volatility, as measured through percentage changes from the prior fiscal year, was only higher than five other states, suggesting New Hampshire’s tax revenues do not typically deviate dramatically from year to year relative to other states. However, digging into the diverse revenue streams and drawing on the experiences from other states shows some risk for New Hampshire.