This second edition of New Hampshire Policy Points provides an overview of the Granite State and the people who call New Hampshire home. It focuses in on some of the issues that are most important to supporting thriving lives and livelihoods for New Hampshire’s residents. Moreover, the book addresses areas of key policy investments that will help ensure greater well-being for all Granite Staters and a more equitable, inclusive, and prosperous New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Policy Points is intended to provide an informative and accessible resource to policymakers and the general public alike, highlighting areas of key concerns. Touching on some important points but by no means comprehensive, each section within New Hampshire Policy Points includes the most up-to-date information available on each topic area. The facts and figures included within this book provide useful information and references for anyone interested in learning about New Hampshire and contributing to making the Granite State a better place for everyone to call home.
To purchase a print copy or download a free digital PDF of New Hampshire Policy Points, visit nhfpi.org/nhpp
The internet is vital for accessing education, health care, informational resources, goods and services, and job opportunities in the modern economy. Expanding access to broadband infrastructure, especially in rural areas where access to high-speed internet is more limited, is linked to increases in population growth, the availability of jobs, more new businesses, higher property values, and lower unemployment rates.[1]
Internet Coverage in New Hampshire
According to U.S. Census Bureau data collected from 2018 to 2022, an estimated 95 percent of Granite Staters were in a household with a computer, smartphone, tablet, or other computing device, while 85 percent had a desktop or laptop. About 91 percent resided in households with some form of broadband internet subscription, including a cellular data plan or a satellite connection; 82 percent had a cable, fiber optic, or DSL broadband subscription, excluding cellular and satellite plans. An estimated nine percent did not have any type of internet coverage; however, there was considerable regional variability with rates ranging as high as 13 or 14 percent in Coos, Sullivan, and Grafton counties to as low as 5.6 percent in Rockingham County. Five percent of Granite Staters did not own any type of computing device, including a smartphone or tablet, and approximately five percent owned only a smartphone and no other form of computing device.[2]
An assessment from BroadbandNow, a national research organization that uses both public and private-sector data to estimate internet access, ranked New Hampshire second among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in its 2024 report based on wired or at-home wireless internet coverage, speed, and price. BroadbandNow estimated that about 96.8 percent of New Hampshire residents could locally access internet with connection speeds at 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload, which are speeds the U.S. Federal Communications Commission define as “broadband.” BroadbandNow notes, however, 25 megabits may be inadequate to adequate internet speed for many activities and that 100 megabits would be a more appropriate definition of highspeed. When the availability of 100+ megabits connection speed was applied to New Hampshire, access dropped to an average of 92.7 percent, ranging from 70 percent availability in Coos County to 99.8 percent in Rockingham County.[3]
Cost of Internet Access
While broadband internet coverage carried by wired infrastructure reaches most Granite Staters, the cost of internet service may be prohibitive for many people. BroadbandNow, which defines low-priced wired internet plans as costing $60 per month or less, calculated that 71.4 percent of have access to a low-priced plan. As of 2024, New Hampshire and Maine had the largest percentage of residents (71.4 percent) with access to low-priced broadband plans among New England states, with 54.5 percent of Rhode Island and Connecticut residents and only 33.3 percent of Massachusetts and Vermont residents having this low-priced access.[4]
Most communities in New Hampshire had at least ten potential internet providers, including wireless providers, according to BroadbandNow; however, only two hardline connection providers reached more than a third of the state with cable or fiber internet. The State government’s New Hampshire Broadband Mapping Initiative estimated that 95.4 percent of addresses were served by broadband providers statewide, but key parts of the state, particularly north of the White Mountains and rural communities in northwestern New Hampshire, had much lower service coverage rates.[5]
Higher prices limit broadband access, particularly for households with lower incomes. While only three percent of Granite State households with incomes greater than $75,000 annually, equivalent to about 9,000 households, did not have an internet coverage in the 2018 to 2022 period, the same was true for an estimated 30 percent of households with annual incomes under $20,000, or approximately 14,000 households.[6]
Investments in Broadband Access
State and federal investments have sought to expand access to broadband internet services in New Hampshire. In 2020, the State devoted flexible federal funds associated with COVID-19 relief efforts to improving broadband infrastructure. Two federal laws passed in 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, devoted significant funding to broadband infrastructure. The federal government also established a program, following a temporary pandemic-era assistance program, to provide discounts of up to $30 per month on internet subscription bills to people with low incomes, but funding for this program was not renewed and the program ended in June 2024.[7]
Increased investments may have contributed to better access and affordability to broadband internet services in New Hampshire. BroadbandNow’s estimate of the percentage of residents with local access to broadband internet has increased approximately 7 percentage points since the 2022 data was reported, with a 35 percentage point increase in residents who have access to a low-cost wired internet plan, which was likely aided by the now expired federal subsidies. The most recent data for households earning less than $20,000 per year also suggest an increase in internet subscription access relative to before the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
Access to affordable broadband can help Granite Staters find employment and connect to education and health services in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Continued efforts to increase affordable broadband access for households with fewer resources and those living in rural areas may help promote better health and economic outcomes and boost upward mobility among these Granite State populations.
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This publication and its conclusions are based on independent research and analysis conducted by NHFPI. Please email us at info@nhfpi.org with any inquiries or when using or citing New Hampshire Policy Points in any forthcoming publications.
© New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, 2024.
Endnotes
[1] See the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s 2020 publication, Bringing Broadband to Rural America.
[2] See U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions, S2801.
[3] For more information about figures in this paragraph, see BroadbandNow’s webpage, New Hampshire Internet Coverage & Availability in 2024.
[4] For more information about figures in this paragraph, see BroadbandNow’s 2024 Internet Availability by State.
[5] For more information about figures in this paragraph, see BroadbandNow’s webpage, New Hampshire Internet Coverage & Availability in 2024 and the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs NH Broadband Mapping Initiative data, last updated December 2023.
[6] See U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions, S2801.
[7] See the U.S. Federal Communications Commission Affordable Connectivity Program website, accessed July 2024, as well as the U.S. Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund website, accessed July 2024, and the U.S. Department of Commerce November 2021 fact sheet Department of Commerce’s Use of Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Funding to Help Close the Digital Divide.
[8] See U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions, S2801.