Most families in the United States have their Thanksgiving traditions: turkey, pie, gratitude, and perhaps at least one confidently delivered “fact” that isn’t actually a fact. This year, we’ve got you covered.
From who’s moving to New Hampshire to what actually drives State revenues and home prices, NHFPI breaks down five common misconceptions with clear, data-backed truths to help you politely myth-bust your way through the holiday.
1. Older Adults are the Primary Group Moving to New Hampshire
From 2019 to 2023, about 77 percent of the people who moved to New Hampshire from another state or another country were under the age of 45 years. About 35 percent of the total were under 24 years old, according to U.S. Census Bureau survey data. The median age of New Hampshire residents in 2024 was about 43.6 years.
Counting both in-migration and out-migration, New Hampshire still attracts more people in their 30s and 40s and their children in larger net numbers than older adults, according to research from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy.
Attracting young families will become more important for New Hampshire’s economy in the future, as the state’s population growth has been entirely dependent on net in-migration since about 2017. However, the cost of living, particularly housing and child care, makes affording family needs more difficult for young Granite State families than in previous decades.
2. People from Massachusetts are Buying Up All the Houses in New Hampshire
According to analysis from New Hampshire Housing, people who were already residents of New Hampshire comprised more than 70 percent of deed transfers during the 2018 to 2022 period. In other words, even during the COVID-19 pandemic when many people were moving to rural areas from larger cities, most property purchases were people already in New Hampshire buying a property in New Hampshire. Massachusetts residents purchased between about 15 percent and almost 20 percent of properties in the state across those years, with the highest percentage in 2021, the year following the onset of the pandemic.
New Hampshire typically has significant net in-migration from Massachusetts each year, and that accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic. This increased demand very likely helped push house prices upward. However, the state’s own demographics play a key role; Millennials are the second-largest generation of Granite Staters, and homeownership rates typically rising fastest when a population is aging into the late 20s to early 40s ages. This population was going to put more pressure on the housing market in the 2020s regardless of the pandemic and changes in interstate movers. Additionally, the latest data suggest net migration from Massachusetts may be slowing; in 2023, New Hampshire lost almost as many people to Maine, counting the net of people moving both from New Hampshire to Maine and vice versa, as New Hampshire gained from Massachusetts.
While migration from Massachusetts has likely been a key factor in New Hampshire home sales, these data suggest most New Hampshire houses are sold to people already in New Hampshire, and the impacts of migration from Massachusetts have diminished since the years immediately following the pandemic.
3. Taxes in New Hampshire are Lower Than in Most States
New Hampshire has relatively low taxes per person from the State government, but only considering State-level taxes leaves out key parts of the picture. State and local governments share different sets of responsibilities for both raising money for services and delivering those investments in the populations served in their communities.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that New Hampshire had the lowest State tax revenue collections per capita of any state in the country in fiscal year 2022. When State and local tax revenues are both included in the calculations, New Hampshire is much closer to the middle of the pack, ranking 29th among the 50 states, based on the U.S. Census Bureau data for tax revenues and populations in July 2022.
The primary reason New Hampshire jumps from a low-tax state to one closer to the median state is because of the incorporation of local property taxes into the calculation. More than half of all State and local government tax revenue collected in New Hampshire comes from local property taxes. This large share reflects New Hampshire’s decision to rely on local revenue collections to fund services more than many other states. For example, New Hampshire’s State government provided a smaller share of total local public education revenues collected than any other state in the country in fiscal year 2022, putting more reliance on local property tax bases.
4. Most of the State Government is Funded with Liquor, Lottery, and Tobacco Taxes
While revenues collected from the Liquor Commission, the Lottery Commission, and the Tobacco Tax are important for funding public services, most New Hampshire State revenue comes from other sources, particularly after factoring in expenses.
The Liquor Commission generated $745.4 million in revenue from the sale of alcohol, not including the separate tax on beer, in State Fiscal Year 2024. That was about 7.7 percent of the $9.7 billion in revenue collected by the State’s governmental and enterprise funds that year. However, the Liquor Commission had to pay for its own expenses, including the merchandise sold to customers and the operations of its stores; after those costs, the total amount of profit transferred to fund other State operations, which is effectively the amount of revenue generated by the Liquor Commission for use by the rest of State government, totaled $127.4 million when Beer Tax revenues are not included.
Similarly, total Lottery Commission revenues were $634.8 million, or 6.5 percent of the $9.7 billion in State revenues in State Fiscal Year 2024. After expenses, profits transferred after operational costs totaled $207.9 million, which was sent to the State’s Education Trust Fund.
Revenues from the Tobacco Tax, which has much lower administrative costs, totaled $189.5 million, or under two percent of total State revenues, in State Fiscal Year 2024.
While important for funding public services and despite significant recent growth in Lottery Commission revenues, these revenue sources are overshadowed by several larger contributors to State finances.
Resources transferred from the federal government to support a wide array of specific programs accounted for about $3.4 billion, or about 35 percent of all revenues collected. Medicaid is the single largest component of these federal revenues, and federal matching funds for Medicaid comprised about $1.4 billion to New Hampshire in total during State Fiscal Year 2024.
Net revenue collected by the Business Profits Tax totaled a larger amount than either Liquor Commission or Lottery Commission gross revenues. The Meals and Rentals Tax, Statewide Education Property Tax, and the Medicaid Enhancement Tax each generated more net revenue for the State than the profits from Liquor or Lottery Commission revenues or the collections from the Tobacco Tax in State Fiscal Year 2024.