New Hampshire’s continued low investment in public higher education may be leaving students, colleges, and the state’s future workforce at a growing disadvantage. New Hampshire consistently trails all other U.S. states in public higher education funding. In state fiscal year 2024, the Granite State appropriated $4,629 per full-time student while the national average of all U.S. states was $11,683.[1] Additionally, between state fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the most recently available data reveal that New Hampshire’s state aid for public higher education dropped 3.9 percent while the average among all U.S. states increased 4.3 percent during this time.[2] With the newly approved state budget reducing funding for the University System by 17.6 percent relative to the last budget, the gap between New Hampshire and the rest of the country could further widen in future years.

Reductions in funding for New Hampshire’s public higher education institutions can have adverse economic effects across the state, particularly for the workforce. The Granite State’s workforce is rapidly aging, which may be contributing to long-predicted workforce shortages.[3] Future workforce constraints could be disproportionately severe due to a lack of qualified job candidates in particular industries. State projections suggest some of these shortfalls will occur in occupations that typically require college degrees.

Four of the ten occupations with the largest projected ten-year employment growth in New Hampshire between 2022 and 2032 require at least a four-year degree, including software developers, general and operations managers, financial managers, and nurse practitioners. Of the other professions in the top ten occupations, one requires an associate’s degree (registered nurses), and the remaining positions do not typically require a college degree (home health and personal care aides, restaurant cooks, stockers and order fillers, fast food and counter workers, and light truck drivers).[4]

Given the need for workers in jobs that require college degrees, access to, and the affordability of, public higher education for Granite Staters is vital.

This brief updates key data related to funding for public higher education in New Hampshire, including allocations for public higher education in the current and past state budgets, comparisons between Granite State funding and other U.S. states, and the impacts that underinvestment can have on young adults and families.

State Resources for Two- and Four-Year Public Higher Education

The Granite State has two public higher education systems: The Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) and the University System of New Hampshire (USNH). In academic year 2023-2024, the most recently available data, New Hampshire’s two-year institutions had 7,348 full-time equivalent (FTE) students, while its four-year institutions had 22,543.[5] A “full-time equivalent student” is calculated by dividing the number of credits all students are taking at an institution by the number of credits needed for a full-time course load.[6]  This metric can help compare costs and subsidies between institutions serving different percentages of full- and part-time enrolled students.

Based on FTE calculations, New Hampshire invests more funding into students attending two-year institutions than four-year institutions on a per-enrollee basis. The educational appropriation per FTE was $9,775 at two-year institutions and $4,089 at four-year institutions in New Hampshire in state fiscal year 2024. Nationally, the average appropriation per FTE in 2024 was higher than New Hampshire’s average and more consistent between institution types; the national average per FTE for two-year institutions was $10,899, and $10,820 for four-year institutions.[7]

The current State budget modestly increased funding for CCSNH by about 1 percent ($940,000) but decreased funding for USNH by 17.6 percent ($35.0 million) compared to the previous biennium. The budget specifically allocated $3 million in CCSNH funding each fiscal year to dual and concurrent enrollment programs, which provide high school students in grades 10-12 with opportunities to take college courses. Additionally, $200,000 was allocated each year to math learning communities, allowing districts to offer certain CCSNH math courses at their schools.[8]

New Hampshire State Public Higher Education Funding Remains Lowest in Country

The funding changes in recent New Hampshire State budgets, including past one-time appropriations and enhanced operating grants, have increased State funding for public higher education relative to the low levels in the years immediately following the Great Recession of 2007-2009.[9] The trend since state fiscal year 2024, however, shows that overall allocations for the USNH decreasing while CCSNH funding has remained relatively stable, with the state fiscal year 2027 allocation for CCSNH 8.5 million less than the appropriation for the USNH.[10]

Data collected by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEOA) estimated a 14.2 percent increase in state financial support for public higher education in New Hampshire between fiscal years 2020 and 2025; however, this increase trailed the aggregate fifty states’ funding increase average of 32.9 percent.[11] This timeframe reflects a period during which federal COVID-19 pandemic-related aid was being distributed to states, likely making more state funds available for other purposes, including higher education. Between state fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the mostly recently available data reveal that New Hampshire state aid for public higher education dropped 3.9 percent while the average among all U.S. states increased 4.3 percent during this time.[12] The 17.6 percent cut to the USNH allocation in New Hampshire’s current budget will likely further reduce the Granite State’s progress in funding public higher education made between 2020 and 2025.

SHEEOA estimates indicated that New Hampshire remained behind all other states in three key metrics for funding public higher education. The first measure is relative to state populations. For every person in New Hampshire, the State budgeted $120 for public higher education in fiscal year 2025.[13] This value was the lowest amount of any state, with Arizona being the next-lowest funder of public higher education that year at $166 per capita. Nationwide, state government support for public higher education averaged $380 per capita. To fund public higher education in New Hampshire at the same rate as the national per capita average, New Hampshire would need to increase funding by $260 per capita, resulting in a total higher education appropriation of more than $527 million, approximately $361 million higher than what was appropriated in 2025.[14]

The second key metric compares funds appropriated to public higher education per $1,000 of personal income. This metric provides insight into a state’s ability to pay for higher education by dividing total state and local support for higher education by pre-tax income, including from employment and asset-based sources, earned by all residents in a state.[15]  New Hampshire appropriated $1.45 per $1,000 in income.[16] This level indicates that, for a New Hampshire household earning the median income of $96,838 in 2023 (the most recent estimate), $140.42 would go toward funding public higher education. [17] The national average was $5.27 per $1,000 of personal income.

The third comparative funding metric calculated by SHEEOA is the amount of money appropriated per FTE student enrolled at a public institution of higher education. New Hampshire appropriated the lowest amount of all fifty states in fiscal year 2024, the most recent estimate available, with $4,629 per FTE. Illinois had the highest appropriation among all fifty states, at $25,529 per FTE. The national average was $11,683.[18]

Underinvestment Education Increases Costs for Students and Families

Without State support to offset costs, colleges and universities must rely on tuition dollars and fees to supplement annual operating budgets. In 2024, New Hampshire’s public institutions relied heavily on student tuition payments for revenue (68 percent of all revenue was from tuition) compared to the national average of student contributions (39 percent).[19] Within the State, students at two-year institutions paid 37.4 percent of CCSNH revenues, while students at four-year institutions paid 76.8 percent of the USNH’s revenues.[20]

Recent changes to the New Hampshire State Budget may have contributed to tuition increases at both CCSNH and USNH. In the 2025-2026 academic year, full-time undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees (without room and board) at New Hampshire’s public four-year institutions range from $15,068 to $19,682, reflecting increases that ranged between 2.5 and 4.9 percent.[21] When room and board are added to these figures, cost of attendance increased from the 2024-2025 academic year between 4.7 to 6.9 percent, or between $1,534 to $1,864. For nonresident students, cost of attendance increased on USNH campuses between 3.8 to 5.4 percent, or $1,806 to $2,046. These increases may limit in-state options for four-year institutions for Granite State students who do not live within commuting distance of a USNH campus. Additionally, in a competitive academic market, having high nonresident costs may deter young talent from pursuing degrees in New Hampshire and potentially staying post-graduation to join the workforce.

In contrast to four-year institutions, the 2025-2026 tuition at New Hampshire’s community colleges is $230 per credit hour, an increase of $15 per credit hour compared to the previous academic year (nearly a 7 percent increase) and the first major increase in over a decade.[22] When converted to a standard full-time (24-credit hour) course load, tuition at one of New Hampshire’s community colleges equates to $5,520 annually, with additional mandatory fees that vary by campus.[23]

High tuition costs and low state funding for public higher education can have long-term impacts on the financial well-being of Granite State students and families. Graduates from New Hampshire colleges and universities are more likely to have student debt than graduates in other states; however, foregoing a postsecondary degree, and the impact on earning potential, can limit individual and family spending that supports local and State economies. Individual and family financial stability and wealth-building can be hindered by delayed readiness to buy a house or save for retirement due to high student loan debt, or limited earning capacity when a postsecondary degree is not pursued.[24]

Conclusion

Making college degrees more affordable in New Hampshire may be a key component to addressing current and future workforce constraints. There is some evidence to suggest that students who attend public four-year institutions in New Hampshire remain in the state to work. According to a 2023 report from the USNH, students are more than twice as likely to stay and join New Hampshire’s workforce when they attend a four-year, in-state public college or university and participate in an internship program. Additionally, the report notes that more than 2,000 USNH graduates go into the Granite State workforce every year.[25]

Educating Granite Staters and keeping young people in New Hampshire is vital for building a pipeline of potential workers for in-demand careers and for helping ensure a robust, age-diverse labor force. Currently, the majority of New Hampshire high school students seeking four-year programs are leaving New Hampshire to earn their degrees in other states at one of the highest rates in the country.[26] By increasing State funding and considering the use of thoughtfully crafted financial models developed in collaboration with public higher education institutions, New Hampshire could continue to proactively create pathways to in-demand careers in the State’s labor force that require both two- and four-year degrees using resources and systems that are already in place. These steps could encourage more New Hampshire residents to obtain a postsecondary degree in the state, improving individual wealth by reducing reliance on student loans and creating positive returns on investment for the Granite State.

Endnotes

[1] See the State Higher Education Finance’s February 2025 product FY2025 Grape Vine Data Tables.

[2] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance report Grapevine 2025 National Table 2.

[3] See New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute’s August 2024 Issue Brief New Hampshire’s Growing Population and Changing Demographics Before and Since the COVID-19 Pandemic. See the Carsey Institute’s 2012 publication, New Hampshire Demographic Trends in the Twenty-First Century, and the NH Center for Public Policy Studies 2017 archived post, NH Economic Outlook 2018, more information about on-going demographic trends in New Hampshire.

[4] See the New Hampshire Employment Security’s Employment Projections by Industry and Occupation April 2024 update.

[5] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Education Finance (SHEF) Report interactive, Public Higher Education Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment by State, FY2024.

[6] See State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance Report’s Data Definition for “Net full-time equivalent (FTE) Enrollment.”

[7] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s interactive Public Higher Education Appropriations pert FTE by State, FY2024.

[8] For more State Budget details, see the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute’s July 2025 Report, The State Budget for Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027.

[9] For more information on historical higher education funding trends, see NHFPI’s November 2019 publication New Hampshire Trails in Higher Education Funding. For more information on the 2007-2009 Great Recession, see the National Bureau of Economic Research’s September 2010 publication Business Cycle Dating Committee Announcement September 20, 2010.

[10] See New Hampshire Chapter 140, Laws of 2025.

[11] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance report Grapevine 2025 National Table 2.

[12] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance report Grapevine 2025 National Table 2.

[13] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance report Grapevine 2025 National Table 3.

[14] Figure calculated using U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey Total Population 5-Year Estimate (B01003).

[15] For more information about the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance Report methodology, see their Data Definitions webpage.

[16] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance report Grapevine 2025 National Table 3.

[17] See U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimate of Income in the Past 12 Months (in 2023 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars) Table S1901.

[18] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s interactive Public Higher Education Appropriations pert FTE by State, FY2024.

[19] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance Net Tuition Revenue.

[20] See the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s State Higher Education Finance Net Tuition Revenue.

[21] See Plymouth State University’s Tuition & Fees webpage, Keene State College’s Tuition & Cost webpage, the University of New Hampshire’s Costs website, accessed August 2025, and the New Hampshire Office of Legislative Budget Assistant’s document, USNH Institutions Price of Attendance 2024-2025.

[22] See CCSNH’s Tuition and Fees webpage, accessed August 2025.

[23] See CCSNH’s Cost of Attendance webpage, accessed August 2025.

[24] For a full review of the literature related to these topics, see New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institutes’ November, 2023 Issue Brief, Limited State Funding for Public Higher Education Adds to Workforce Constraints.

[25] See the University System of New Hampshire’s 2024 Annual Financial Report, p. 36.

[26] See the National Center for Education Statistics’ Digest of Education Statistics Table 309.3 from Fall 2020, updated April 2023.