Pros, cons, key stats, and the strongest New Hampshire cities to consider. Based on our analysis of 29 tracked New Hampshire city markets.
It depends on your budget and city choice. The better answer is city-specific: New Hampshire contains both stronger and weaker markets, and the right fit depends on your budget, job needs, climate tolerance, and tax situation.
Pros
- No state income tax on wages
- No statewide sales tax
- Social Security is not taxed by the state
- Middle-of-the-pack tracked-city housing ($457,395)
- Healthy housing-market momentum in tracked cities (75/100 median)
Cons
- High effective property tax rate (1.93%)
- State averages hide major city-by-city differences
- Best-known places can price above the statewide median
What this means in practice
Across 29 tracked New Hampshire city markets, the median home costs $457,395 with a 1-year change of +2.8% and a median momentum score of 75 out of 100.
On taxes, No income tax on wages. No sales tax. But high property tax. Tax on dividend/interest phasing out. That matters because the cheapest state on paper can still be expensive if property tax, insurance, or local housing costs overwhelm the headline rate.
State-level averages mask city-level variation — within any state, individual cities can have radically different cost, climate, and trajectory. Use the strongest-momentum cities below as a starting point.