InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/author/phil-sletten/)
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.
The analysis finds that State Fiscal Year 2025 revenues dropped 9.4 percent in the General Fund and Education Trust Fund compared to last year after adjusting for inflation.
New Hampshire’s economy is showing signs of strain as national headwinds collide with longstanding state challenges, according to a new study from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. Rising prices, stalled job growth, and changing trade policies are compounding persistent issues such as housing shortages, child care barriers, and demographic shifts – raising questions about the state’s economic trajectory.
These challenges will likely be compounded by the planned disappearance of a key tax revenue source, the Interest and Dividends Tax, next year under current law.
While the median household income increased, the poverty rate held steady at 7.2 percent, reflecting that nearly 100,000 New Hampshire residents had very little income despite purchasing power growing for the median household.
Recently released federal data indicate that county, city, and town governments in New Hampshire likely have millions of flexible, unspent federal dollars that must be committed to a purpose before the end of the year.
However, about 87 percent of that total surplus amount was generated by two revenue sources that are likely to disappear in future years.
New Hampshire’s population grew by about 23,400 (1.7 percent) between July 2020 and July 2023, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Key sources of revenue growth in recent years, specifically the State’s business taxes and the Real Estate Transfer Tax, have been slipping behind expectations, and the revenue sources currently generating surpluses are likely to be temporary.