Known for its picturesque towns, beautiful beaches and unique fall experiences, New Hampshire is home to over 1.36 million people. The state also has one of the lowest crime rates and poverty rates in the country. But which cities in New Hampshire are the safest? We’ve got the details for you.
How We Determined the Safest Cities in New Hampshire
We narrowed down the safest cities in each state based on two primary categories. First, we evaluated public safety factors including violent, property and hate crimes in each area to help determine the safest areas to live. We then evaluated financial and socioeconomic factors including household income, average rent and health insurance. In addition, we evaluated each state for natural disaster safety and public health safety. You can find a detailed breakdown of our methodology and links to sources here.
Here are the public safety factors we counted for each city:
*Public safety data is based on a population of 10,000 (for example, a “2” means two incidents for every 10,000 people).
- Property crime – Number of property crimes reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Violent crime – Number of violent crimes reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Aggravated assaults – Number of aggravated assaults reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Hate crime – Number of hate crimes reported in the city (FBI Hate Crime Report)
- Officer-related incidents – Number of officer-involved shootings reported in the city (Gun Violence Archive)
- Mass shootings – Incidents in which four or more people are shot/killed in the city (Gun Violence Archive)
Here are the financial safety factors we counted for each city:
- Annual rent – Annualized median rent
- Unemployment rate – The average rate of unemployed residents in each city
- Cost of living – The average annual rent and household income per city
- Poverty rate – Percentage of families that reported experiencing poverty in the last 12 months
- Uninsured employed – Percentage of employed residents that reported not having health insurance
- Uninsured unemployed – Percentage of unemployed residents that reported not having health insurance
3 Safest Cities in New Hampshire
No. 1 Goffstown
Spread around the Piscataquog River, Goffstown is close to the state’s largest airport in Manchester. If you’re a nature lover, you can go fishing and boating in nearby lakes or hike in the White Mountains located an hour away from the city. Goffstown has the lowest violent, assault, property and hate crime rates of the safest cities in New Hampshire on our list. However, every unemployed person in the city is also uninsured.
96out of 100
Public Safety
59out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 4.449883 (2nd) 8.899766 (1st) 74.53554 (1st) 0.556235 (2nd) 0.556235 (2nd) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 10548 (2nd) 83480 (1st) 0.045 (3rd) 0.049 (3rd) 0.036 (2nd) 1 (1st) No. 2 Hinsdale
With numerous hiking and cross country skiing trails, Hinsdale is rich in wildlife and offers numerous recreational opportunities for all ages. The city also borders Pisgah State Park, which is the largest park in the state. The park provides residents the opportunity to engage in a multitude of outdoor activities such as swimming, fishing, hiking horseback riding and much more. Hinsdale has low crime rates in general but higher unemployment and poverty rates.
92out of 100
Public Safety
32out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 2.594034 (1st) 25.94034 (2nd) 287.9377 (3rd) 2.594034 (3rd) 2.594034 (3rd) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 8652 (3rd) 42278 (3rd) 0.109 (1st) 0.142 (1st) 0.148 (1st) 0.453 (2nd) No. 3 Manchester
The largest city in New Hampshire, Manchester is a vibrant urban center. The city offers a range of shopping and dining options, as well as ample recreational opportunities with beautiful parks and breathtaking Merrimack River. If you’re a golf enthusiast, be sure to visit the Derryfield Country Club. Manchester does have the highest violent, assault and property crime rates on our list. The unemployment and poverty rates are also high, along with higher annual rent compared to other cities.
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Public Safety
37out of 100
Financial Safety
Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 19.11651 (3rd) 40.2075 (3rd) 258.2973 (2nd) 0.179498 (1st) 0.179498 (1st) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 13032 (1st) 58227 (2nd) 0.051 (2nd) 0.121 (2nd) 0.012 (3rd) 0.356 (3rd)
New Hampshire State Safety
Natural Disaster Safety
Ranking 20th in the country on natural disaster safety, New Hampshire doesn’t experience a high number of natural disasters compared to other states in the country because of its location and topography. However, since the state is on the Atlantic coast, it is still prone to floods, hurricanes and winter storms.
The New Hampshire Department of Safety reported a total of 55 major disasters since 1953, including 22 severe storms, 10 floods, seven hurricanes and one severe ice storm. Due to the forest landscape, the state also experiences about 175 wildfires annually. According to the Forest Action Plan, these fires burn approximately 225 acres collectively.
20out of 50
Natural Disaster
Health Safety
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading causes of death in New Hampshire include heart disease, cancer and chronic lower respiratory diseases. The state ranks 48th when it comes to drug-related deaths. With over 162 primary physicians for every 100,000 people, New Hampshire sits on the 18th position in America’s health rankings. The state also has 307 mental health providers per 100,000 population, ranking 15th nationally.
In another key health metric, New Hampshire has the lowest air pollution exposure in the country, leading all other states in the U.S in terms of air quality.
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Health Safety
Top 3 Safest Cities in New Hampshire
| Goffstown | 17,978 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hinsdale | 3,855 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Manchester | 111,422 | 3 | 2 | 3 |