County Employment and Wages in New Hampshire — Third Quarter 2025

Employment declined in the three largest counties in New Hampshire from September 2024 to September 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Michael G. Phinney noted that Merrimack County had the largest over-the-year decrease, with a loss of 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Horizontal bar chart showing over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in New Hampshire in September 2025.

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in New Hampshire, September 2025
County	Percent change, September 2025
Merrimack	-1.4
Hillsborough	-0.7
Rockingham	-0.2

Among the three largest counties in New Hampshire, employment was highest in Hillsborough (198,500) in September 2025. Together, the three largest counties accounted for 62.9 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.2 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Large county average weekly wages in the third quarter 2025

All three large New Hampshire counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Hillsborough had the largest gain (+6.4 percent), followed by Rockingham (+3.4 percent) and Merrimack (+2.8 percent).

Horizontal bar chart showing over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in New Hampshire in the third quarter of 2025.

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in New Hampshire, third quarter 2025
County	Percent change, third quarter 2025
Hillsborough	6.4
Rockingham	3.4
Merrimack	2.8

The weekly wage in Hillsborough ($1,556) was above the national average of $1,459. Average weekly wages in New Hampshire’s other two large counties, Rockingham ($1,373) and Merrimack ($1,298), were below the national average.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the seven small counties in New Hampshire, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all seven smaller counties were below the national average. Grafton reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,418). Carroll reported the lowest average weekly wage ($973) in the state.

Among all 10 New Hampshire counties, 3 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,050, 2 had wages from $1,050 to $1,199, 2 had wages from $1,200 to $1,349, and 3 had average weekly wages of $1,350 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in New Hampshire, third quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,459)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The County Employment and Wages release for the fourth quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the three largest counties in New Hampshire, third quarter 2025
Area	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
Area	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	September 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Third quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	12,353.8	155,767.7	0.1	--	1,459	--	4.7	--
New Hampshire	67.3	687.8	-0.6	--	1,481	11	5.5	6
Hillsborough	12.5	198.5	-0.7	276	1,556	62	6.4	15
Merrimack	5.5	75.9	-1.4	328	1,298	184	2.8	302
Rockingham	11.8	157.9	-0.2	199	1,373	136	3.4	251
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in New Hampshire, third quarter 2025
Area	Establishments	Employment September 2025	Average weekly wage ($) (1)
United States (2)	12,353,804	155,767,691	1,459
New Hampshire	67,251	687,777	1,481
Belknap	2,208	26,460	1,039
Carroll	2,109	20,156	973
Cheshire	2,255	30,684	1,126
Coos	1,045	11,965	1,010
Grafton	3,376	54,034	1,418
Hillsborough	12,549	198,495	1,556
Merrimack	5,470	75,929	1,298
Rockingham	11,805	157,887	1,373
Strafford	3,154	46,439	1,211
Sullivan	1,190	13,954	1,090
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, third quarter 2025
State	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
State	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	September 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2024–25	Third quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2024–25	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	12,353.8	155,767.7	0.1	1,459	--	4.7	--
Alabama	165.7	2,119.0	0.6	1,212	36	3.6	38
Alaska	25.3	342.4	-0.1	1,455	13	5.3	7
Arizona	228.4	3,215.4	-0.2	1,360	19	4.0	31
Arkansas	111.2	1,310.5	0.5	1,135	49	3.8	33
California	1,986.7	18,281.7	0.3	1,815	4	7.2	2
Colorado	252.9	2,886.4	-0.6	1,570	7	5.7	3
Connecticut	149.6	1,693.8	0.1	1,604	6	3.8	33
Delaware	46.7	480.8	0.0	1,394	17	4.8	13
District of Columbia	51.5	737.4	-3.1	2,393	1	5.7	3
Florida	892.1	9,818.1	-0.2	1,342	21	5.1	8
Georgia	397.2	4,874.5	0.4	1,349	20	3.5	43
Hawaii	62.1	640.1	0.1	1,342	21	3.1	48
Idaho	103.7	879.8	1.3	1,180	44	4.9	11
Illinois	386.5	6,086.3	-0.1	1,457	12	4.3	23
Indiana	197.1	3,198.4	0.1	1,214	35	4.3	23
Iowa	109.6	1,549.3	-0.9	1,194	39	3.6	38
Kansas	102.2	1,431.7	0.1	1,179	45	3.8	33
Kentucky	160.7	1,995.4	-0.4	1,176	46	4.3	23
Louisiana	158.7	1,913.1	-0.1	1,187	42	3.3	46
Maine	67.4	659.2	-0.2	1,231	33	5.0	10
Maryland	199.5	2,739.5	-1.3	1,526	9	3.8	33
Massachusetts	293.2	3,625.0	-0.9	1,818	3	4.8	13
Michigan	316.0	4,423.8	-0.4	1,323	25	4.5	18
Minnesota	214.3	2,958.6	0.2	1,438	15	3.6	38
Mississippi	91.3	1,172.6	0.0	1,005	51	4.7	15
Missouri	256.0	2,903.7	-0.4	1,249	31	4.4	21
Montana	64.6	518.3	-0.4	1,182	43	5.1	8
Nebraska	78.6	1,021.8	-0.1	1,190	40	3.1	48
Nevada	109.5	1,581.0	1.4	1,314	27	4.3	23
New Hampshire	67.3	687.8	-0.6	1,481	11	5.5	6
New Jersey	334.9	4,301.0	0.4	1,558	8	3.6	38
New Mexico	69.0	876.4	0.3	1,190	40	3.2	47
New York	720.8	9,808.4	0.4	1,757	5	4.7	15
North Carolina	386.3	4,939.4	0.5	1,328	23	4.2	27
North Dakota	36.7	433.8	-0.5	1,291	29	2.8	50
Ohio	346.6	5,537.8	0.1	1,279	30	3.4	44
Oklahoma	128.8	1,697.9	-0.3	1,143	48	4.5	18
Oregon	180.5	1,994.7	-1.3	1,409	16	4.2	27
Pennsylvania	397.2	6,066.3	0.2	1,383	18	4.1	30
Rhode Island	48.8	503.3	0.2	1,322	26	4.7	15
South Carolina	190.8	2,312.3	0.7	1,198	38	4.9	11
South Dakota	40.9	462.9	0.1	1,146	47	4.0	31
Tennessee	224.2	3,255.5	-1.2	1,327	24	5.7	3
Texas	854.9	14,062.3	0.7	1,444	14	3.6	38
Utah	142.4	1,745.9	1.2	1,297	28	3.8	33
Vermont	34.1	307.2	-0.7	1,243	32	4.4	21
Virginia	324.0	4,142.4	0.7	1,504	10	4.2	27
Washington	242.3	3,639.4	-0.1	1,923	2	7.7	1
West Virginia	62.1	701.1	-0.1	1,121	50	3.4	44
Wisconsin	211.6	2,949.1	-0.4	1,228	34	4.5	18
Wyoming	31.7	285.6	-1.1	1,201	37	2.0	51
Puerto Rico	52.8	945.5	-0.6	687	(3)	2.7	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.0	33.2	-5.4	1,025	(3)	4.7	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Northeast Information Office

County Employment and Wages in New Hampshire — Third Quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,459)