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County Employment and Wages in New Hampshire — First Quarter 2026
Employment declined in all three of the largest counties in New Hampshire from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. New Hampshire employment decreased 1.2 percent over the year to 675,000 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Mark J. Maggi noted that Merrimack County (-2.4 percent) had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment. (See chart 1.)
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in New Hampshire, March 2026
County
Percent change, March 2026
Merrimack
-2.4
Hillsborough
-1.4
Rockingham
-1.2
Hillsborough County (196,100) had the highest employment level in New Hampshire in March 2026. Together, the three largest counties accounted for 62.9 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 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 2025.)
Large county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2026
All three large New Hampshire counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Merrimack had the largest gain (+2.5 percent), followed by Rockingham (+1.6 percent) and Hillsborough (+1.3 percent).
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in New Hampshire, first quarter 2026
County
Percent change, first quarter 2026
Merrimack
2.5
Rockingham
1.6
Hillsborough
1.3
Hillsborough ($1,668) had a weekly wage above the national average of $1,654. Average weekly wages in the other two large counties, Rockingham ($1,563) and Merrimack ($1,354), were below the national average.
Statewide, average weekly wages increased 3.0 percent over the year to $1,656. New Hampshire ranked 12th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 41st in wage growth.
Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2026
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the seven smaller counties in New Hampshire, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all of the smaller counties were below the national average. Grafton reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,542) among small counties. Carroll reported the lowest average weekly wage ($976) in the state.
Among all 10 New Hampshire counties, 3 reported average weekly wages less than $1,100, 2 had wages from $1,100 to $1,299, 2 had wages from $1,300 to $1,499, and 3 had average weekly wages of $1,500 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)
Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in New Hampshire, first quarter 2026
(U.S. average = $1,654)
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW data for all states have been included in this release in table 3.
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The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.
County Changes for the 2026 County Employment and Wages News Releases
Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2025 are included in this release and will be included in future 2026 releases. Five counties have been added to the publication tables: Kenton, KY; Union, NC; Licking, OH; Gregg, TX; and Kenosha, WI. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Wood, OH.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the three largest counties in New Hampshire, first quarter 2026
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, first quarter 2026
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, first quarter 2026
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.
United States Department of Labor
