New Hampshire has quietly become a destination for young working-age adults looking to build a life outside the congested, expensive corridors of the greater Boston area. But a new report from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute makes clear that attracting those workers is only half the battle. Holding onto them is shaping up to be the harder challenge, and one that state leaders may not yet be adequately equipped to meet.
According to the NH Fiscal Policy Institute analysis released Wednesday, young working-age adults between the ages of 26 and 44 have become the primary engine of recent population growth in the Granite State. This marks a meaningful shift from patterns that held for more than a decade, when older adults comprised the bulk of net in-migration. The state continues to lose residents under the age of 26 to other states, but the influx of adults in prime working and family-building years is a development that policymakers have noted with cautious optimism.
“More than a decade ago, older adults comprised most of the net growth into the state,” said Jessica Williams, senior policy analyst at the Fiscal Policy Institute and lead author of the report. That demographic profile has been changing, and the reasons why are worth examining closely.
Why Young Adults Are Choosing New Hampshire
The Granite State has long depended on in-migration to sustain population growth. New Hampshire’s birth rates, like those of most New England states, are not sufficient on their own to maintain or expand the workforce. As of 2024, roughly two-thirds of the state’s population was born outside of New Hampshire, according to the report, underscoring just how central the migration pipeline is to the state’s demographic and economic health.
Several factors are drawing young workers north. The most prominent, according to survey data gathered by the University of New Hampshire, is proximity to Boston. The greater Boston metropolitan area offers high-paying employment in technology, finance, healthcare, and professional services, and for workers who can either commute or work remotely, New Hampshire’s relative affordability, lower tax burden, and more spacious character can look very attractive by comparison.
But it is not all pragmatism and commute math. The UNH survey data also found that family ties and a sense of community play meaningful roles in drawing people to the state. For some, New Hampshire represents a return to roots or a move closer to extended family. For others, particularly those starting or growing families, the state’s reputation for strong schools, lower crime, and access to outdoor recreation carries real weight.
The profile of a young professional or family choosing New Hampshire is someone who often wants the economic opportunities of a major metro area alongside the pace and quality of life that a smaller state can provide. The challenge is that New Hampshire must deliver on that promise once people arrive.
The Cost of Living Is Testing That Promise
Here is where the report’s findings take a more sobering turn. While New Hampshire has successfully attracted this cohort of young adults, the same economic pressures that have reshaped housing markets across the Northeast are beginning to undermine the state’s competitive advantages.
Williams said that affordability concerns, particularly around housing costs, child care, and healthcare, represent the most significant retention risks. Survey data backs this up: many young residents report feeling the squeeze of a high cost of living, and for families, those costs can compound quickly.
New Hampshire’s housing market has tightened considerably over the past several years, with median home prices rising well above what many first-time buyers can comfortably afford. Earlier reporting found that the housing market has shown early signs of cooling, but prices remain elevated and inventory in many communities is still constrained. For a young professional earning a good salary, buying a first home in the communities they want to live in is far from guaranteed.
Child care costs add another layer. New Hampshire consistently ranks among the most expensive states in the country for center-based child care, and the supply of affordable options has not kept pace with demand. For dual-income households with children, the child care burden can effectively neutralize the income gains that drew them to New Hampshire in the first place.
Healthcare costs follow a similar pattern. Without an income tax or broad-based revenue streams that could fund comprehensive public health programs, New Hampshire residents often face higher out-of-pocket costs than residents of neighboring states with different tax structures.
Where People Go When They Leave
The report also sheds light on where New Hampshire residents are headed when they choose to leave. A significant portion relocate to neighboring Maine, a finding Williams attributed to Maine’s generally lower housing costs and fewer constraints on housing development. The irony is notable: Maine has historically been seen as a more rural and economically constrained state, yet for young families priced out of New Hampshire’s more desirable communities, it is increasingly an option that makes financial sense.
Beyond Maine, New Hampshire residents are heading south. Florida, the Carolinas, and Texas all appear prominently in the out-migration data. These states share common characteristics: lower housing costs, warmer climates, and in many cases, lower overall costs of living. For remote workers no longer tethered to a specific job location, the calculus shifts, and New Hampshire’s winters and elevated price tags can tip the scales toward relocation.
This dynamic, workers attracted by proximity to Boston but later drawn away by cost or climate, represents a structural challenge that is difficult to address through any single policy lever.
The College Retention Problem
One of the more striking data points in the NHFPI analysis involves college graduates. Data from the University of New Hampshire found that about 60 percent of UNH’s undergraduate class of 2025 are living in New Hampshire after graduation. That is a reasonable number in isolation. But only 50 percent of that same graduating class is actually working in the state. The gap between those who live here and those who work here suggests that some graduates may be residing in New Hampshire while commuting to Massachusetts or working remotely for out-of-state employers, a pattern that may not be stable long-term.
The numbers at Saint Anselm College tell an even starker story. Only 20 percent of the employed graduates from the class of 2025 are working in New Hampshire. For a private liberal arts college in Manchester, that figure reflects both the pull of Boston’s job market and the difficulty of finding high-quality career-level employment within the state itself.
Saint Anselm has responded with a direct intervention. Last year, the college launched an initiative allowing students with a high school GPA of 3.25 or higher and family income at or below $100,000 to attend tuition-free. The goal is to make the college more accessible to New Hampshire residents who might otherwise look elsewhere, and to build stronger ties between students and the state during their college years, in hopes they will stay after graduation.
What the Data Signals for State Policy
The NHFPI report does not prescribe specific policies, but its findings point clearly toward the kinds of investments that could make a difference. Expanding access to affordable child care has been a recurring legislative conversation at the State House. Addressing housing supply through zoning reform and development incentives remains another priority that local and state officials have debated without reaching consensus. And policymakers will need to reckon with the broader economic picture captured in recent research showing how New Hampshire workers are being squeezed even as headline economic indicators look strong.
The migration trend the Fiscal Policy Institute has identified is genuinely positive news for the state. Young, working-age adults bring energy, tax revenue, workforce capacity, and community vitality. New Hampshire has something real to offer this demographic: space, lower taxes, proximity to a major job market, and a quality of life that is hard to replicate in a dense urban environment.
But the window of opportunity is not indefinite. If housing, child care, and healthcare costs remain unaddressed, the state may find itself perpetually cycling through young residents who stay just long enough to get established before the economics push them toward Maine or somewhere south. The question for New Hampshire is not whether it can attract the next generation. The data suggests it can. The question is whether it has the policy will to give them a reason to stay.
