Independent New Hampshire Journalism · Northfield, NHCensus survey estimates for 2024 put 119,541 of the state’s 657,198 housing units in buildings that date to 1939 or earlier, a larger share than the nation’s. Every other New England state has a larger share still.
Audio edition (8:48): a synthetic voice reads the article. The charts, tables and fact check are on this page.
New Hampshire’s housing is older than the nation’s and newer than the rest of New England’s. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey estimates put 119,541 of the state’s 657,198 housing units in buildings first constructed in 1939 or earlier. That is 18.2 percent, against 11.5 percent for the United States. Nearly as many units, 118,860, or 18.1 percent, were built in the 1980s, a share the survey estimates at 12.6 percent nationally. Only 9.5 percent of New Hampshire’s units were built in 2010 or later. Across the country, the figure was 13.8 percent.
The two big groups nearly tie. The gap between them is 681 units, and the survey’s margins of error on the two are about 5,100 and 5,200 units either way, so the estimates cannot say which is larger. The oldest group also covers every year before 1940, while the 1980s group covers 10 years.
In the middle, the state looks much like the country. The survey’s median year built for New Hampshire is 1980, meaning half the state’s housing units were built before about that year and half after. For the nation, the median is 1981.
When New Hampshire’s homes were built
The survey sorts every housing unit, occupied or vacant, by the decade its building went up. In New Hampshire, the 1980s and the years before 1940 stand far above the rest. The 1970s come next, at 14.9 percent, and the 2000s at 12.2 percent. Every decade from 1990 on holds a smaller share in New Hampshire than in the nation as a whole.
Housing Units by Year Built, New Hampshire and the U.S., 2024
Share of all housing units, occupied and vacant. Dark bars: New Hampshire. Red bars: United States. Bars drawn to scale, 20 percent = full width.
Granite State Report · Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, table B25034, Year Structure Built. Shares are Granite State Report arithmetic from the table’s counts. Estimates carry margins of error; New Hampshire’s are about 0.3 to 0.8 percentage points either way, depending on the decade.
The 1980s figure fits the state’s building-permit record. In an earlier explainer, Granite State Report traced Census permit files showing that New Hampshire authorized 102,232 new housing units from 1980 through 1989, including 18,015 in 1986 alone, and 33,875 from 2010 through 2019. The two sources measure different things. A permit counts a plan to build in a given year; the survey counts buildings standing when it asks, by the decade a respondent reports they were built.
Old for the country, new for New England
Among the 50 states, New Hampshire’s pre-1940 share ranks 12th by the survey’s estimates, though Nebraska, at 18.4 percent, and Ohio, at 18.8 percent, sit within its margin of error. Massachusetts and New York lead, each at about 30 percent. On the 1980s share, only Alaska, at 22.8 percent, and Florida, at 18.3 percent, had larger estimates. Florida’s lead, and New Mexico’s 17.0 percent just behind, are within the survey’s margin of error of New Hampshire’s figure.
Within New England the picture flips. Every other state in the region has a larger share of pre-1940 housing, from Connecticut’s 20.5 percent to Massachusetts’s 30.2 percent. New Hampshire has the region’s largest 1980s share. Its median year built, 1980, is the region’s most recent estimate, though Maine’s 1978 is within the margin of error.
The Age of Housing in New England, 2024
Share of all housing units by year built, and the median year built
| State | Built 1939 or earlier | Built 1980 to 1989 | Built 2010 or later | Median year built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 18.2% | 18.1% | 9.5% | 1980 |
| Maine | 22.4% | 14.2% | 9.9% | 1978 |
| Vermont | 22.0% | 16.0% | 9.2% | 1977 |
| Connecticut | 20.5% | 12.6% | 5.8% | 1967 |
| Massachusetts | 30.2% | 10.7% | 8.6% | 1965 |
| Rhode Island | 27.3% | 11.8% | 5.7% | 1964 |
| For comparison | ||||
| United States | 11.5% | 12.6% | 13.8% | 1981 |
Granite State Report · Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, tables B25034 and B25035. Shares are Granite State Report arithmetic. The 2010-or-later shares for New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont are within the survey’s margins of error of one another.
A narrated summary of this article (1:35), read by a synthetic voice. Photographs: Bostonian13, house on Marcy Street, Portsmouth, 2013, CC BY-SA 3.0; Bmzuckerman, Amoskeag corporation housing, Manchester, 2025, CC BY 4.0; both via Wikimedia Commons. Charts: Granite State Report from U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates. The video uses still photographs only. Because it adapts a CC BY-SA 3.0 photograph, this video is offered under CC BY-SA 3.0.
County by county
The survey’s five-year estimates, which pool responses from 2020 through 2024, reach every county. By median year built, the oldest housing is in Coos, Cheshire and Sullivan counties and the newest in Rockingham, Carroll and Grafton. In Coos County, 29.3 percent of housing units were built in 1939 or earlier, the largest estimated share, and the median year built is 1969, the earliest estimate of any county. Cheshire County’s figures, 27.0 percent and 1972, are within the margin of error of Coos’s. In Rockingham County, 12.5 percent date to before 1940, and the median year built is 1983, the latest estimate, with Carroll’s 1982 within the margin. Carroll County, at 23.4 percent, has the largest estimated share built in the 1980s.
Housing Age by County, 2020–2024
Ranked by share of housing units built in 1939 or earlier
| County | Housing units | Built 1939 or earlier | Built 1980 to 1989 | Median year built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coos | 20,637 | 6,041 (29.3%) | 13.3% | 1969 |
| Cheshire | 35,899 | 9,708 (27.0%) | 15.3% | 1972 |
| Merrimack | 66,497 | 16,148 (24.3%) | 17.1% | 1977 |
| Sullivan | 21,958 | 5,198 (23.7%) | 16.0% | 1974 |
| Grafton | 51,920 | 10,490 (20.2%) | 21.3% | 1981 |
| Strafford | 56,609 | 10,643 (18.8%) | 16.4% | 1979 |
| Hillsborough | 177,734 | 32,603 (18.3%) | 19.6% | 1978 |
| Belknap | 39,003 | 6,504 (16.7%) | 17.6% | 1979 |
| Carroll | 40,421 | 5,883 (14.6%) | 23.4% | 1982 |
| Rockingham | 137,794 | 17,181 (12.5%) | 20.0% | 1983 |
Granite State Report · Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25034 and table B25035. Shares are Granite State Report arithmetic. Margins of error on the pre-1940 counts run from about 350 units in Coos to about 1,200 in Hillsborough. Five-year figures are not directly comparable with the single-year state figures above.
The county counts include vacant units, and that matters in the lakes and mountains, where many homes are held for seasonal use. Granite State Report’s look at the 2020 Census found one home in three around Lake Winnipesaukee held for seasonal use.
What the count measures
The figures come from a survey question, not a building inspection, and they carry margins of error. The Census Bureau’s subject definitions for the 2024 survey say year built “refers to when the building was first constructed, not when it was remodeled, added to, or converted.” A farmhouse from 1850 with a new kitchen, roof and wiring still counts as built in 1939 or earlier. The data cover units “still in existence at the time of interview,” and for mobile homes the bureau uses the manufacturer’s model year.
The bureau says the data help measure “the disappearance of old housing from the inventory” when compared across years. The 2010 survey estimated 136,472 New Hampshire units built in 1939 or earlier, give or take about 4,500, out of 614,996, or 22.2 percent. The 2024 estimate of 119,541 is 16,931 lower, a drop larger than the combined margin of error of about 6,800. The surveys do not say how much of that change came from demolition, fire, conversion to other uses or differences in how residents answered. Over the same years, the state’s median year built moved from 1975 to 1980.
Why the year matters
The age of a home can bear on what is inside its walls. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says a home built before 1978 is more likely to have lead-based paint, because “in 1978, the federal government banned the sale of lead-based paint for use in homes and childcare facilities.” The agency says about three-quarters of homes in the United States built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint, and that children can live safely with it if paint and surfaces are kept in good condition and clean.
The survey’s decades do not break at 1978, but they come close. By the 2024 estimates, 332,589 New Hampshire housing units, 50.6 percent, were built before 1980. Nationally the share was 48.1 percent. The EPA advises anyone planning renovation, repair or painting work in a home built before 1978 to find out what year the home was built. The agency says anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978 must be certified and trained in lead-safe work practices.
The numbers leave New Hampshire with two housing stocks of about equal size, one built before 1940 and one built in a single decade of the late 20th century, with a thinner layer of construction from 2010 on.
— Granite State Report
Your Turn
Tell us: how old is the home you live in, and what has keeping it up cost you? Do you know its year from a deed, an assessor’s card or a date carved in a beam? Write to granitestatereport@gmail.com. No person or agency named in this article was asked to comment for it. Any of them may write to the same address; a response will be added here with its date.
Fact check
| # | Claim | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024 estimates: 657,198 New Hampshire housing units; 119,541 built 1939 or earlier (18.2%); 118,860 built 1980–1989 (18.1%); 9.5% built 2010 or later (18,471 + 44,250 = 62,721). | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, table B25034, New Hampshire; shares are GSR arithmetic. |
| 2 | U.S.: 11.5% built 1939 or earlier, 12.6% built in the 1980s, 13.8% built 2010 or later; median year built 1981. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, tables B25034 and B25035, United States; GSR arithmetic. |
| 3 | The pre-1940 and 1980s counts differ by 681 units; margins of error are 5,104 and 5,198 units. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, B25034_011 and B25034_006, New Hampshire, with MOEs. |
| 4 | New Hampshire’s median year built is 1980 (margin of error 2 years); Maine’s 1978 (MOE 1) is within the combined margin. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, table B25035. |
| 5 | Decade shares for New Hampshire and the U.S. as charted, including 14.9% in the 1970s and 12.2% in the 2000s for New Hampshire. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, table B25034; GSR arithmetic. |
| 6 | New Hampshire authorized 102,232 units in 1980–1989, 18,015 in 1986 and 33,875 in 2010–2019. | ATTRIBUTED | Granite State Report, Oct. 14, 2026, from Census Building Permits Survey annual state files. |
| 7 | New Hampshire ranks 12th among the 50 states on pre-1940 share; Nebraska 18.4%, Ohio 18.8%; Massachusetts 30.2% and New York 30.1% lead. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, B25034, all states (District of Columbia excluded); GSR arithmetic. |
| 8 | On 1980s share, only Alaska (22.8%) and Florida (18.3%) are higher; Florida and New Mexico (17.0%) are within the margin of error of New Hampshire. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, B25034_006 with MOEs, all states; GSR arithmetic. |
| 9 | New England shares and medians as shown in the table. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, B25034 and B25035; GSR arithmetic. |
| 10 | County housing units, pre-1940 counts and shares, 1980s shares and median years built as shown; Coos (1969, MOE 3) and Cheshire (1972, MOE 2), and Rockingham (1983, MOE 1) and Carroll (1982, MOE 1), are within combined margins of error; Coos and Cheshire pre-1940 shares likewise. | VERIFIED | ACS 2020–2024 5-year, B25034 and B25035, New Hampshire counties; GSR arithmetic. |
| 11 | One home in three around Lake Winnipesaukee was held for seasonal use in the 2020 Census. | ATTRIBUTED | Granite State Report, Oct. 14, 2026. |
| 12 | Year built refers to first construction, not remodeling; covers units still in existence; mobile homes use model year; data help measure the disappearance of old housing. | VERIFIED | Census Bureau, 2024 ACS Subject Definitions, “Year Structure Built.” |
| 13 | 2010 estimate: 136,472 units built 1939 or earlier (MOE 4,500) of 614,996 (22.2%); median year built 1975; drop of 16,931 exceeds the combined MOE of about 6,800. | VERIFIED | ACS 2010 1-year, B25034_010 and B25035; combined MOE is GSR arithmetic (square root of 4,500² + 5,104²). |
| 14 | EPA statements on pre-1978 homes, the 1978 ban, three-quarters still containing some lead-based paint, living safely, renovation advice, and that anyone paid to disturb paint in pre-1978 housing must be certified and trained in lead-safe work practices. | VERIFIED | EPA, “Reduce the Risk of Lead Exposure at Home.” |
| 15 | 332,589 New Hampshire units (50.6%) built before 1980; U.S. 48.1%. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, B25034, sum of 1970–1979 through 1939-or-earlier; GSR arithmetic. |
| 16 | New Hampshire decade-share margins of error run from about 0.3 to 0.8 points; the 2010-or-later shares of New Hampshire (MOE about 0.7), Maine (about 0.5) and Vermont (about 0.8) are within combined margins of one another. | VERIFIED | ACS 2024 1-year, B25034 MOEs; GSR arithmetic. |
| 17 | Photo credits and licenses: Bostonian13, CC BY-SA 3.0; Bmzuckerman, CC BY 4.0, file description “Built c. 1838.” | VERIFIED | Wikimedia Commons file pages, read Oct. 17, 2026. |
Assessor records, building permits, inspection reports and the dates on them are what build the record. Confidentiality respected where possible. granitestatereport@gmail.com · (603) 931-9264.
Editor’s note. Housing counts, shares, margins of error and median years built are drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey: 2024 and 2010 one-year estimates and 2020–2024 five-year estimates, tables B25034 and B25035, and the bureau’s 2024 subject definitions. Lead-paint information is from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Permit figures are from Granite State Report’s Oct. 14, 2026 explainer on Census building-permit data. Percentages, rankings and differences the bureau did not state are Granite State Report arithmetic from its figures.
Corrections: Granite State Report corrects verified errors promptly and appends a dated note identifying what changed and when. The corrections policy and the corrections register are public, and correction notes are never removed.
