The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Belknap County is a county of New Hampshire with 64,659 residents. Its economy produced $4,296 million in 2024 (ranked #7 of 10 counties) and had 25,854 jobs with an average annual pay of $56,999 (#8 for pay). The unemployment rate was 1.7% in 2026M09. It is part of the Laconia, NH micropolitan area (central county).
Belknap County produced about $4,296 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 3.6% of the combined output of the 10 counties of New Hampshire that BEA reports (about 4.6% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 7th of 10 on that measure. Per resident that is $66,437, 22% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $85,554. In current dollars output grew 7.6% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 25,854 jobs located in Belknap County on average in 2024, spread over 2,240 employer sites (about 12 jobs per site). That is 0.40 jobs for every resident, close to the 0.40 of the typical county in New Hampshire, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $56,999, 20% below the average of all counties in the state ($56,999 against $71,477). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 1.1% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are retail trade (22.9% of private jobs, $42,007 a year on average), accommodation and food services (16.3% of private jobs, $31,077 a year on average), health care and social assistance (14.8% of private jobs, $66,814 a year on average). Together they hold 54.0% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is construction at $87,118 a year, followed by manufacturing ($71,828). The county is specialised in several industries: arts, entertainment, recreation (2.2 times the US share, 946 jobs); retail trade (1.9 times the US share, 5,010 jobs); accommodation and food services (1.5 times the US share, 3,553 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: accommodation and food services ($31,077). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Belknap County was 1.7%, 13% below the average of the state's counties (1.7% against 1.9%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 33,358. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 1.7% (2026M09) to 3.5% (2026M01); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $92,783 (ACS 2020–2024), 6% below the state median ($92,783 against $99,031). The guide covers 2 cities with this as the main county: Laconia, Meredith. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,046 in Meredith to $1,224 in Laconia, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Belknap County in output are Strafford County, Cheshire County, Carroll County, Sullivan County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 10 counties of New Hampshire ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 64,659 | 7 of 10 |
| GDP 2024 | $4,296 million | 7 of 10 |
| GDP per resident | $66,437 | 6 of 10 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 25,854 | 7 of 10 |
| Average annual pay | $56,999 | 8 of 10 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +1.1% | 3 of 10 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 1.7% | 3 of 10 |
| Median household income | $92,783 | 4 of 10 |
Federal jobs in New Hampshire (127) →All cities of New HampshireState guide: New Hampshire
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Belknap County (and 1 more that extend into it).
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laconia | 17,085 | $73,218 | $1,224 | $340,300 | 27.2% |
| Meredith | 2,617 | $59,375 | $1,046 | $450,000 | 36.1% |
| Tilton Northfield | 3,101 | $66,705 | $998 | $250,000 | 28.4% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 5,010 | 22.9% | $42,007 | 1.94 |
| Accommodation and food services | 3,553 | 16.3% | $31,077 | 1.51 |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,224 | 14.8% | $66,814 | 0.87 |
| Manufacturing | 2,077 | 9.5% | $71,828 | 0.98 |
| Construction | 1,564 | 7.2% | $87,118 | 1.15 |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,028 | 4.7% | $51,967 | 0.68 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 946 | 4.3% | $30,996 | 2.18 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 880 | 4.0% | $47,429 | 1.13 |
| Professional and technical services | 655 | 3.0% | $87,961 | 0.36 |
| Wholesale trade | 508 | 2.3% | $85,423 | 0.50 |
| Management of companies | 495 | 2.3% | $96,836 | 1.14 |
| Finance and insurance | 443 | 2.0% | $92,598 | 0.42 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 385 | 1.8% | $46,628 | 0.35 |
| Educational services | 305 | 1.4% | $54,466 | 0.57 |
| Real estate and rental | 230 | 1.1% | $62,694 | 0.57 |
| Information | 211 | 1.0% | $169,192 | 0.44 |
| Utilities | 187 | 0.9% | $102,887 | 1.90 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 81 | 0.4% | $82,970 | 0.83 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 64 | 0.3% | $37,565 | 0.31 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 33,358 |
| Employed residents | 32,792 |
| Unemployed residents | 566 |
| Unemployment rate | 1.7% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 25,854 |
| Employer sites | 2,240 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough County | 426,378 | $38,133 million | $89,434 | 201,342 | $79,660 | 2.2% |
| Rockingham County | 319,082 | $32,666 million | $102,374 | 157,028 | $73,537 | 2.1% |
| Merrimack County | 155,967 | $13,792 million | $88,431 | 77,147 | $68,857 | 1.7% |
| Strafford County | 132,575 | $7,984 million | $60,225 | 46,517 | $64,687 | 1.7% |
| Grafton County | 92,120 | $9,869 million | $107,135 | 54,323 | $73,105 | 1.6% |
| Cheshire County | 77,297 | $5,175 million | $66,952 | 31,134 | $59,392 | 1.9% |
| Belknap County | 64,659 | $4,296 million | $66,437 | 25,854 | $56,999 | 1.7% |
| Carroll County | 51,804 | $3,405 million | $65,734 | 19,693 | $51,660 | 1.7% |
| Sullivan County | 43,715 | $2,200 million | $50,332 | 13,867 | $58,062 | 1.5% |
| Coos County | 31,271 | $1,816 million | $58,074 | 11,886 | $53,380 | 1.7% |
64,659 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$4,296 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
1.7% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
25,854 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $56,999 (BLS QCEW).