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.
Cheshire County is a county of New Hampshire with 77,297 residents. Its economy produced $5,175 million in 2024 (ranked #6 of 10 counties) and had 31,134 jobs with an average annual pay of $59,392 (#6 for pay). The unemployment rate was 1.9% in 2026M09. It is part of the Keene, NH micropolitan area (central county).
Cheshire County produced about $5,175 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 4.3% of the combined output of the 10 counties of New Hampshire that BEA reports (about 5.5% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 6th of 10 on that measure. Per resident that is $66,952, 22% below the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $85,554. In current dollars output grew 5.0% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 31,134 jobs located in Cheshire County on average in 2024, spread over 2,280 employer sites (about 14 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 $59,392, 17% below the average of all counties in the state ($59,392 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 fell 1.0% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are retail trade (20.2% of private jobs, $41,105 a year on average), manufacturing (19.6% of private jobs, $71,814 a year on average), health care and social assistance (16.2% of private jobs, $65,956 a year on average). Together they hold 56.0% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is management of companies at $118,406 a year, followed by finance and insurance ($94,964). The county is specialised in several industries: manufacturing (1.9 times the US share, 4,939 jobs); management of companies (1.7 times the US share, 913 jobs); retail trade (1.6 times the US share, 5,076 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: retail trade ($41,105), accommodation and food services ($27,456). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Cheshire County was 1.9%, about the same as the average of the state's counties (1.9% against 1.9%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 40,060. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 1.9% (2026M09) to 3.4% (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 $83,329 (ACS 2020–2024), 16% below the state median ($83,329 against $99,031). The guide covers 2 cities with this as the main county: Keene, Jaffrey. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $869 in Jaffrey to $1,342 in Keene, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Cheshire County in output are Grafton County, Strafford County, Belknap County, Carroll County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 10 counties of New Hampshire ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 77,297 | 6 of 10 |
| GDP 2024 | $5,175 million | 6 of 10 |
| GDP per resident | $66,952 | 5 of 10 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 31,134 | 6 of 10 |
| Average annual pay | $59,392 | 6 of 10 |
| Job change vs 2023 | -1.0% | 9 of 10 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 1.9% | 8 of 10 |
| Median household income | $83,329 | 8 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 Cheshire County.
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 5,076 | 20.2% | $41,105 | 1.63 |
| Manufacturing | 4,939 | 19.6% | $71,814 | 1.93 |
| Health care and social assistance | 4,064 | 16.2% | $65,956 | 0.91 |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,520 | 10.0% | $27,456 | 0.89 |
| Construction | 1,986 | 7.9% | $77,046 | 1.22 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 1,332 | 5.3% | $41,928 | 1.42 |
| Management of companies | 913 | 3.6% | $118,406 | 1.74 |
| Administrative and waste services | 873 | 3.5% | $51,942 | 0.48 |
| Educational services | 810 | 3.2% | $47,386 | 1.26 |
| Finance and insurance | 783 | 3.1% | $94,964 | 0.62 |
| Professional and technical services | 720 | 2.9% | $92,769 | 0.33 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 405 | 1.6% | $44,445 | 0.77 |
| Information | 289 | 1.1% | $73,558 | 0.50 |
| Real estate and rental | 226 | 0.9% | $51,189 | 0.47 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 200 | 0.8% | $34,608 | 0.79 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 8 | 0.0% | $60,516 | 0.07 |
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 | 40,060 |
| Employed residents | 39,317 |
| Unemployed residents | 743 |
| Unemployment rate | 1.9% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 31,134 |
| Employer sites | 2,280 |
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% |
77,297 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$5,175 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
1.9% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
31,134 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $59,392 (BLS QCEW).