The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Hillsborough County is a county of New Hampshire with 426,378 residents. Its economy produced $38,133 million in 2024 (ranked #1 of 10 counties) and had 201,342 jobs with an average annual pay of $79,660 (#1 for pay). The unemployment rate was 2.2% in 2026M09. It is part of the Manchester-Nashua, NH metropolitan area (central county).
Hillsborough County produced about $38,133 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 32.0% of the combined output of the 10 counties of New Hampshire that BEA reports (about 30.6% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 1st of 10 on that measure. Per resident that is $89,434, 5% above the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $85,554. In current dollars output grew 3.4% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 201,342 jobs located in Hillsborough County on average in 2024, spread over 12,730 employer sites (about 16 jobs per site). That is 0.47 jobs for every resident, above 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 $79,660, 11% above the average of all counties in the state ($79,660 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 0.3% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are health care and social assistance (17.6% of private jobs, $71,467 a year on average), retail trade (14.0% of private jobs, $46,933 a year on average), manufacturing (14.0% of private jobs, $113,247 a year on average). Together they hold 45.5% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is finance and insurance at $139,390 a year, followed by professional and technical services ($130,925). The county is specialised in an industry: manufacturing (1.5 times the US share, 25,111 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 ($46,933), accommodation and food services ($29,611). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Hillsborough County was 2.2%, 13% above the average of the state's counties (2.2% against 1.9%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 238,420. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 2.2% (2026M09) to 4.1% (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 $103,545 (ACS 2020–2024), 5% above the state median ($103,545 against $99,031). The guide covers 7 cities with this as the main county: Manchester, Nashua, Milford, Hudson, East Merrimack, Pinardville, Goffstown. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate. Within the county, median rent runs from $1,082 in Pinardville to $1,952 in East Merrimack, so where you live matters as much as which county you pick.
Counties close to Hillsborough County in output are Rockingham County, Merrimack County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 10 counties of New Hampshire ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 426,378 | 1 of 10 |
| GDP 2024 | $38,133 million | 1 of 10 |
| GDP per resident | $89,434 | 3 of 10 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 201,342 | 1 of 10 |
| Average annual pay | $79,660 | 1 of 10 |
| Job change vs 2023 | -0.3% | 8 of 10 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 2.2% | 10 of 10 |
| Median household income | $103,545 | 2 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 Hillsborough County.
| City ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ | Median home value ⇅ | Bachelor's+ ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | 115,643 | $81,007 | $1,564 | $365,600 | 34.0% |
| Nashua | 91,294 | $96,326 | $1,737 | $403,900 | 41.2% |
| Milford | 8,956 | $78,684 | $1,557 | $357,800 | 33.6% |
| Hudson | 7,469 | $95,842 | $1,722 | $366,400 | 28.7% |
| East Merrimack | 5,081 | $87,311 | $1,952 | $291,500 | 42.0% |
| Pinardville | 4,418 | $79,340 | $1,082 | $286,300 | 37.9% |
| Goffstown | 3,490 | $132,997 | $1,233 | $415,300 | 50.9% |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 31,630 | 17.6% | $71,467 | 1.10 |
| Retail trade | 25,113 | 14.0% | $46,933 | 1.25 |
| Manufacturing | 25,111 | 14.0% | $113,247 | 1.52 |
| Accommodation and food services | 15,875 | 8.8% | $29,611 | 0.87 |
| Professional and technical services | 14,329 | 8.0% | $130,925 | 1.02 |
| Administrative and waste services | 10,777 | 6.0% | $62,676 | 0.91 |
| Finance and insurance | 9,220 | 5.1% | $139,390 | 1.13 |
| Construction | 9,122 | 5.1% | $87,431 | 0.86 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 7,035 | 3.9% | $50,290 | 1.16 |
| Wholesale trade | 6,447 | 3.6% | $110,128 | 0.81 |
| Educational services | 5,557 | 3.1% | $62,279 | 1.33 |
| Information | 4,992 | 2.8% | $148,730 | 1.32 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 4,173 | 2.3% | $55,239 | 0.49 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 3,721 | 2.1% | $28,369 | 1.10 |
| Management of companies | 3,692 | 2.1% | $103,665 | 1.09 |
| Real estate and rental | 2,275 | 1.3% | $72,716 | 0.73 |
| Utilities | 372 | 0.2% | $144,322 | 0.49 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 237 | 0.1% | $44,382 | 0.15 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 54 | 0.0% | $87,892 | 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 | 238,420 |
| Employed residents | 233,243 |
| Unemployed residents | 5,177 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.2% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 201,342 |
| Employer sites | 12,730 |
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% |
426,378 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$38,133 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
2.2% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
201,342 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $79,660 (BLS QCEW).