About one in 19 people in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, lives below the poverty line
In Rockingham County, 5.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rockingham County's score
In Rockingham County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 69.7. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 4.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rockingham County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Rockingham County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.7 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.2% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 17.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.4% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
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- 13.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector12.5% · August 20259th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people66.7 · 202517th percentile
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- 8.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.4% · August 20257th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score24.4% · second quarter of 20262nd percentile
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- 4.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line5.3% · 20240th percentile
- Children below the poverty line3.7% · 20240th percentile
- People with a disability11.5% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$119,559 · 20241st percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Rockingham County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Rockingham County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rockingham County
New Hampshire
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Rockingham County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 12.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In Rockingham County, New Hampshire, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rockingham County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.4% in 2011 to 4.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Rockingham County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 3.3%
Low on the chart: 2.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rockingham County, New Hampshire.
How Rockingham County has changed
Rockingham County's population had its largest rise, from 206,735 in 1984 to 243,323 in 1989.
Rockingham County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 322,433, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 295,083. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rockingham County, New Hampshire.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rockingham County nearly doubled to 157,506, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 129,522. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rockingham County, New Hampshire.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 4.7% | 2024 5.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $40,455 | 2024 $119,559 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rockingham County's history
1638
Thomas Wilson. Wikipedia
1638
Grist mill. Wikipedia
1990
SIG Sauer. Wikipedia
1991
A thunderstorm in August 1991 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in October 1996 did $4.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in June 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in July 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 314,176, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rockingham County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rockingham County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Rockingham County, in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, score higher than it does. Of the group, Rockingham County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Merrimack County gets the largest, at 19.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, MA | 37 | 9.3% | 16.6% |
| Strafford County, NH | 22 | 8.6% | 17.3% |
| Hillsborough County, NH | 17 | 7.0% | 14.8% |
| York County, ME | 12 | 7.5% | 19.5% |
| Merrimack County, NH | 11 | 7.5% | 19.6% |
| Rockingham County, NH | 7 | 5.3% | 12.3% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Rockingham County the poorest county in New Hampshire?
No, Rockingham County's poverty rate was 5.3% in 2024, the lowest of 10 in New Hampshire (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Coos County, at 13.8%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Rockingham County ranks 10th of 10 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rockingham County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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New Hampshire Legal Assistance
Legal aid
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603 Legal Aid
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Rockingham County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Rockingham County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.