Census: Three Counties Lose Population


New Hampshire’s northernmost county is no longer alone in losing population, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday that show populations also shrunk in two other counties over the last decade.

Already the most sparsely populated, Coos County had been the only one of the state’s 10 counties to lose population between 2000 and 2010. The new figures show that trend accelerating, with a 5 percent decline from 2010 to 2020.

Small population declines also were seen in the southwest corner of the state, where Cheshire County’s population dropped by about 1 percent and Sullivan County’s dropped by less than 2 percent.

Overall, the state’s population grew by 4.6 percent to 1,377,529. The biggest growth came in Belknap, Rockingham and Strafford counties, which each grew by 6 percent. In the previous decade, Strafford, Carroll and Grafton counties were the fastest growing.

The new figures also show that New Hampshire, historically one of the whitest states, is becoming a bit more diverse, shifting from 94 percent white to 88 percent. That makes it the fourth whitest state, behind Vermont, Maine and West Virginia.

The percent of the population identifying themselves as Hispanic or Latino increased by more than 60 percent, the sixth largest percentage change in the nation. But the population remains small at 4.3 percent.

The figures also show New Hampshire remaining one of the oldest states, ranking fourth behind Washington, D.C., Vermont and Maine for its percentage of residents age 18 and over. The 18+ population increased 9 percent to 81 percent of the total.

The release of the redistricting data culled from the 2020 census is coming more than four months later than expected due to delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. States will use the numbers for redrawing congressional and legislative districts, a process that is just getting underway in New Hampshire.