Immigrants in New Hampshire

New Hampshire has a small but growing immigrant community. While only 1 in 16 New Hampshirites was born in another country, foreign-born residents make up a vital, educated share of the state's labor force. For example, 41 percent of immigrants in New Hampshire possess a college degree or higher, while 87 percent report speaking English well. The state benefits from the various ways immigrants participate in the economy—accounting for 18 percent of computer and math scientists and 11 percent of workers in production occupations. As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers, and workers, immigrants are an integral part of New Hampshire’s diverse and thriving communities and make extensive contributions that benefit all.

Six percent of New Hampshire residents are immigrants, while 8 percent of residents are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent.

• In 2018, 83,002 immigrants (foreign-born individuals) comprised 6 percent of the population.
• New Hampshire was home to 40,629 women, 36,166 men, and 6,207 children who were immigrants.
• The top countries of origin for immigrants were India (10 percent of immigrants), Canada (9 percent), China (5 percent), Nepal (5 percent), and Dominican Republic (5 percent).
• In 2018, 103,062 people in New Hampshire (8 percent of the state’s population) were native-born Americans who had at least one immigrant parent.

Three-fifths of all immigrants in New Hampshire are naturalized U.S. citizens.

• 51,020 immigrants (61 percent) had naturalized as of 2018, and 16,859 immigrants were eligible to become naturalized U.S. citizens in 2017.
• Nearly nine in ten (87 percent) immigrants reported speaking English “well” or “very well.”

Immigrants in New Hampshire tend to be college educated.

• Two-fifths (41 percent) of adult immigrants had a college degree or more education in 2018, while fewer than one-fifth (17 percent) had less than a high school diploma.

Thousands of U.S. citizens in New Hampshire live with at least one family member who is undocumented.

• 10,000 undocumented immigrants comprised 13 percent of the immigrant population and 1 percent of the total state population in 2016.
• 13,050 people in New Hampshire, including 6,008 U.S. citizens, lived with at least one undocumented family member between 2010 and 2014.
• During the same period, about 1 percent of children in the state were U.S. citizens living with at least one undocumented family member (3,581 children in total).

New Hampshire is home to hundreds of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.

• 270 active DACA recipients lived in New Hampshire as of March 2020, while DACA has been granted to 330 people in total since 2012.

Immigrants are important members of the New Hampshire labor force across industries.

• 48,423 immigrant workers comprised 6 percent of the labor force in 2018. 

• Immigrant workers were most numerous in the following industries:

• The largest shares of immigrant workers were in the following industries:

Immigrants are an integral part of the New Hampshire workforce in a range of occupations.

• In 2018, immigrant workers were most numerous in the following occupation groups:

• The largest shares of immigrant workers were in the following occupation groups:

• Undocumented immigrants comprised 1 percent of New Hampshire’s workforce in 2016.

Immigrants in New Hampshire have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.

• Immigrant-led households in the state paid $688.3 million in federal taxes and $195.7 million in state and local taxes in 2018.
• Undocumented immigrants in New Hampshire paid an estimated $14.3 million in federal taxes and $6.1 million in state and local taxes in 2018.
• New Hampshire DACA recipients and DACA-eligible individuals paid an estimated $457,000 in state and local taxes in 2018.

As consumers, immigrants add billions of dollars to New Hampshire’s economy.

• New Hampshire residents in immigrant-led households had $2.4 billion in spending power (after-tax income) in 2018.

Immigrant entrepreneurs in New Hampshire generate tens of millions of dollars in business revenue.

• 5,979 immigrant business owners accounted for 8 percent of all self-employed New Hampshire residents in 2018 and generated $185.4 million in business income.
• In 2018, immigrants accounted for 21 percent of business owners in the Boston/Cambridge/Newton metropolitan area, which spans New Hampshire and Massachusetts.