Census-designated place · Belknap County, New Hampshire

Meredith, New Hampshire

Meredith is a census-designated place in Belknap County, New Hampshire, part of the Laconia, NH metro area. It has 2,617 residents. Meredith, New Hampshire has a quality-of-life score of 75 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,865 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Hampshire it ranks #53 of 66 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), students per teacher (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), home price to income ratio (high) and job growth (low).

75High

Quality-of-life score: #3,865 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Hampshire: #53 of 66 in NH
Population: 2,617 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 895.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 3347060

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety50#7,835/15,637
Economy37#9,800/15,631
Housing50#7,524/14,977
Health71#4,457/15,609
Healthcare55#7,058/15,650
Environment89#1,738/15,453
Education81#2,953/15,649
Infrastructure32#10,593/15,650
Community96#572/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,601/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Meredith, New Hampshire ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Belknap County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.9 µg/m³
97/100New Hampshire 5.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBelknap County value
Students per teacher · low10.9×
94/100New Hampshire 11.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsBelknap County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high8.9 /10k
94/100New Hampshire 7.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBelknap County value
Restaurants and bars · high13.7 /10k
92/100New Hampshire 9.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBelknap County value
Median Air Quality Index · low32
92/100New Hampshire 372025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyBelknap County value
Voter turnout · high77.2%
91/100New Hampshire 74.7%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionBelknap County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low23.0%
8/100New Hampshire 22.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBelknap County value
Home price to income ratio · high7.6×
11/100New Hampshire 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Job growth · low-2.2%
11/100New Hampshire -1.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBelknap County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.521
12/100New Hampshire 0.444United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high29.5%
12/100New Hampshire 5.8%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Drought exposure · high79%
13/100New Hampshire 64%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAABelknap County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,495 (2015-2019) → 2,617 (2020-2024)
+75%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
45.6% (2015-2019) → 15.8% (2020-2024)
−30 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
71.6% (2015-2019) → 44.1% (2020-2024)
−27 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
24.8% (2015-2019) → 9.6% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.4× (2015-2019) → 7.6× (2020-2024)
+71%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
15.6% (2015-2019) → 29.5% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Meredith, New Hampshire improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Poverty−15 points24.8% → 9.6%

Declined1

Inequality+0.1470.374 → 0.521

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Meredith, New Hampshire between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	77.2%2015-2019	79.8%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Effective property tax rate	1.50%2015-2019	0.95%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	93%
High school diploma or higher	96.5%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Home price to income ratio	4.4×2015-2019	7.6×2020-2024	+3.1×	Within the margin of error	1%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3742015-2019	0.5212020-2024	+0.147	Declined	1%
Median household income	$41,1002015-2019	$59,3752020-2024	+44%	Within the margin of error	79%
Poverty rate	24.8%2015-2019	9.6%2020-2024	−15 points	Improved	98%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	34.4%2015-2019	29.2%2020-2024	−5.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Rent-burdened households	71.6%2015-2019	44.1%2020-2024	−27 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.6%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	1%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Meredith, New Hampshire five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Meredith, New Hampshire in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Meredith, New Hampshire itself moved −1.4 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,617 residents (±484)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,141 households (±218)

Meredith, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Under $25k22%†248
$25k–50k23%†266
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,141 households (±218)

Meredith, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Own57%646
Rent43%†495

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,105 workers (±352)

Meredith, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Drive alone61%670
Carpool7.9%†87
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Laconia, NH

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Belknap County, the county holding most of Meredith's residents.

Belknap County has 1,905 employer establishments, 293 for every 10,000 residents (1.18× the US rate of 248; 1.04× New Hampshire's), with 21,197 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,522. The Census Bureau also counts 6,309 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,905; 6,309 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 293; US 248 · New Hampshire 280
Paid employees: 21,197
Average annual pay: $52,522; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Belknap County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	170	26.1	1.69×More than typical	952	$85,609	747
Restaurants and other eating places	168	25.8	1.41×More than typical	2,521	$29,281	26
Services to buildings and dwellings	98	15.1	2.23×More than typical	552	$42,379	403
Ambulatory health care services	94	14.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	1,593	$63,008	249
Building equipment contractors	89	13.7	2.27×More than typical	424	$71,873	148
Full-service restaurants	83	12.8	1.66×More than typical	1,536	$32,978	12
Construction of buildings	81	12.5	1.65×More than typical	393	$97,929	332
Lessors of real estate	72	11.1	0.90×About typical	214	$46,799	908
Landscaping services	69	10.6	3.03×More than typical	387	$47,749	139
Automotive repair and maintenance	61	9.4	1.86×More than typical	215	$50,335	83
Limited-service restaurants	58	8.9	1.11×About typical	715	$24,150	9
Religious organizations	46	7.1	1.28×More than typical	218	$32,697	—

Rank places for an industry Open Belknap County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 65,039 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $141.2K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Meredith, New Hampshire: $53.94 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $141.2K; −87% vs FY2025
Per resident: $53.94; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Housing and Urban Development$141.2K100%

Top recipients

KM MINEMIER & ASSOCIATES, LLC$141.2K100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

6.2KFY2017
8.1KFY2018
7.9KFY2019
2.7KFY2020
176.2KFY2021
376.1KFY2022
222.2KFY2023
237.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Activities related to real estate · 5313$141.2K100.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Meredith, New Hampshire, so they do not add up across cities.

Meredith, New Hampshire's figures are part of those of Belknap County, NH ($12.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Meredith is mostly in Belknap County.

See federal money in Belknap County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Meredith, New Hampshire is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Belknap County94100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Laconia, NH92

Other cities and towns in Belknap County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3347060

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends