Census-designated place · Merrimack County, New Hampshire

South Hooksett, New Hampshire

South Hooksett is a census-designated place in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, part of the Concord, NH metro area. It has 5,902 residents. South Hooksett, New Hampshire has a quality-of-life score of 95 out of 100 (very high), ranking #800 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Hampshire it ranks #10 of 66 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), child poverty rate (low) and gyms and fitness centers (high). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), drought exposure (high) and job growth (low).

95Very high

Quality-of-life score: #800 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Hampshire: #10 of 66 in NH
Population: 5,902 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 878.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3371220

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.

Safety81#2,984/15,637
Economy89#1,796/15,631
Housing59#6,168/14,977
Health74#4,064/15,609
Healthcare92#1,190/15,650
Environment83#2,686/15,453
Education88#1,929/15,649
Infrastructure66#5,277/15,650
Community99#144/15,651
Leisure & amenities65#5,430/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where South Hooksett, New Hampshire ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Merrimack 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) · low5.1 µg/m³
96/100New Hampshire 5.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMerrimack County value
Child poverty rate · low0.9%
95/100New Hampshire 7.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.2 /10k
94/100New Hampshire 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMerrimack County value
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100New Hampshire 52.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMerrimack County value
Mental health providers · high582 /100k
92/100New Hampshire 423 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMerrimack County value
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100New Hampshire 1.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMerrimack County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low23.0%
8/100New Hampshire 22.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMerrimack County value
Drought exposure · high80%
12/100New Hampshire 64%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMerrimack County value
Job growth · low-1.7%
16/100New Hampshire -1.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMerrimack County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.57%
18/100New Hampshire 1.50%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Grocery stores · low1.2 /10k
24/100New Hampshire 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMerrimack County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100New Hampshire 0.5%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.7% (2015-2019) → 36.1% (2020-2024)
−8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$96,440 (2015-2019) → $130,000 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.8× (2015-2019) → 3.3× (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
High school diploma or higherImproving
91.3% (2015-2019) → 93.7% (2020-2024)
+2.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
3.3% (2015-2019) → 1.3% (2020-2024)
−2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
91.6% (2015-2019) → 93.1% (2020-2024)
+1.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, South Hooksett, New Hampshire improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved2

Property tax−0.6 points2.18% → 1.57%
Household income+35%$96,440 → $130,000

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of South Hooksett, New Hampshire between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.4 min2015-2019	26.3 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	37.0%2015-2019	37.9%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	91.6%2015-2019	93.1%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Effective property tax rate	2.18%2015-2019	1.57%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	94%
High school diploma or higher	91.3%2015-2019	93.7%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	45%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4202015-2019	0.4162020-2024	−0.004	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$96,4402015-2019	$130,0002020-2024	+35%	Improved	65%
Poverty rate	3.1%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent as share of income	24.6%2015-2019	24.5%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.2%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	35%

“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 South Hooksett, New Hampshire five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of South Hooksett, 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, South Hooksett, New Hampshire itself moved −1.2 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

5,902 residents (±643)

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

1,938 households (±183)

South Hooksett, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Under $25k7.2%†139
$25k–50k12%†227
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,938 households (±183)

South Hooksett, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Own83%1,606
Rent17%†332

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

3,472 workers (±474)

South Hooksett, New Hampshire
New Hampshire share

Drive alone77%2,683
Carpool12%†424
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 Concord, 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 Merrimack County, the county holding most of South Hooksett's residents.

Merrimack County has 4,213 employer establishments, 269 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 0.96× New Hampshire's), with 62,841 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,356. The Census Bureau also counts 12,691 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,213; 12,691 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 269; US 248 · New Hampshire 280
Paid employees: 62,841
Average annual pay: $60,356; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	388	24.7	1.60×More than typical	2,500	$76,259	1,208
Restaurants and other eating places	289	18.4	1.00×About typical	4,926	$25,417	56
Ambulatory health care services	250	15.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	4,271	$84,746	594
Building equipment contractors	188	12	1.99×More than typical	1,223	$75,863	241
Services to buildings and dwellings	165	10.5	1.56×More than typical	1,291	$55,726	581
Automotive repair and maintenance	131	8.4	1.66×More than typical	588	$55,796	162
Construction of buildings	127	8.1	1.07×About typical	791	$93,370	518
Full-service restaurants	124	7.9	1.03×About typical	2,444	$28,860	18
Lessors of real estate	116	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	777	$61,656	1,406
Landscaping services	115	7.3	2.09×More than typical	896	$62,127	210
Limited-service restaurants	107	6.8	0.85×About typical	1,699	$23,942	33
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	99	6.3	1.91×More than typical	823	$79,521	120

Rank places for an industry Open Merrimack County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 156,883 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 $2.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in South Hooksett, New Hampshire: $396 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $2.3M; +44% vs FY2025
Per resident: $396; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 99.9%; 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

U.S. Marshals Service$2.3M99.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs$6,3120.3%
Defense Logistics Agency$1530.0%

Top recipients

MERCHANTS AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, LLC$2.3M99.7%
HAMHED LLC$3,4650.1%
SUNRISE ORTHOTICS & PROSTHETICS, LLC$2,8460.1%
VETSUPPLY LLC$1530.0%

Spending by fiscal year

89.6KFY2017
2.9KFY2018
32.7KFY2019
118.4KFY2020
884KFY2021
944.1KFY2022
2.2MFY2023
1.7MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Automotive repair and maintenance · 8111$2.3M99.7%
Facilities support services · 5612$3,4650.1%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$2,9010.1%
Retail trade (NAICS 4561) · 4561$98.240.0%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 South Hooksett, New Hampshire, so they do not add up across cities.

South Hooksett, New Hampshire's figures are part of those of Merrimack County, NH ($36.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 6.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Merrimack 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.

South Hooksett, 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.

Merrimack County97100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Concord, NH99

Other cities and towns in Merrimack 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/3371220

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends