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This article was originally published on January 22, 2024, and updated in October 2026
New Hampshire is a hard state in which to find a cheap home. In June 2026 the statewide median single-family home sold for about $575,000. New Hampshire Housing estimates that a household needs about $189,000 a year to afford that home, and that only 15% of households could. The state has no general sales tax and no tax on wages, and its tax on interest and dividends was repealed starting in 2025. Property taxes make up the difference, and they vary widely from town to town.
The ten communities in this guide are where a home costs the least compared with what local households earn. Median sale prices range from about $162,000 in Berlin to $475,000 in Manchester. In every one of them, the local median household income is below the income our model says is needed to carry a median-priced home. In eight of them, though, the shortfall is smaller than the statewide gap of about $57,000 that New Hampshire Housing estimates for the statewide median-priced home, which uses its own assumptions.
Methodology
We evaluated homebuying affordability by comparing median home sale prices with local median household incomes across the ten New Hampshire communities in this guide.
Home prices come from Redfin’s latest monthly market updates for all home types. Most price summaries cover the three months ending August or September 2026. Redfin had not yet updated three smaller markets: Hillsborough and Keene show the three months ending July 2026, and Claremont the three months ending June 2026. Local incomes use the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, as reported by Census QuickFacts and Data USA. These income figures are historical estimates, rather than measurements of 2026 earnings.
For each community, we estimated the monthly cost of buying a median-priced home using a 20% down payment, a 30-year fixed mortgage and the interest rate, property-tax and insurance assumptions detailed in the table. New Hampshire towns assess property at different shares of market value, so we converted each community’s 2025 tax rate into an estimated full-value rate. We then calculated the gross annual income needed to keep that payment at 28% of household income.
Places are ranked by their income gap:
Income gap = Estimated required annual income − Local median household income
A smaller gap indicates a smaller estimated income shortfall. A negative gap would mean local median household income exceeds the modeled income target; none of the ten New Hampshire communities has one. The separate price ranking shows which communities have the lowest purchase prices.
This comparison includes cities and towns with at least 10 home sales in the latest month shown. It does not measure total living costs or guarantee mortgage eligibility. HOA fees, utilities, maintenance and closing costs are excluded, and small-market prices and income estimates can fluctuate.
Home Prices vs. Local Incomes in New Hampshire’s 10 Most Affordable Places
Home Prices vs. Local Incomes in New Hampshire’s 10 Most Affordable Places
Data compiled October 12, 2026. Median sale prices are three-month medians from Redfin: three months ending September 2026 for Berlin, Rochester and Franklin; August 2026 for Newport, Farmington, Concord and Manchester; July 2026 for Hillsborough and Keene; and June 2026 for Claremont. Hillsborough figures include sales in neighboring Deering (ZIP code 03244). Price rank shows the order by median sale price among these 10 places (1 = cheapest).
Financing assumptions: 20% down payment, 30-year fixed mortgage and a 7.40% interest rate (Freddie Mac PMMS, October 8, 2026). All payment and income requirements are estimates.
¹ Estimated monthly payment includes principal, interest, property taxes and homeowners insurance. Taxes start from each community’s 2025 total tax rate from the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. Each rate is converted to an estimated full-value rate using the 2025 equalization ratio where the city publishes one (Manchester 64.8%, Franklin 78.6%). Elsewhere, the ratio is estimated from the community’s state education tax rate. Insurance is 0.433% of the price a year ($1,300 per $300,000 of dwelling coverage, the New Hampshire average from Insurance.com). The payment excludes PMI, HOA fees, maintenance, utilities and closing costs.
² Required annual income is the income needed to keep the estimated monthly payment at 28% of gross income: monthly payment × 12 ÷ 0.28.
³ Local median household income comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, as reported by Census QuickFacts (Franklin: Data USA). These are historical estimates, rather than measurements of 2026 earnings.
⁴ Income gap = required annual income − local median household income. A positive value means a shortfall. A negative value would mean local median income exceeds the income needed.
Berlin, the only city in Coös County, tops the list by a wide margin. The median home sold for about $162,000 over the three months ending September 2026, about half the price of the next-cheapest place in this guide. On our assumptions, a household needs about $56,000 a year to carry that home. Berlin’s median household income of $45,180 falls about $10,800 short, the smallest gap in the state’s top 10.
Low prices reflect a thin tax base, not a lack of demand. According to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, Berlin had the lowest equalized property value per person of any New Hampshire municipality in 2024, $113,269 against a statewide median of $248,562. To fund city services and schools on that base, Berlin’s 2025 tax rate is $33.60 per $1,000 of assessed value, among the highest in the state. The city hired Northland Property Valuations for a statistical revaluation of about 4,500 parcels for tax year 2026, because assessments had slipped to about 78% of market value since the last revaluation in 2022.
As of late September, the city expected to mail notices of new values in mid-October, with informal hearings in late October and early November. The 2026 tax rate will be set after the new values are approved. New assessments usually come with a new, lower rate, so buyers should budget from the new numbers, not the seller’s old bill.
Health care and corrections anchor local jobs. Androscoggin Valley Hospital, the federal prison (FCI Berlin) and the state’s Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility were the three largest employers in the state’s most recent community profile of Berlin. Outdoors, Jericho Mountain State Park covers about 7,500 acres inside the city, with 50 to 60 miles of trails used by ATVs in summer and snowmobiles in winter. The city also turned its former Brown School into 20 apartments, 15 of them affordable, in 2024.
Berlin is one of only two New Hampshire cities, with Franklin, where the median rent is affordable on the statewide median wage, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported from New Hampshire Housing’s 2026 data. In New Hampshire Housing’s 2026 report, Coös County has the best price-to-income ratio in the state (3.9) and has already built 72.9% of its share of the homes the state needs by 2040.
What borrowers should know
The market favors buyers. According to Redfin, homes took a median 72 days to sell in September, 41.7% of listings had a price cut, and homes sold at 96.8% of list price on average.
Ask the assessor for the 2026 revalued assessment and the new tax rate before you commit to a monthly budget.
The Census Bureau puts the median owner-occupied home value at $131,000, and much of the housing stock is old. Get a full inspection and check the heating system.
Notes for brokers
Underwrite to the post-revaluation tax figure. Using the seller’s current bill can understate or overstate the payment and the DTI.
Coös County’s 2024 median two-bedroom rent was $1,161, below our modeled $1,307 monthly payment on a median-priced home. Investors may need a DSCR program that accepts ratios below 1.0, or more down.
Average weekly wages in Coös County were $1,066 in the first quarter of 2026, the lowest in the state, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. FHA and Fannie Mae HomeReady fit many local owner-occupants.
Newport is a Sullivan County town of about 6,400 people on the Sugar River. It ranks second because it pairs a median sale price of about $325,000 with a median household income of $80,341, higher than in Claremont, Farmington, Franklin or Keene. The gap between the income needed and the local median is about $24,400.
Manufacturing dominates the local economy. Sturm, Ruger & Co. employed about 655 people at its Newport plant, which makes most of the company’s revolvers and some pistols and rifles. In February 2026 the company laid off 63 Newport workers, about 10% of the plant, after a slowdown in firearm demand. A state official said the plant is not closing.
The town is reusing its mill buildings for housing. The former Dexter Richards & Sons woolen mill, a four-story brick mill on the Sugar River, has been converted into 70 affordable apartments with the help of federal historic tax credits.
What borrowers should know
Sales picked up sharply: 19 homes sold in August, up about 50% from a year earlier. Homes took a median 48 days to sell, and 42.2% sold above list price. Get fully pre-approved before you make offers.
About a quarter of residents are 65 or older, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $225,900 in Census data, so many listings are older, long-held homes.
Notes for brokers
If a borrower works at Ruger, verify current employment and hours carefully after the February 2026 layoffs.
With more than two in five homes selling over list, talk with buyers early about how they would cover an appraisal gap.
Sullivan County built only 40.7% of its share of the state’s 2040 housing need through 2025, according to New Hampshire Housing. New supply is limited, which supports values for owner-occupants and investors.
The town of Hillsborough, often written “Hillsboro” on mailing addresses, should not be confused with Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua. It is a town of about 6,100 people in the hills west of Concord, where U.S. 202 meets Routes 9, 31 and 149. The median sale price was about $365,000 for the three months ending July 2026, and the local median household income is $84,495, the second-highest in this guide.
This is a homeowner town: 92.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, the highest share in the top 10. It is also a commuter town. The average commute is 41 minutes, the longest among the ten places. Interstate 89 is 14 miles away at Exit 5, Concord Hospital is 23 miles away and Boston is about 87 miles, according to the state’s community profile of Hillsborough.
The largest local employer is the OSRAM SYLVANIA plant, which makes automotive light bulbs. The plant has operated in town for more than half a century, and in 2023 it announced an expansion and plans to hire 75 to 100 more workers. The town is also home to the Franklin Pierce Homestead, Fox State Forest and a series of historic stone arch bridges.
Budget for commuting. Most residents drive to jobs in Concord, Manchester or beyond.
Notes for brokers
The market is small: only 12 homes sold in July. Redfin’s Hillsborough figures also include sales in neighboring Deering, which shares ZIP code 03244. Expect few close comparable sales.
Commuting borrowers often have W-2 income from employers in other towns or in Massachusetts. Document out-of-state income and withholding.
Rural parcels may involve private wells and septic systems. Plan inspection and water-test timelines into the contract dates.
Rochester is growing faster than the other places in this guide with Census estimates. Its population rose 3.8% from April 2020 to July 2025, to about 33,700. With 112 sales in September, it is also one of the deepest markets on the list. The median sale price of about $410,000 is eighth among the ten places, but Rochester ranks fourth because local incomes are relatively high ($80,836) and its tax rate is the lowest in the top 10.
Rochester’s 2025 rate is $15.30 per $1,000, slightly below the regional average of $15.45 and well below Dover ($19.68) and Somersworth ($19.27), the city reported from the Fiscal Policy Institute’s April 2026 study.
The city is a center for aerospace composites. Albany International’s Rochester plant is one of three that make 3D-woven composite fan blades and fan cases for the CFM LEAP jet engine, and Safran and Albany extended their partnership to 2046. Downtown, the city sought proposals to redevelop about 6.6 city-owned acres at 161 South Main Street into a mixed-use project with housing. The site is in an Opportunity Zone and a Community Revitalization Zone.
Rochester sits on the Spaulding Turnpike (Exits 12–16), about 75 miles from Boston. Many residents commute to Dover, Portsmouth and the Seacoast.
Strafford County has the worst price-to-income ratio in the state (6.1) in New Hampshire Housing’s 2026 report, so homes in nearby towns are not necessarily cheaper.
Notes for brokers
Watch for appraisal gaps on homes with multiple offers, and confirm how buyers will cover any shortfall before they write offers.
Aerospace and manufacturing workers may have overtime and shift pay. Document a two-year history before you count variable income.
Strafford County’s 2024 median two-bedroom rent was $1,785, second only to Hillsborough County among the counties in this guide. That supports DSCR purchases of small multifamily buildings.
Claremont has the second-lowest median sale price in this guide, about $312,000, but ranks fifth. The reason is income. Claremont’s median household income is $59,096, the second-lowest of the ten, and its 2025 tax rate of $30.54 per $1,000 is the third-highest, after Keene and Berlin. Together they leave a gap of about $46,400. Redfin’s Claremont page had not been updated past June 2026 when we compiled this list.
The city’s downtown mills on the Sugar River are being turned into apartments. The state sold the former Monadnock Mill #1 at 17 Water Street to the city for $700,000 in February 2025. A private developer now plans 25 market-rate apartments there, expected in 2027. Next door at 21 Water Street, Twin Pines Housing won approval in August 2026 for 27 affordable apartments in a $12.5 million project. Its financing depends on a New Hampshire Housing decision expected in December 2026.
Health care got more secure in 2024, when Valley Regional Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital with about 350 employees, joined Dartmouth Health. Dartmouth Health agreed to keep essential services in Claremont for at least 10 years and to open an addiction treatment center there. Interstate 91 in Vermont is about 5 miles away, and River Valley Community College is based in the city.
What borrowers should know
Property taxes add about $622 a month on a median-priced home in our model, the third-highest tax payment in this guide.
Homes sold at 99.8% of list price, and 7% sold above list, so well-priced homes still draw offers.
Notes for brokers
The Census Bureau puts Claremont’s poverty rate at 13.5% and its owner-occupancy rate at 57.2%. FHA, HomeReady and New Hampshire Housing’s 3% cash assistance fit many first-time buyers here.
Some residents work across the river in Vermont or in the Lebanon–Hanover area. Verify out-of-state employment and check state income tax withholding.
Prices rose 17.6% year over year in June on a small sample. Ask appraisers for recent comparable sales, not county averages.
Farmington is a Strafford County town of about 6,800 people, about 10 miles northwest of Rochester along Route 11. After the Civil War it was known as the “Shoe Capital of New Hampshire,” and it is the birthplace of Henry Wilson, the 18th vice president of the United States. Blue Job Mountain, the town’s high point at 1,350 feet, is a popular short hike.
The median sale price was $376,000 for the three months ending August 2026, down 8.7% from a year earlier. Farmington has one of the lowest tax rates in this guide, $15.64 per $1,000 in 2025. But it also has the third-lowest median household income on the list ($66,943), which is why it ranks sixth. The Strafford Regional Planning Commission found Farmington had the lowest median household income in its region, and in 2023–2024 it used a state InvestNH grant to study where new housing could go along the Route 11 corridor.
What borrowers should know
Farmington offers the most negotiating room in this guide. Only 11.1% of homes sold above list, and homes sold at 97.1% of list price on average.
Sales rose to 17 in August, from 10 a year earlier, so buyers have more choice than last year.
Most jobs are out of town. Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester is 10 miles away, and the Spaulding Turnpike is 7 miles away at Exit 15, according to the state’s community profile of Farmington.
Notes for brokers
Farmington’s largest local employers are small businesses, so many buyers are tradespeople and self-employed workers. Bank statement loans can document their income without tax returns.
About 77.7% of homes are owner-occupied. Most buyers will be owner-occupants, many of them first-time buyers who may qualify for FHA or New Hampshire Housing assistance.
Strafford County homes are in the Boston-area metro for some HUD purposes. Check the current FHA loan limit for the county before you quote a maximum.
Franklin, where the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers meet to form the Merrimack, is one of New Hampshire’s smallest cities. It lost its water-powered mills long ago and is now using its rivers to rebuild. Mill City Park, billed as the first whitewater park in New England, finished its first phase in 2022. In 2024 Chinburg Properties finished Stevens Mills, a $33.8 million conversion of downtown mills into 153 apartments, 31 of them income-restricted, with rents from $1,295 to $2,895.
The median sale price was about $395,000 for the three months ending September 2026, and the local median household income is $71,648. Franklin’s 2025 tax rate is $17.63 per $1,000, and the city’s 2025 equalization ratio is 78.6%, meaning assessments average about 79% of market value. Like Berlin, Franklin is one of only two New Hampshire cities where the median rent is affordable on the statewide median wage.
What borrowers should know
Franklin is about 4 miles from Interstate 93 at Exit 20, within commuting distance of Concord and the Lakes Region.
Homes took a median 49 days to sell, and one in three sold above list price. Buyers have some room to negotiate on homes that have been listed for a while.
Merrimack County employment fell 2.4% from March 2025 to March 2026, the largest drop among New Hampshire’s large counties, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Verify employment close to closing.
Downtown apartment rents start near $1,300. Renters who are close to qualifying may be good candidates for FHA, HomeReady or New Hampshire Housing’s 3% assistance.
Keene is the hub of the Monadnock Region and one of the most competitive markets on this list. Its Redfin Compete Score is 81 out of 100, and 38.1% of homes sold above list price. The median sale price was about $385,000 for the three months ending July 2026. Keene ranks eighth because it has the highest property tax rate in this guide, $34.37 per $1,000 in 2025, which adds an estimated $677 a month to the payment on a median-priced home.
Education and distribution anchor the economy. Keene State College, part of the University System of New Hampshire, enrolled 2,867 students in fall 2024, and C&S Wholesale Grocers is headquartered in the city. New Hampshire Housing counts Keene among the few job centers with a balanced ratio of jobs to homes.
Affordable housing is growing slowly. Keene Housing’s Roosevelt East converts the former Roosevelt School at 438 Washington Street into affordable housing. The first phase adds 30 apartments, part of a project budgeted at about $22.5 million, with leasing in summer 2026. Keene Housing’s waitlist is about 1,500 households.
What borrowers should know
Be ready to move quickly. Homes sold in a median 32 days at 99.4% of list price.
Taxes matter more here than almost anywhere in this guide. Ask for the current assessment and multiply it by the current rate, rather than relying on the listing’s estimate.
More than four in ten adults have a bachelor’s degree, and 55.1% of homes are owner-occupied. Expect to compete with professionals and with investors buying near the college.
Notes for brokers
Student demand makes Keene a natural DSCR market for small rentals near campus. Check local rental and zoning rules before your borrower buys.
With high taxes, the DTI can hit limits sooner. Run the full tax figure in every pre-approval.
The state capital is the second-largest market in this guide, with 156 sales in August 2026. The median sale price of about $460,000 is the second-highest of the ten. Concord makes the list because its median household income, $84,902, is the highest in the top 10.
State government and health care are the biggest employers. The State of New Hampshire employed about 6,125 people in the city and Capital Region Health Care about 3,200, according to the state’s 2023 community profile of Concord. Concord has more than two jobs for every nonseasonal home, so many workers commute in from towns like Franklin and Hillsborough.
Housing construction has picked up. Concord added 774 homes from 2020 to 2025, after a net gain of only 233 in the previous decade, and as of April 2026, 283 units were under construction, 599 were approved and 1,126 were in planning, the Concord Monitor reported. The largest proposal would replace most of the Steeplegate Mall with about 600 apartments, a Costco and a Whole Foods. It still faces a lease dispute with JCPenney and unpaid property taxes.
What borrowers should know
Concord is very competitive. Its Compete Score is 82, half of homes sold above list price, and homes sold at about 101% of list price on average.
The 2025 tax rate is $29.11 per $1,000. We estimate an effective rate of about 1.78% of market value.
Notes for brokers
State and hospital employees usually have stable W-2 income. Verify union step raises and any overtime separately.
Concord sits where Interstates 93 and 89 meet. Commuters from Manchester and Boston buy here too, so expect a mix of borrower profiles.
Expect appraisal gaps on competitive offers. New construction and condos can give first-time buyers a lower entry price.
New Hampshire’s largest city is its busiest and most competitive housing market. In August 2026, 387 homes sold in Manchester, 62.3% above list price, in a median of 22 days. Its Compete Score is 86. The median sale price of $475,000 is the highest in this guide, but it is still well below the statewide median single-family price of about $575,000.
Health care and education lead local employment. Elliot Hospital (about 4,000 workers), Southern New Hampshire University (about 3,256) and Catholic Medical Center (about 2,900) were the largest employers in the state’s 2023 community profile of Manchester, which also lists the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. The Millyard is the base of the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, whose biofabrication cluster won about $44 million in federal funding in 2023, with a projected 7,800 direct jobs in southern New Hampshire.
Condos and two- to four-unit homes can lower the cost of entry. On a two- to four-unit home, rent from the other units can help you qualify.
Notes for brokers
With a large immigrant community and many renters, Manchester is a strong market for ITIN loans and first-time buyer programs.
Small multifamily buildings are common, and rents are high. DSCR loans fit investors here.
Self-employed borrowers in the city’s trades and service businesses may qualify more easily with bank statement income.
Factors That Contribute to Affordability in New Hampshire
The places on this list are affordable for different reasons. These factors explain why, and what can make a home cost more than its price suggests.
1. Property taxes and equalization
New Hampshire relies on property taxes more than any other state for local government. According to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, property taxes provide about 61% of local revenue and about 63% of all state and local tax revenue. 2025 rates in this guide range from $15.30 per $1,000 in Rochester to $34.37 in Keene. Nominal rates are misleading on their own: towns assess homes at different shares of market value, and a revaluation can cut a town’s rate sharply without lowering anyone’s bill. The statewide average municipal rate fell from $20.96 in 2019 to $15.83 in 2025 largely for that reason. Berlin is revaluing every property for 2026.
2. No sales tax or tax on wages
New Hampshire has no general sales tax and no tax on earned income, and its interest and dividends tax ended for tax periods after December 31, 2024. Buyers moving from Massachusetts or Vermont can offset part of a higher property tax bill this way. Residents who work in Massachusetts still owe Massachusetts income tax on those wages.
3. Property tax relief
The state’s Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief refunds part of the state education property tax to owners with household income of $37,000 or less (single) or $47,000 or less (married or head of household). Claims for 2025 were filed from May 1 to June 30, 2026. In Berlin and Claremont, where median incomes are lowest, many owners may qualify.
4. Low insurance, high energy costs
New Hampshire homeowners pay about $1,300 a year on average for $300,000 of dwelling coverage, among the lowest in the country, according to Insurance.com. Energy is the opposite. New Hampshire’s average retail electricity price was 20.61 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2024, seventh-highest in the nation. Budget for heating oil or propane in older homes.
5. Jobs and wages
New Hampshire’s unemployment rate was a preliminary 2.8% in July 2026, and health care added the most jobs in 2025, the Fiscal Policy Institute reports. Wages vary widely by county. In the first quarter of 2026, average weekly wages were $1,066 in Coös County, $1,123 in Sullivan, $1,210 in Cheshire, $1,354 in Merrimack, $1,413 in Strafford and $1,668 in Hillsborough.
6. Housing supply
The state issued permits for 5,822 homes in 2024, the most since 2006, but still needs about 62,700 more homes by 2040, according to the state Office of Planning and Development. Progress is uneven. Through 2025, Coös County had built 72.9% of its share of the 2040 need, Sullivan 40.7%, Cheshire 36.0%, Strafford 32.6%, Merrimack 29.8% and Hillsborough County 22.9%, New Hampshire Housing found. Mill and school conversions in Claremont, Franklin, Keene, Newport and Berlin are adding rentals, but few new homes for sale.
7. Down payment help
New Hampshire Housing’s homebuyer programs, Home Flex Plus (FHA, VA and USDA) and Home Preferred Plus (conventional), offer cash assistance of 3% of the purchase price as a second mortgage that is forgiven after four years, for buyers under income limits. Its Homebuyer Tax Credit can be worth up to $2,000 a year. Check current income limits with an approved lender.
8. Rents
The statewide median rent for a two-bedroom unit, including utilities, was $1,833 in 2024. Renters needed about $73,300 a year to afford it, and only 13% of two-bedroom units were affordable to the median renter household, according to New Hampshire Housing’s rental cost survey. For comparison, our model’s required income to buy a median-priced home ranges from about $56,000 in Berlin to about $145,000 in Concord.
Quality of Life in New Hampshire’s Most Affordable Places
Healthcare
Manchester has two large hospitals, Elliot Hospital and Catholic Medical Center, and Concord is home to Concord Hospital, the region’s main medical center. Claremont’s Valley Regional Hospital joined Dartmouth Health in 2024, with a 10-year commitment to keep essential services. Berlin has Androscoggin Valley Hospital, and Rochester and Farmington are served by Frisbie Memorial Hospital.
Education
Keene State College enrolled 2,867 students in fall 2024. Manchester is home to Southern New Hampshire University, one of the city’s largest employers. Community colleges serve most of this list, including River Valley in Claremont, White Mountains in Berlin, Great Bay near Rochester and Farmington, NHTI in Concord, and Manchester Community College.
Recreation
Berlin’s Jericho Mountain State Park offers 50 to 60 miles of ATV and snowmobile trails. Franklin’s Mill City Park was the first whitewater park in New England. Hillsborough has Fox State Forest and historic stone arch bridges, and Farmington has Blue Job Mountain. Concord has the Capitol Center for the Arts, and Claremont its historic Opera House.
Getting around
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport serves southern New Hampshire. Concord sits where Interstates 93 and 89 meet, Franklin is minutes from I-93, Rochester and Farmington are on the Spaulding Turnpike toward the Seacoast, and Claremont is about 5 miles from I-91 in Vermont. Berlin is the most remote place on the list: Portland, Maine is about 101 miles away and Boston about 182.
So, What is the Cheapest Place to Live in New Hampshire?
Berlin is the clear answer on both price and affordability. A median-priced home there costs about $162,000, and a household needs about $56,000 a year to carry it on our assumptions. Beyond Berlin, the cheapest places to buy relative to local incomes are Newport and Hillsborough, followed by Rochester, which pairs a deep market with the lowest tax rate on the list. Manchester and Concord, the state’s two largest job centers, still made the top 10 because their local incomes are higher.
No community on this list is easy to afford on the local median income at today’s rates. Our estimated monthly payment ranges from about $1,307 in Berlin to about $3,393 in Concord. For most buyers, the path to ownership will involve a smaller down payment, state assistance, a condo or a multi-unit home, or a careful look at property taxes before making an offer.
New Hampshire’s affordable markets mix first-time buyers, commuters, self-employed workers and investors. Small businesses drive the state’s job growth: companies with fewer than 20 employees added about 79% of net new jobs in 2025, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. Many of their owners cannot qualify on tax returns alone. Renters are the majority in Manchester, and student and workforce rentals are in demand in Keene, Rochester and Claremont. AD Mortgage’s wholesale lineup covers each of these borrowers:
FHA loans with a 580 minimum FICO and 3.5% down for first-time and moderate-income buyers in places like Berlin, Claremont and Franklin.
Fannie Mae HomeReady with 3% down for borrowers at or below 80% of area median income. Homebuyer education is required for first-time buyers.
DSCR loans for investors, qualifying on rental cash flow with a 620 minimum FICO, up to 80% CLTV and options below a 1.0 ratio. They fit Manchester’s multifamily buildings, Keene’s student rentals and Rochester’s workforce rentals.
12/24-month bank statement loans for self-employed borrowers, with personal, business or combined statements, a 620 minimum FICO or no score, and up to 90% CLTV on purchases. They fit the tradespeople and small-business owners common in towns like Farmington and Newport.
ITIN loans with a 660 minimum FICO and up to 80% CLTV for borrowers without a Social Security number, a good fit for Manchester’s immigrant community.
Confirm current program terms, loan limits and eligibility with your AD Mortgage account executive.
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