State scorecard
New Hampshire in the US Political Rank
Every place New Hampshire holds across our state rankings, in one scorecard. Economy, taxes, education, crime, healthcare, and more, each measured the same way for all 50 states and each linked to the full cited ranking.
#2
of 50 on States Ranked by Violent Crime Rate
#47
of 50 on States Ranked by Dependence on Federal Money
63.1%
Governor Kelly Ayotte performance score, rank 2 of 50
9
state rankings that score New Hampshire
Governor
New Hampshire's governor, Kelly Ayotte (Republican), holds performance rank 2 of 50 at 63.1% this week in the Governor Performance Rankings, scored on 263 metrics and updated every Monday.
| Ranking | New Hampshire's place | Score |
|---|---|---|
| States Ranked by Violent Crime RateA violent crime rate of 110.1 per 100,000 and the lowest murder rate of any state at 1.0 per 100,000, one-fifth the national murder rate (FBI, 2024). | #2 of 50 | 110.1 |
| States Ranked by Health Care OutcomesThird overall among states on the Commonwealth Fund's 2025 Scorecard, with strong access and low avoidable mortality (Commonwealth Fund, 2025). | #3 of 50 | 96.4 |
| States Ranked by K-12 Education OutcomesOne of the top five states in eighth grade reading on the 2024 assessment (Learning Policy Institute analysis of NCES data, 2025). | #4 of 50 | 95.5 |
| States Ranked by Total Tax BurdenAs of 2025 New Hampshire completed the phase-out of its interest and dividends tax, leaving it with no income tax and no sales tax; the move lifted it three places on the Tax Foundation's 2026 competitiveness index (Tax Foundation, 2026). Property taxes are the highest-profile cost. | #7 of 50 | 87.0 |
| The 2026 Battleground States, RankedThe open Pappas-versus-field Senate race is rated Lean Democratic, and Inside Elections wrote that John Sununu's entry boosted Republican chances, making it the midterms' sleeper race (Inside Elections, 2026; Semafor, 2026). Gov. Kelly Ayotte's two-year term is also up, giving the state two statewide contests. | #9 of 15 | 7.2 |
| States Ranked by Business Climate: What the Major Raters Agree OnImproved on the Tax Foundation's 2026 index after completing the repeal of its interest and dividends tax, leaving it with neither an income tax nor a sales tax (Tax Foundation, 2026). | #14 of 25 | 83.3 |
| Voting With Their Feet: States Ranked by Migration and Population GrowthA rare Northeastern net domestic gainer, drawing movers from higher-cost neighbors with no income or sales tax as of 2026 (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025; Tax Foundation, 2026). | #22 of 50 | 66.0 |
| Ranking the 50 State Economies of 2026Low unemployment and no income or sales tax as of 2026 (BLS LAUS, 2026; Tax Foundation, 2026), but a small, slow-growing economy that limits total output gains (BEA, 2026). | #44 of 50 | 58.9 |
| States Ranked by Dependence on Federal MoneyEssentially break-even with Washington: a per-capita balance of payments of just 23 dollars in FFY 2023, the closest to zero of any state on the positive side (Rockefeller Institute, 2025). | #47 of 50 | 44.6 |
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