PlainFoodAccess

State food-access profile · 10 counties

Food access in New Hampshire

How far New Hampshire residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

27.5%
low-access pop.
38
food-desert tracts
6.1%
on SNAP
10
counties

The statewide picture

About 362K New Hampshire residents - 27.5% - live in a low-access area, and 38 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

362K
low-access residents
56K
food-desert residents
4.6%
households, no vehicle
7.3%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where New Hampshire stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, New Hampshire is ringed. Click any state to compare.

AK 31 ME 13 VT 11 NH 28 WA 23 ID 26 MT 22 ND 29 MN 27 IL 20 WI 21 MI 23 NY 12 RI 24 MA 28 OR 17 NV 23 WY 30 SD 29 IA 20 IN 29 OH 25 PA 21 NJ 24 CT - CA 13 UT 24 CO 22 NE 22 MO 25 KY 20 WV 21 VA 20 MD 23 DE 27 AZ 27 NM 32 KS 26 AR 25 TN 27 NC 23 SC 29 DC 5 OK 25 LA 26 MS 26 AL 25 GA 31 HI 27 TX 25 FL 25

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in New Hampshire against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 10 counties and 1.4M residents, New Hampshire's population-weighted low-access share is 27.5%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 38 tracts in New Hampshire, home to roughly 56K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 6.1% of households, and 4.6% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

10
Counties
27.5%
Low-access (pop-weighted)
362K
Low-access residents
6.1%
Avg. SNAP

Highest low-access counties in New Hampshire

Share of the population living in low-access areas, by county

% low-access
Source USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas As of 2019 edition

All counties in New Hampshire

County Low-accessSNAP
Rockingham County 43.0% 3.3%
Sullivan County 33.9% 8.3%
Hillsborough County 32.3% 6.6%
Strafford County 24.2% 7.3%
Cheshire County 19.3% 6.3%
Coos County 16.9% 12.6%
Merrimack County 16.2% 7.0%
Belknap County 11.4% 6.9%
Grafton County 10.5% 6.4%
Carroll County 1.5% 5.0%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

  • 27.5% of New Hampshire residents, about 362K people, live in a low-access area.
  • 38 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 56K low-income, low-access residents.
  • 6.1% of households receive SNAP, and 4.6% have no vehicle.
  • Rockingham County has the state's highest low-access share at 43.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of New Hampshire has low food access?▼
27.5% of New Hampshire residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).
How many food deserts are in New Hampshire?▼
38 census tracts in New Hampshire are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 56K low-income residents.
What is the SNAP participation rate in New Hampshire?▼
Across New Hampshire counties, an average of 6.1% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.
Which county in New Hampshire has the worst food access?▼
Rockingham County has the highest low-access share in New Hampshire at 43.0%, with 3.3% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage).

← All states · Methodology