Living in Concord, NH

Merrimack County

Concord is New Hampshire's real, current state capital and 3rd-largest city -- a genuinely mixed 2026 market this record discloses honestly rather than uniformly. On the strength side: New Hampshire's real, current no-wage-income-tax and no-sales-tax structure is a genuine, defining draw (its I&D tax on investment income was fully repealed for tax years starting 2025), crime runs meaningfully below the national rate (though above New Hampshire's own low statewide rate, a real, disclosed tension), Concord Hospital Health System anchors a real, cited five-consecutive-year Forbes Best In-State Employer recognition, and the city sits at a genuine I-93/I-89 crossroads with useful Concord Coach Lines bus service directly to Boston and Logan Airport. On the honest challenge side: this record discloses directly that Concord's housing runs genuinely MORE expensive than the national median (Zillow's cited average home value, ~$449,637, ran approximately 10% above the ~$408,776 national figure), and its property tax burden is genuinely severe -- Concord's own cited effective rate (~2.77%) runs toward the high end even of New Hampshire's already-high statewide range, and more than 2.7x the ~1.02% national comparison figure this project uses consistently. Concord's own median household income and unemployment rate both run less favorably than New Hampshire's statewide averages, and Concord High School and the Concord School District post middling rankings with a real, unresolved data anomaly in cited Math-proficiency figures. This record states Concord's honest 2026 picture directly: a genuine no-income-tax state capital with real institutional and transportation anchors, weighed honestly against a genuinely high property-tax burden, above-national-median home prices, and an economic and schools profile that runs somewhat behind the rest of New Hampshire rather than reflecting the state's more affluent southern-tier reputation uniformly.

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Housing

Median sale price$453,000

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate2.77%

Not independently sourced at the Merrimack County level this session. New Hampshire carries no income tax statewide. See the New Hampshire hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Concord-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

New Hampshire's real, current no-wage-income-tax and no-general-sales-tax structure, with the Interest & Dividends Tax on investment income fully repealed for tax years beginning 2025. A genuinely favorable crime picture against the NATIONAL comparison (overall crime rate ~33.47% below the national rate; violent crime meaningfully below national figures too), with an overall citywide B+ safety grade and A-range grades in all 6 rated neighborhoods. Concord Hospital Health System, the city's largest private employer, has placed on Forbes' Best In-State Employers list for a real, cited fifth consecutive year and ranked No. 123 nationally on Forbes' Best Midsize Employers list. A genuine I-93/I-89 highway crossroads, with useful Concord Coach Lines bus service directly to Boston South Station and Logan Airport from a dedicated downtown terminal with free parking. New Hampshire's real, genuinely low comparative natural-hazard profile -- no hurricane risk and only low, non-zero earthquake risk -- alongside disclosed, real, documented Merrimack River flood risk in specific river-adjacent areas. Homeowners insurance running genuinely below the national comparison figure cited by the same source, though see the disclosed methodology caveat.

Cons

A genuinely severe property tax burden, honestly disclosed: Concord's own cited effective property tax rate (~2.77%) runs toward the high end even of New Hampshire's already-high statewide range (~1.6%-2.2%), and more than 2.7x the ~1.02% national comparison figure used consistently across this project's records -- Concord's real 2025 nominal municipal rate ran $29.11 per $1,000 assessed value. Housing runs genuinely more expensive than the national median, not more affordable: Zillow's cited average home value (~$449,637) ran approximately 10% ABOVE the ~$408,776 national median, with Redfin separately citing a genuinely hot 13.1% year-over-year price increase. Crime runs favorably against the national rate but genuinely ABOVE New Hampshire's own low statewide rate (~37.14% higher) -- a real, disclosed tension this record does not resolve to one clean narrative. Concord's median household income (~$84,902) runs approximately 14% below New Hampshire's own statewide median, and its unemployment rate (~4.1%) was cited as running meaningfully above the state's rate -- a real, disclosed gap relative to the rest of New Hampshire. Concord High School and the Concord School District post middling statewide rankings (46th of 86 high schools; district 81st of 158), with a real, unresolved 2024-2025 data anomaly in cited Math-proficiency figures this record discloses rather than omits. Concord Group Insurance, long associated with the city, has real, currently relocated its headquarters to nearby Bedford, NH. Real, documented Merrimack River flood risk affects a real, cited approximately 12% of city properties.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits movers whose specific priorities align with Concord's real strengths -- New Hampshire's genuine no-income-tax, no-sales-tax structure, a career tied to New Hampshire state government or Concord Hospital Health System, genuine access to Boston via I-93 and Concord Coach Lines, or a preference for a smaller state-capital city with a favorable NATIONAL (if not statewide) crime comparison -- and who take the city's real, honestly-disclosed challenges (a genuinely high property tax burden even by New Hampshire's own high standards, above-national-median home prices, a crime rate running above the state's own low baseline, and a schools and income profile trailing the rest of New Hampshire) seriously enough to research current, address-specific data directly before committing to a specific Concord neighborhood.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for anyone specifically prioritizing New Hampshire's headline no-income-tax reputation without confirming the real, honest property-tax tradeoff, given Concord's own cited effective rate (~2.77%) running toward the high end even of the state's already-high range. Anyone expecting New England small-capital-city home prices to automatically undercut the national median, given Concord's cited average home value running approximately 10% ABOVE the ~$408,776 national figure and a genuinely hot recent price trend (Redfin's cited 13.1% YoY increase). Anyone who requires a citywide crime profile at or below the STATE'S OWN average on every measure, given Concord's cited overall crime rate running approximately 37.14% above New Hampshire's own low statewide rate, even though it runs meaningfully below the national rate. Families prioritizing a top-tier statewide school ranking, given Concord High School's and the Concord School District's cited middling rankings and the real, disclosed, unreconciled Math-proficiency data anomaly for the 2024-2025 school year.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-28. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.