Portsmouth vs other NH municipalities
Total municipal budget divided by population, across three peer sets: all NH cities, Seacoast neighbors, and similarly-sized municipalities. Portsmouth is highlighted in navy.
1 of 16 municipalities have
verified budget and population figures.
The remaining 15 are scaffolded with
source links in
public/data/nh-comparison.json
and excluded from the chart until filled in.
Why per-resident is tricky in NH
- Some NH municipalities include school appropriations inside the city budget (Portsmouth, Dover, Concord, Manchester). Others have a separately-elected school district that is not part of the city budget. Per-resident figures for the former will look meaningfully higher and are not directly comparable without splitting school out.
- Water and sewer enterprise funds are reported differently across cities — some inside the total budget, some as separate utility budgets.
- County tax appropriations pass through municipal budgets and inflate the total without representing city services.
- Population figures are NH Office of Planning & Development estimates unless otherwise noted.
All NH municipalities classified as cities under state law. Wide spread in size and budget scope.
Per-resident spending · NH cities (all 13)
Total municipal budget ÷ population. Portsmouth in navy; peers in gold.
1 of 13 municipalities shown. Hover any bar for total budget, population, and school-inclusion status.
Source data
| Municipality | FY | Population | Total budget | Per resident | Schools? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth city | FY26 | 22,890 | $ 150.3 M | $ 6,566 | Yes |
| Manchester pending | TODO — https://www.manchesternh.gov/Departments/Finance (CAFR or adopted-budget PDF) | — | |||
| Nashua pending | TODO — https://www.nashuanh.gov/197/Finance | — | |||
| Concord pending | TODO — https://www.concordnh.gov/180/Finance-Department | — | |||
| Dover pending | TODO — https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/ | — | |||
| Rochester pending | TODO — https://www.rochesternh.gov/finance-department | — | |||
| Keene pending | TODO — https://ci.keene.nh.us/finance-department | — | |||
| Lebanon pending | TODO — https://lebanonnh.gov/172/Finance-Department | — | |||
| Laconia pending | TODO — https://www.laconianh.gov/172/Finance | — | |||
| Somersworth pending | TODO — https://www.somersworth.com/finance | — | |||
| Berlin pending | TODO — https://www.berlinnh.gov/finance-department | — | |||
| Claremont pending | TODO — https://www.claremontnh.com/finance | — | |||
| Franklin pending | TODO — https://www.franklinnh.org/finance-department | — | |||
Geographic peers along the Seacoast and Great Bay. Mix of cities and towns.
Per-resident spending · Seacoast peers
Total municipal budget ÷ population. Portsmouth in navy; peers in gold.
1 of 6 municipalities shown. Hover any bar for total budget, population, and school-inclusion status.
Source data
| Municipality | FY | Population | Total budget | Per resident | Schools? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth city | FY26 | 22,890 | $ 150.3 M | $ 6,566 | Yes |
| Dover pending | TODO — https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/ | — | |||
| Rochester pending | TODO — https://www.rochesternh.gov/finance-department | — | |||
| Exeter pending | TODO — https://www.exeternh.gov/finance | — | |||
| Hampton pending | TODO — https://www.hamptonnh.gov/164/Finance | — | |||
| Stratham pending | TODO — https://www.strathamnh.gov/finance | — | |||
Population peers regardless of geography. Best for the per-resident metric since fixed-cost spreads are comparable.
Per-resident spending · Similar size (~15K–35K)
Total municipal budget ÷ population. Portsmouth in navy; peers in gold.
1 of 7 municipalities shown. Hover any bar for total budget, population, and school-inclusion status.
Source data
| Municipality | FY | Population | Total budget | Per resident | Schools? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth city | FY26 | 22,890 | $ 150.3 M | $ 6,566 | Yes |
| Dover pending | TODO — https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/ | — | |||
| Rochester pending | TODO — https://www.rochesternh.gov/finance-department | — | |||
| Keene pending | TODO — https://ci.keene.nh.us/finance-department | — | |||
| Lebanon pending | TODO — https://lebanonnh.gov/172/Finance-Department | — | |||
| Concord pending | TODO — https://www.concordnh.gov/180/Finance-Department | — | |||
| Laconia pending | TODO — https://www.laconianh.gov/172/Finance | — | |||
Snapshot: 2026-05-30