The Safest and Most Dangerous Cities in New Hampshire

Statewide Crime Trends in New Hampshire

As seen above, variations between the safest and most dangerous cities in New Hampshire couldn’t be clearer. The central and southern regions alone are home to a wide range of communities, some much better than others.

Up until this point, we’ve explored low-crime and high-crime cities in New Hampshire, with a special focus on the Manchester crime rate. Now, let’s tackle what’s influencing these rankings, along with important year-over-year changes.

Across the board, New Hampshire stands out for its impressive safety, with virtually all of its crime levels falling short of the national average.This holds up whether we’re assessing vehicle theft, murder, aggravated assault, or burglaries.

Property crime rates (per 100,000 residents)

Violent crime rates (per 100,000 residents)

While crime in New Hampshire’s most dangerous cities is lower than in many other communities nationwide, it’s still important to avoid questionable places like Manchester and Tilton.

On a national scale, New Hampshire is safer than Alabama and New York, yet falls just shy of Maine, which has the lowest rates of violent crime in America. Across the Granite State, violent crime has decreased 14.6 percent year-over-year, while property crime has also fallen by 12.1 percent year-over-year.

Crime Variations Across Communities

Throughout the Granite State, fluctuations in crime can be attributed to variations in poverty rates and population density. A lack of access to employment has also traditionally correlated with higher rates of criminal activity.

By the same token, cities with greater populations (like Manchester) are often more prone to opportunities for crime. Coincidentally, Manchester is home to a police department where 49 percent of violent crimes remain unsolved.⁸

What Factors Most Influence New Hampshire’s Crime Trends?

While the Granite State is among the best in America, it’s still important to understand what’s driving crime here. In many ways, this goes beyond just knowing the safest and most dangerous cities in New Hampshire.

Both violent crime and property crime are already below the national average, yet the existing rates continue declining year-over-year. With that in mind, folks across the Granite State can still benefit from using security cameras and smart devices across their homes and businesses.

Over the years, New Hampshire has continuously gone above and beyond to keep its residents and tourists safe.⁹ This is evident through its robust job market, well-maintained highways, and built-in safeguards against natural disasters.

Where Our Crime Data Comes From

Unless specified otherwise, the information in this article is based on crime data compiled by the FBI and made available through the Crime Data Explorer. Statewide violent and property crime statistics are drawn from the FBI’s 2023 Crime in the United States Report (Table 5), and for city-level crime rates, we referred to Table 8, which lists reported offenses by state and city.

Important Note: Crime statistics offer valuable insights, but they aren’t the only way to evaluate a community’s safety. Local context, law enforcement practices, and reporting standards can all influence how crime is recorded. Additionally, FBI publication tables and the data displayed on the Crime Data Explorer may differ slightly due to variations in methodology.