There is a small state in northern New England called New Hampshire. It is called the Granite State and shares borders with Maine, Canada, Massachusetts, and Vermont. New Hampshire has a lot of untouched wildlife and some of the best skiing in the country, but it only has 16 miles of coastline between the Atlantic Coasts of Massachusetts and Maine.
Not only is New Hampshire one of the five smallest states, but it also has the tenth fewest people living in it, with about 1.35 million people in 2021. Even though there are lakes all over the state, Lake Winnipesaukee is the biggest and is in the middle and eastern parts.
New Hampshire has recently become a popular place for new people to visit as a tourist. There are many great things about living in this beautiful state, but one of the best things about it financially is that there is no state general sales tax or individual income tax.
The Most Dangerous Cities in New Hampshire
People think that New Hampshire is one of the best states, but there are some places where you should be careful when you go. The national average for serious crime is a very low 1.37 per 1,000 people, which is about two-thirds less than the national average.
- Manchester (Hillsborough County)
- Conway (Carroll County)
- Littleton (Grafton County)
- Laconia (Belknap County)
- Rochester (Strafford County)
1. Manchester (Hillsborough County)
- Population – 115,462 (2021)
- Violent Crime Rate – 4.42 per 1,000 residents.
- Property Crime Rate – 22.39 per 1,000 residents.
People in New Hampshire’s biggest city, Manchester, are likely to think of it as the state’s most dangerous. These two cities are in the southern part of New Hampshire, close to the line with Massachusetts. They are close to the city of Nashua. The rate of serious crime in Manchester is higher than the state average and higher than the U.S. average. More property crimes happen in Manchester than in New Hampshire as a whole.
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2. Conway (Carroll County)
- Population – 10,079 (2021)
- Violent Crime Rate – 2.38 per 1,000 residents.
- Property Crime Rate – 17.96 per 1,000 residents
The town of Conway is in the eastern and central parts of New Hampshire. It is right next to White Mountain National Park. The rate of serious crime in Conway is almost twice that of the state of New Hampshire. The rate of property theft in this town is about 70% higher than the rate across the state. If you’re going alone in Conway at night, you should be careful of thieves who are looking for easy targets.
3. Littleton (Grafton County)
- Population – 6,043 (2021)
- Violent Crime Rate – 2.32 per 1,000 residents.
- Property Crime Rate – 13.57 per 1,000 residents
Littleton is a small city in the middle or western part of New Hampshire. The Connecticut River runs through the city on the west and north sides. Crime rates in this small city tend to be higher than those in the rest of the state, even when compared to New Hampshire’s bigger towns. The numbers of both violent and property crimes are higher than what most of the state considers to be a safe level.
4. Laconia (Belknap County)
- Population –17,025 (2021)
- Violent Crime Rate – 2.23 per 1,000 residents.
- Property Crime Rate – 24.14 per 1,000 residents
A small city called Laconia sits between two beautiful lakes in New Hampshire. These lakes are Winnisquam and Winnipesaukee. People who live or visit Laconia are almost twice as likely as people in other parts of the state to be victims of a serious crime. Based on crime rates for property crimes, Laconia has about 2.5 times the state average and about 30% more crime than the state average.
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5. Rochester (Strafford County)
- Population – 32,869 (2021)
- Violent Crime Rate – 1.86 per 1,000 residents.
- Property Crime Rate – 17.75 per 1,000 residents
In terms of New Hampshire cities, Rochester is about the size of Manchester. Also, over the last two censuses, it has been one of the places in New Hampshire that has grown the fastest. Rochester has about half as many violent crimes as other towns in the state. The Rochester area has almost three times as much property crime as the rest of the state.