New Hampshire’s Shifting Age Demographics: More Deaths Than Births in 2025

New Hampshire experienced a slight baby boom in 2025, but that doesn't mean the state's age demographics have changed.

Preliminary statistics from New Hampshire Vital Records indicated that the state recorded 12,593 births in 2025. That's the highest annual total since 2011 aside from the 2021 pandemic spike. The 2025 birth count may be revised as more data comes in, and upcoming U.S. Census Bureau migration trends could alter the overall population picture.

Ken Johnson, a demographics expert at the Carsey School of Public Policy at UNH, spoke to the Concord Monitor about the trend, saying it is too soon to determine which factors are contributing to the increase. Johnson noted one possibility is that New Hampshire saw more women in their 30s or 40s deciding it was time to have children. 

“New Hampshire women tend to have children later than U.S. women as a whole,” he stated.

Over the long term, births in the Granite State have trended downward from more than 14,000 per year three decades ago to below 13,000 in recent years, with occasional dips below 12,000.

Just as the number of births has been declining, the number of deaths in the state has been increasing. According to the Concord Monitor, New Hampshire also posted a preliminary figure of 14,111 deaths in 2025, the second-highest total on record.

Despite the uptick in births, New Hampshire continues to experience a natural population decline with deaths outpacing births. Last year, for example, the state recorded 1,518 more deaths than births, according to preliminary figures.

As the Concord Monitor notes, “If it wasn't for in-migration of people, mostly from other states but also from other countries, New Hampshire would be shrinking.”