New Hampshire Higher Education Outcome Report

• Institutions

  22

  198,779 students enrolled

• Graduates / Year

  ~23,472

  Estimated annual completers

• Median Earnings

  68th pct

  $51,895

  16th of 50 states

• Mobility Score

  4th pct

  1.0%

  44th of 46 states

• Talent Retention

  62nd pct

  74%

  First-year retention rate

• Value Ratio

  22nd pct

  2.4x

  Earnings per net-price dollar

1. 1

   New Hampshire graduates earn a median of $51,895 a decade after entry, 6% above the national state average, ranking 16th of 50 states.

2. 2

   Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.0% rate, in the 4th percentile nationally.

3. 3

   Degree production is led by Business and Social Sciences, which together account for 49% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.

4. 4

   Social Sciences is the standout sector: graduates earn $60,767, +17.8% versus the national median. That premium points to a real wage advantage rather than sheer volume.

5. 5

   Humanities shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 5.4% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.

6. 6

   On value, New Hampshire returns 2.4x earnings per dollar of net price, below average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.

• Earnings vs National

  ▲ +21.9%

  Median graduate earnings in New Hampshire are above the national average by 22%.

• Cost vs National

  ▼ +15.6%

  Net price in New Hampshire is higher than the national average by 16%.

• Mobility Rate

  ▼ -0.73pp

  Upward mobility rate is 0.7 percentage points below the national average.

• Completion Rate

  ▼ -1.1pp

  New Hampshire's graduation rate is 1.1 percentage points below the national average.

• Best Value

  ▲ 6.7x

  Top value school: University of New Hampshire at Manchester ($66,479 earnings vs $9,992 net price).

Business (34% of graduates) and Social Sciences (15% of graduates) dominate New Hampshire's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $53,946.

• Business

  34%

  $53,946 avg

• Social Sciences

  15%

  $59,827 avg

• Technology

  14%

  $59,443 avg

• Humanities

  11%

  $52,586 avg

• Healthcare

  10%

  $50,331 avg

New Hampshire's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Mechanic & Repair Tech), where graduates average $47,202 against a net cost of $16,547, a 2.9x return. That's -8.5% vs the national median.

• Mechanic & Repair Tech

  2.9x
  $47,202 earnings · $16,547 net -8.5% vs natl

• Computer Science & IT

  2.7x
  $56,450 earnings · $21,277 net +9.5% vs natl

• Precision Production

  2.6x
  $45,875 earnings · $17,688 net -11.1% vs natl

• Mathematics & Statistics

  2.5x
  $60,383 earnings · $24,136 net +17.1% vs natl

• Engineering

  2.5x
  $61,114 earnings · $24,762 net +18.5% vs natl

• Physical Sciences

  2.5x
  $66,546 earnings · $26,986 net +29% vs natl

Three lenses on New Hampshire's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

New Hampshire's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.0%, which puts the state in the 4th percentile nationally. 6% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.54, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

New Hampshire's Social Sciences programs produce graduates earning $60,767, +17.8% relative to the national median. Humanities graduates, however, earn 5.4% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

• Business

  34% of enrollment
  $52,808 +2.4% vs natl

  16 schools

• Social Sciences

  15% of enrollment
  $60,767 +17.8% vs natl

  10 schools

• Technology

  14% of enrollment
  $60,558 +17.4% vs natl

  5 schools

• Humanities

  11% of enrollment
  $48,805 -5.4% vs natl

  7 schools

• Healthcare

  10% of enrollment
  $51,897 +0.6% vs natl

  16 schools

• Public Safety

  6% of enrollment
  $53,282 +3.3% vs natl

  7 schools

New Hampshire's higher education system includes 2 research-oriented, 5 specialized, 1 access-oriented, 14 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

• 🔬

  2

  Research Universities

• 🏛️

  14

  Regional Universities

• 🚀

  1

  Access-Oriented Institutions

• 🎯

  5

  Specialized Institutions

22% of New Hampshire's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $52,856 at 10 years.

• NET PRICE UNDER $15K

  4

  22% of schools

  Avg earnings: $52,856

• NET PRICE $15K–$25K

  7

  39% of schools

  Avg earnings: $52,746

• NET PRICE $25K–$40K

  7

  39% of schools

  Avg earnings: $59,327

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

1. 01 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH $97,434
2. 02 Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH $73,371
3. 03 University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online Manchester, NH $66,479
4. 04 University of New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce School of Law Concord, NH $66,479
5. 05 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH $66,479
6. 06 University of New Hampshire at Manchester Manchester, NH $66,479
7. 07 Plymouth State University Plymouth, NH $57,304
8. 08 Keene State College Keene, NH $54,368

What graduates in New Hampshire earn relative to what they pay for college.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →