How it works
A random place in New Hampshire is far more often a town than a city, and the towns run from Derry down to Hart's Location. Figures are the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates.
Read the full guide
Towns that outgrew the cities
Derry, a town, has 33,990 people, more than nine of the 13 cities, and 22 towns are bigger than Franklin, the smallest city. Strafford County has three cities, Dover, Rochester and Somersworth, while Carroll County has none.
Ten counties and three names that mislead
Grafton County has 39 cities and towns, the most, and Belknap County 11. The town of Merrimack is in Hillsborough County, not Merrimack County; Carroll is in Coos County and Sullivan in Cheshire County.
- Dixville Notch, known for its midnight primary vote, has no card: it is in Dixville, an unincorporated township of Coos County.
- Merrimack gained more than 2,800 people between 2020 and 2025, the most of any place in the state.
Questions and answers
How many towns are in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire has 221 towns and 13 cities, 234 municipalities in all. The Census file lists 25 more places that are not incorporated, such as grants and purchases, 23 of them in Coos County. They have no card.
What is the difference between a city and a town in New Hampshire?
None in state law, which treats both alike. By tradition a town has a board of selectmen and a town meeting, and a city a mayor and council under a charter from the legislature. Lebanon, in 1957, was the most recent town made a city.
What is the smallest town in New Hampshire?
Hart's Location, in Carroll County, with 68 people in the 2025 estimates. Ellsworth in Grafton County has 92 and Roxbury in Cheshire County 220.
What are the largest cities in New Hampshire?
Manchester, with 116,818 people, then Nashua with 92,435, Concord, the capital, with 44,597 and Dover with 34,623. Rochester, the fifth city, has 33,716.