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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Early in your career, the right city accelerates everything: salary growth, networking, savings. We ranked 1 cities in New Hampshire for young professionals, weighting income, job market depth, and transport. Manchester leads with income of $77,415 and 115,474 residents.
Early in your career, the right city accelerates everything: salary growth, networking, savings. We ranked 1 cities in New Hampshire for young professionals, weighting income, job market depth, and transport. Manchester leads with income of $77,415 and 115,474 residents.
Why Manchester ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 115 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 4% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,976/month while the median household pulls in $77,415/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 103, though Housing (115) lags behind. Home prices average $427,321 — $40,049 below the national median.
Bottom line: Manchester leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
#1 Ranked: Manchester — cost index 115, rent $1,976/mo, income $77,415
Young-professional scoring: income $77,415, population 115,474 (job market depth), transport index 104
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
115,474 residents · New Hampshire
A closer look at Manchester: the cost index of 115 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 103 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 115 (weakest). Median rent is $1,976/month — 4% above the national median — while household income sits at $77,415, meaning locals spend about 31% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 115 | $1,976 | Details |
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to young professionals. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in New Hampshire by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Manchester ranks #1 in New Hampshire for this analysis with a cost index of 115 and median income of $77,415.
Manchester scores highest for young professionals due to its strong income potential, median rent of $1,976/mo, and competitive median income of $77,415.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Manchester is $1,976/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $81 above the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Manchester is $427,321, which is 5.5× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
New Hampshire has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 0%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.57%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.