New Hampshire’s Safest Cities of 2025

See crime rates for the safest cities.

In New Hampshire, residents are becoming increasingly worried about crime and safety, even though their concern falls below the national average for most types of crime. This increase in concern is matched by an increase in personal crime experiences reported in our State of Safety survey. 

Meanwhile, things are looking much more hopeful in New Hampshire's 20 safest cities, where crime tends to be on the decline. 

We didn't have enough data to accurately calculate statewide crime rates for our 2025 report, but if the safest cities are any indication, crime could be decreasing across The Granite State. The majority of this year's 20 safest cities saw year over year decreases in property crime, and half saw decreases in violent crime. 

Our annual State of Safety survey suggests different trends, however. New Hampshirites were more likely to report personal experiences with property crime, violent crime, and gun violence on this year's survey compared to the previous year. They're increasingly worried, and fewer respondents said they feel safe in their state.

Despite this trajectory, New Hampshire residents worry less about crime than the average American, and their experiences match or fall slightly below national averages. And with 58% saying they feel safe in the state (down from 63% year over year), New Hampshirites still report one of the highest confidence levels in the country. Residents in just ten other states say they feel safer than Granite Staters, including neighbors in Vermont (60%), Massachusetts (61%), and Maine (62%).

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New Hampshire residents are among those least concerned with property crime across the US even though they're just as likely to experience it as the average American. They reported a slight decline in year-over-year package theft experiences, but their concerns continue to slowly increase.

• 27% of New Hampshirites reported personal experiences with property crime in the 8 months prior to our survey, up from 21% the year before (US 27%).
• Concern about property crime rose from 40% to 44% year over year (US 54%). It's the least worrisome crime for New Hampshirites.
• Residents from just five other states report feeling less concerned about property crime than New Hampshirites, including those from nearby Maine (42%) and Rhode Island (38%).
• 33% of participants reported experiencing package theft in the 8 months prior to the survey, down from 34% the year before (US 37%). 
• Concern about package theft rose from 45% to 50% year over year (US 52%).
• 40% of Granite Staters told us they added security or safety measures in the 8 months prior to our survey (US 37%).
• 33% told us they use no property protection, which is the fourth highest percentage in the nation.
• Those who do protect their property prefer to use security cameras (44%), guard dogs (31%), and firearms (22%). 

New Hampshirites reported a slight increase in violent crime compared to our previous survey. The Granite State now matches the national average for reported violent crime experiences. Meanwhile, concern about violent crime has increased considerably year over year but remains below the national average. 

• 14% of Granite Staters said they personally experienced a violent crime in the 8 months prior to the survey, up from 13% the year before (US 14%). 
• The percentage of New Hampshire residents who worry about violent crime on a daily basis increased from 33% to 57% year over year (US 59%). That's a 73% increase.
• 27% of survey participants report using some form of personal protection—lower than the US average of 35%.
• Granite Staters prefer to protect themselves with pocket knives (11%), firearms (9%), pepper spray (8%), and self defense keychains (8%). 
• New Hampshire residents tie with Tennesseans for the lowest usage of pepper spray nationwide.

• 9% said they experienced a gun violence incident in the 8 months prior to our survey, up from 6% the year before (US 11%).
• The percentage of New Hampshirites who worry about gun violence on a daily basis increased from 36% to 57% year over year (US 57%).
• There were no mass shootings in New Hampshire during 2024.
• New Hampshire residents are among those least likely to use firearms for personal or property protection.

For the purposes of this report, the terms “dangerous” and “safest” refer explicitly to crime rates as calculated from FBI crime data—no other characterization of any community is implied or intended.

• 65 cities met the criteria for ranking this year.
• Nottingham is this year's safest city in New Hampshire.
• 5 cities reported zero violent crimes: Nottingham, Deerfield, Chester, Rye, and Auburn. 
• 3 cities reported zero burglaries: New Boston, Auburn, and Hollis.
• 4 cities reported zero motor vehicle thefts: Nottingham, Atkinson, Rye, and Brookline.
• 4 cities saw declines in both violent crime and property crime for the second year in a row: Auburn, Loudon, Amherst, and Barrington.
• 16 of the 20 safest cities (80%) saw a year-over-year decrease in property crime, and 50% saw a year-over-year decrease in violent crime.
•  Zero murders were reported in New Hampshire's 20 safest cities.

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