What Your California Equity Buys in New Hampshire

Why California homeowners choose New Hampshire

New Hampshire is one trade, and understanding it decides the whole question. There is no income tax on wages and no sales tax at all. In exchange, the state funds schools, towns, and counties almost entirely through property tax, and the effective rates are among the highest in the country.

That means the answer depends on your specific situation, not on the state. A high earner buying a modest house wins decisively. A retiree on fixed income buying a large house on a lake can lose. Run your own two numbers before you get attached to the idea.

The detail that catches people: New Hampshire also levies a Real Estate Transfer Tax at conveyance, split between buyer and seller by default, so both sides pay at closing. And southern New Hampshire is functionally a Boston suburb, which is why housing there costs what it does. If the tax-free-income argument is what draws you, compare Tennessee and Florida, both of which get there without the property tax load.

Cost of living versus California

Outside housing and property tax, New Hampshire is moderately priced. No sales tax is a genuine everyday saving, and residents of neighboring states drive here specifically to buy appliances and liquor.

Heating is a real winter budget line. Much of the housing stock runs on oil or propane rather than natural gas, and a cold January is expensive.

Overall cost index vs California

About 15% lower

Effective property tax rate

Among the highest in the nation

State income tax on wages

None

State sales tax

None

Taxes: what actually changes

Wages, salary, and self-employment income are not taxed by the state. New Hampshire previously taxed interest and dividend income separately, and that tax has been phased out, so investment income is now untaxed as well.

Property tax rates are set town by town and published annually per thousand of assessed value. Comparing towns on that published rate is the single most useful thing a buyer can do here, and it is public information.

There is no state estate or inheritance tax. Business owners should note the state does levy separate business profits and business enterprise taxes, which catch smaller operations than owners expect.

The housing market

Inventory is thin, particularly in the southern tier within reach of Boston jobs. Competition there resembles a California market more than a New England one, and well-priced homes go quickly.

Most housing predates modern building code. Expect to evaluate knob-and-tube wiring, buried oil tanks, septic systems, and private wells. Water testing for arsenic and radon is standard practice in this state for good reason, since both occur naturally in the granite bedrock.

Where people land in New Hampshire

• Portsmouth

  Walkable seacoast city with a genuine restaurant scene and the highest prices in the state.

• Nashua

  Southern border city with Boston area jobs and no sales tax on the purchases across the line.

• Concord

  State capital, stable public sector employment, and moderate prices for the region.

• Hanover

  Dartmouth College town with excellent schools and a small, expensive housing supply.

• Exeter

  Historic town near the coast with strong schools and commuter rail access south.