65,257 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.3% since 2020)
402 square miles of land · 162 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
70 active community water systems list Belknap County in the area they serve, reporting 37,255 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| LACONIA WATER WORKS surface water · local government · NH1281010 | 17,125 served |
| MEREDITH WATER DEPT surface water · local government · NH1521010 | 3,750 served |
| LOCKE LAKE surface water · private · NH0142010 | 2,308 served |
| ALTON WATER WORKS groundwater · local government · NH0061010 | 1,800 served |
| BELMONT WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · NH0201010 | 1,612 served |
| GUNSTOCK ACRES VILLAGE DIST groundwater · local government · NH0881020 | 1,440 served |
| NEW HAMPTON VILLAGE PCT surface water · local government · NH1691010 | 600 served |
| PINE GARDENS MHP groundwater · private · NH0203040 | 413 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 91 people were held in Belknap County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 227 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 95.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
9 school districts have their office in Belknap County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $44.1 million — $41.1 million to run schools, about $22,385 per student, plus $1.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $25 million local (mostly property tax), $13.7 million state, $7.9 million federal.
Spent $26.8 million — $25.7 million to run schools, about $19,715 per student, plus $946,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $15.6 million local (mostly property tax), $10.1 million state, $2.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $697,000.
Spent $28 million — $25.4 million to run schools, about $21,789 per student, plus $2.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $17.7 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $3.4 million federal.
Spent $24.8 million — $24.1 million to run schools, about $21,371 per student, plus $290,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $20.1 million local (mostly property tax), $5 million state, $1.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $2.2 million.
Spent $30.2 million — $28.5 million to run schools, about $31,036 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $22.1 million local (mostly property tax), $6.5 million state, $1.2 million federal.
Spent $14.1 million — $9.6 million to run schools, about $20,369 per student, plus $191,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.8 million local (mostly property tax), $4.5 million state, $695,000 federal. Long-term debt: $480,000.
Spent $16.2 million — $11.5 million to run schools, about $27,336 per student, plus $230,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.7 million local (mostly property tax), $3.9 million state, $324,000 federal.
Spent $12.1 million — $8.4 million to run schools, about $23,079 per student, plus $43,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.4 million local (mostly property tax), $2.5 million state, $461,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1 million.
And 1 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Belknap County about $23.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
112 bridges in Belknap County: 65 in good condition, 42 fair, and 5 poor (4.5%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| NH 11 over MERRYMEETING RIVER · built 1934 | 10,346 vehicles a day |
| NH 11 over POOR FARM BROOK · built 1966 | 5,227 vehicles a day |
| NH 11B over GUNSTOCK RIVER · built 1941 | 2,690 vehicles a day |
| CENTENARY AVENUE over NHRR · built 1940 | 510 vehicles a day |
| BROOK ROAD over SALMON BROOK · built 1900 | 96 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $18.7 million of work in Belknap County in fiscal 2025, about $293 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for New Hampshire are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Belknap County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Belknap County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of New Hampshire: the state government and every county in New Hampshire.
Nearby counties: Merrimack County (20 mi) · Strafford County (25 mi) · Carroll County (27 mi) · Grafton County (35 mi) · York County, ME (38 mi) · Rockingham County (40 mi).