78,078 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.0% since 2020)
707 square miles of land · 110 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.
34 active community water systems list Cheshire County in the area they serve, reporting 48,342 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| KEENE WATER DEPT surface water · local government · NH1241010 | 30,000 served |
| JAFFREY WATER WORKS groundwater · local government · NH1221010 | 3,800 served |
| WINCHESTER WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · NH2531010 | 2,800 served |
| NORTH HINSDALE WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · NH1151010 | 1,800 served |
| N SWANZEY WATER AND FIRE PRCT buys surface water · local government · NH2301010 | 1,700 served |
| HINSDALE WATER DEPT/DOWNTOWN groundwater · local government · NH1151020 | 1,600 served |
| TROY WATER WORKS groundwater · local government · NH2361010 | 1,200 served |
| WALPOLE WATER DEPT groundwater · local government · NH2401010 | 1,057 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 106 people were held in Cheshire County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 218 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 158.
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.
11 school districts have their office in Cheshire County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $69.9 million — $61.1 million to run schools, about $19,936 per student, plus $7.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $46.6 million local (mostly property tax), $17.7 million state, $5.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $16.4 million.
Spent $37.4 million — $35.8 million to run schools, about $21,918 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $18.7 million local (mostly property tax), $13.6 million state, $4.8 million federal.
Spent $28.5 million — $26.3 million to run schools, about $21,280 per student, plus $1.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $19.2 million local (mostly property tax), $8.5 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $870,000.
Spent $14.7 million — $14.4 million to run schools, about $27,254 per student, plus $141,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.1 million state, $1.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.7 million.
Spent $12.2 million — $9.2 million to run schools, about $25,167 per student, plus $231,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $5 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $350,000.
Spent $8.5 million — $6.4 million to run schools, about $24,348 per student, plus $142,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.5 million local (mostly property tax), $2 million state, $438,000 federal.
Spent $5.2 million — $3.8 million to run schools, about $24,510 per student, plus $34,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.7 million local (mostly property tax), $2 million state, $381,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.7 million.
Spent $3.8 million — $2.8 million to run schools, about $25,255 per student, plus $38,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.6 million local (mostly property tax), $1 million state, $167,000 federal.
And 3 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 Cheshire County about $27.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
194 bridges in Cheshire County: 82 in good condition, 90 fair, and 22 poor (11.3%). “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.
| NH101 over OTTER BROOK · built 1933 | 11,538 vehicles a day |
| NH 12 over S BRANCH ASHUELOT RIVER · built 1941 | 8,976 vehicles a day |
| NH119 over CONNECTICUT RIVER · built 1920 | 8,535 vehicles a day |
| NH119 over CONNECTICUT RIVER · built 1920 | 8,535 vehicles a day |
| NH 12 over NHRR(ABD) · built 1957 | 8,066 vehicles a day |
| NH 12 over MILL BROOK · built 1941 | 6,478 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $37.7 million of work in Cheshire County in fiscal 2025, about $493 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 Cheshire 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 Cheshire County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of New Hampshire: the state government and every county in New Hampshire.
Nearby counties: Windham County, VT (24 mi) · Hillsborough County (27 mi) · Franklin County, MA (29 mi) · Sullivan County (30 mi) · Merrimack County (39 mi) · Bennington County, VT (44 mi).