New Hampshire - Pros & Cons of Relocating to the Free State

Thinking of leaving a High-Tax, Big "Government" State? Consider New Hampshire

The Free State Project has organized over 24,000+ activists who have pledged to move to New Hampshire and campaign actively for its political independence. The group has already moved and contained over 6,200+ people in the state, with more arriving weekly. It has spent over a decade successfully rolling back laws, getting libertarians elected to office, and building the political and social networks needed for societal change. I believe if we free New Hampshire, we can ultimately win freedom everywhere, as we demonstrate, through a single “laboratory-of-liberty,” that you can have harmony and prosperity without “government.” We cover the movement weekly in Free State Project Corner in our weekly Five Meme Friday newsletter.

Etienne Note: FSP member Sarah Rodeo Dzialo put this list together for the Free State Project’s Facebook group, where I “taxed it” and turned it into this article. She did a lot of comparisons with CT, which I assume is her previous state but the list is still valid for folks considering leaving CA, NY, NJ, IL and other high tax, BIG “Government” states or Blue Sanctuary Cities.

Pros:

1. $4,400/kid minimum (Education Freedom Account plus Education Tax Credit), for school choice money - often goes up to $7k+

2. One of 8 states with no state income tax (including no state capital gains tax)

3. One of 5 states with no sales tax (unlike wonderful Wyoming & lovely Tennessee)

4. No car tax - annual car fee is less than half of CT’s annual car tax

5. No estate tax

6. No inheritance tax

7. No machinery tax

8. No equipment tax

9. No inventory tax

10. Phasing out the interest & dividends tax by 1% every year to be 0% by 2026

11. #6 in America for lowest overall tax burden on the Tax Foundation’s 2025 index

12. Ban on boys in girls sports

13. Ban on child sex reassignment surgery

14. Mountains

15. Lakes

16. Ocean (unlike Wyoming and Tennessee)

17. Ban on “controversial topics” in public schools was passed - it was appealed but is being fought to be re-instated again

18. Ranked #1 for economic freedom in all of North America 23 years in a row by the Josiah Bartlett Institute

19. Ranked #1 in America for personal & economic freedom by the Cato Institute, who analyzed over 230 laws in all 50 states

20. Home and car insurance rates are some of the lowest in America

21. #1 lowest grocery prices of all 50 states

22. One of the lowest crime rates in America

23. Highest median IQ of all 50 states

24. Highest median income of all 50 states

25. No minimum wage (helps with cost-of-living)

26. Car insurance is not mandated to have

27. Seatbelts are not required

28. Much lower car accident rate than many other states

29. “Only” 10k illegal immigrants in the state as opposed to 120k in CT

30. Constitutional carry

31. Stand Your Ground law

32. No duty to retreat law (unlike CT)

33. Allowed to shoot black bears if they threaten your property or livestock, not just human life (unlike in CT)

34. Statewide ban on sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants

35. Huge Bitcoin culture (only other state with this much crypto culture is Wyoming)

36. Tight zoning laws to preserve historic/colonial New England architecture/charm/character

37. Increased northern border patrol 10x after Hamas’ invasion into Israel

38. 2024 red wave for Governor

39. 2024 red wave for House

40. 2024 red wave for Executive Council

41. 2024 red wave for Senate

42. Hunting-friendly - all state, federal, municipal, county and private land is open to hunting unless it is posted against hunting

43. State doesn’t require registration of beehives (unlike CT)

44. Passed a Defend the Guard law - NH National Guard only serves the state of NH & can’t be deployed internationally

45. All 4 seasons

46. Free State Project mass migration movement has been moving small-government, pro-liberty activists to NH for the last 21 years & continues to do so every month

47. Minimal flooding & hurricane risk, statistically speaking - low on natural disaster index

48. Some climate models (from good, non-leftist sources) show New England heating up nicely over the next several decades, which could result in longer summers & shorter winters

49. State legislators make a measly $100/year (lowest in all 50 states) - being a career politician is therefore literally impossible in NH

50. Voting districts are hyperlocal - approximately 3000 constituents per legislator - lowest in all 50 states, making the NH state legislature one of the most highly representative governments in the world

51. NH state constitution has many amazing & unique pro-individual-liberty elements that many other state constitutions don’t have

52. NH has cheaper energy prices than CT because it comes directly from Canada - & no “public benefits” charge that CT has (NH has cheapest electricity in all of New England)

53. #1 lowest child poverty rate in America

54. NH has the 4th smallest government bureaucracy in America

55. NH has universal reciprocity with licensing (like real estate licenses)

56. CPMs are licensed in the state of NH (unlike in CT), so homebirths can be reimbursed by healthsharing companies

57. State liabilities to GDP is 4.6%, among the healthiest in America (CT is 15-20%)

58. State legislature & governor elections are every 2 years (not 4 or 6)

59. NH is #39 in the country for highest gas taxes (CT is #35, TN is #31, FL is surprisingly #12)

60. Town dump fees are less than half the cost of CT

Cons:

1. High median home prices - but Jason Sorens’ recently-published NH zoning atlas may help with building deregulation efforts

2. Tipped blue for 2024 presidency

3. Some of the highest property tax rates in America - rates comparable to CT (rather understandable because the entire state is basically run off of this 1 tax) - but this also means well-funded libraries, roads & other public infrastructure

4. Minimal homeschooling regulation (CT has zero)

5. Business corporate income tax of 7.5% (down from 8.5%) - same as CT

6. Business enterprise tax of .5% (down from .55%) - CT’s is 0%

7. CT’s bi-annual emissions test is $20 every 2 years - NH’s emissions & inspection is yearly and $50 each time

8. NH has a few toll roads (easy to avoid) - CT has zero

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