Editor’s Note: Authors of the 2024 New Hampshire Civic Health Report will discuss their findings and assess New Hampshire’s civic health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic on Wed. Oct. 9, 2024 from 8 to 9 a.m. Register here for a link to the Zoom event.

DURHAM, N.H. — Leading into the 2024 elections, the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire is releasing the 2024 New Hampshire Civic Health Report showing how civic health – behaviors, beliefs and actions related to public life – has shifted in the Granite State since 2020. Researchers found long-term data suggests that there has been declines in areas that need attention – including how much people trust each other, attend public meetings, vote and help neighbors, with more than a 30% decline in how New Hampshire residents feel they matter in their own communities.

“As a state, and a nation, we have experienced a number of events including the COVID-19 pandemic, a rise in social justice efforts, the 2020 presidential election and the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol,” said Quixada Moore-Vissing, Carsey faculty fellow and director of Public Engagement Partners. “These are all contributing factors that have affected how Granite Staters engage in civic life, and with each other. The hope of this report is that the data can be used to help both the state overall and local communities strengthen civic health.” 

The report, a collaboration between Carsey’s New Hampshire’s Listens, Center for Social Policy in Practice and the UNH Survey Center, focuses on the civic health of New Hampshire from 2019 through 2024 using a specific set of indicators. Key civic health areas to focus on include:

• New Hampshire residents feel they matter less to their communities and are engaging less with others. Mattering fell from 76% to 43% The share of residents across New Hampshire who do favors for neighbors fell by half.
• Over half of New Hampshire residents engage across race, ethnicity and culture. Individuals ages 65 and older interact with someone with a different race, ethnicity or culture at a significantly lower rate than all other age groups.  
• Findings suggest that urban residents vote less than suburban or rural residents in national elections. For instance, 76% of rural people voted in the 2020 presidential election, compared with 57% of urban residents. 
• Trust in both national and local government remains low since 2019. Only 1% of residents trust the national government all the time and 49% almost never trust the national government. 
• Granite Staters shared mixed feelings about how much they feel they belong. Slightly less than half of New Hampshire residents feel they belong in their local community (49%) and only slight majorities feel comfortable expressing their opinions (59%) or are satisfied with their relationships with others (55%) in their community. The majority of Granite Staters (62%) reported they feel connected to their local community.

Researchers point out that New Hampshire’s population has increased 1.3%, to nearly 1.4 million, since they released their 2020 New Hampshire Civic Health Index. They stress that a growing state is essential to creating a robust workforce, a steady economy and thriving communities but as the state has expanded there has also been growing concern about income inequality. Especially in the wake of the pandemic, many households and individuals are grappling with negative outcomes including housing insecurity, childcare hurdles and healthcare concerns.

“Those disproportionately affected from high-burden costs may have difficulty prioritizing other needs and may be less inclined to participate in public life,” said Michele Holt-Shannon, director and co-founder of New Hampshire Listens. “But as the state’s population continues to grow, so can people’s ability to connect and feel like they belong. When residents feel they belong, they’re more likely to feel included in their community, express their thoughts and opinions and feel able to influence decisions.”

Researchers say this report echoes findings from their 2020 report that there needs to be an emphasis on ways to bring people together across politics as well as racial, cultural, and social identities, which is critical to the changing image of the state. Efforts to increase civic engagement are also critical, including work around voter participation and opportunities to help people feel they belong and matter to their communities.  

Co-authors on the report include Quixada Moore-Vissing, a Carsey School of Public Policy fellow; Carrie Portrie, research assistant professor and program manager for New Hampshire Listens; Harshita Sarup, research scientist at the Center for Social Policy in Practice; and Michele Holt-Shannon, director of New Hampshire Listens. 

The Carsey School of Public Policy is nationally recognized for research, policy education and bringing people together for thoughtful dialogue to address important societal challenges. The school develops and facilitates innovative, responsive and equitable solutions at all levels of government and in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

About UNH
The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from 50 states and 87 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. A Carnegie Classification R1 institution, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF, and NIH, and received over $210 million in competitive external funding in FY23 to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.