Languages Spoken in New Hampshire: Map and County Data
Languages Spoken Across New Hampshire Counties
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, about 99,000 people age 5 and older in New Hampshire speak a language other than English at home, representing 7.9% of the state’s population age 5+. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language, with about 26,300 speakers, followed by French and Chinese.
Most Spoken Non-English Languages in New Hampshire
The most spoken non-English languages in New Hampshire are Spanish, French, and Chinese. Spanish is spoken at home by about 26,300 people, or roughly 2.1% of the state’s population age 5+.
Key Language Findings for New Hampshire
About 99,000 people in New Hampshire speak a language other than English at home, representing 7.9% of residents age 5 and older.
The most spoken non-English languages in New Hampshire are Spanish, French, and Chinese.
Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in New Hampshire, with about 26,300 speakers, representing roughly 2.1% of residents age 5 and older.
Hillsborough County has the largest Spanish-speaking population in New Hampshire, with about 15,700 speakers.
Hillsborough County has the largest population speaking a language other than English at home, with more than 48,400 residents.
While Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, another language leads in 5 of the 10 New Hampshire counties, including French in Strafford County.
How Language Use Varies Across New Hampshire Counties
Language patterns differ sharply by county. Spanish is the most spoken non-English language statewide, but it leads in only 5 of the 10 New Hampshire counties, and county-level rankings show large local communities speaking French, other Asian languages, Chinese, other Indic languages, German, other Pacific Island languages, Polish, and other languages.
Hillsborough County has both the largest number of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the highest share relative to its age-5+ population, at 12.7%. In Strafford County, French is the leading non-English language, showing how statewide rankings can differ substantially at the local level.
English Proficiency and Language Access in New Hampshire
Speaking a language other than English at home does not necessarily mean someone has limited English proficiency. Census table B16001 also separates language groups by whether residents report speaking English "very well" or less than "very well," providing additional context for organizations planning language access services. For a broader look at limited English proficiency across the country, explore Boostlingo's LEP State Map.
Plan Language Access Around the Communities You Serve
Boostlingo helps healthcare, government, education, legal, and business organizations connect people with interpreting and translation services across hundreds of languages.
Explore Interpreter ServicesSearch or sort the full county dataset to compare the share of residents speaking a language other than English at home and the six most spoken non-English languages in each county.
| County | % Other Language | Other-Language Speakers | #1 Language | #2 Language | #3 Language | #4 Language | #5 Language | #6 Language | Population Age 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough County | 48,451 | Spanish 15,685 | French 8,862 | Other Asian 2,514 | Chinese 2,062 | Other Indic 1,971 | Portuguese 1,868 | 381,438 | |
| Coos County | 3,842 | French 2,923 | Spanish 371 | Greek 126 | German 59 | Serbo-Croatian 56 | Other Indo-European 49 | 30,548 | |
| Strafford County | 8,533 | French 1,972 | Spanish 1,306 | Other Pacific Island 657 | Chinese 614 | Other Asian 586 | German 450 | 118,806 | |
| Grafton County | 5,871 | Spanish 1,167 | French 885 | Chinese 848 | German 377 | Korean 321 | Arabic 287 | 85,506 | |
| Rockingham County | 17,924 | Spanish 5,103 | French 3,530 | Chinese 903 | Arabic 800 | Portuguese 782 | German 780 | 284,992 | |
| Merrimack County | 7,230 | French 1,963 | Spanish 1,104 | Other Indic 802 | Chinese 593 | German 419 | African languages 264 | 140,154 | |
| Belknap County | 2,192 | French 629 | Spanish 379 | German 228 | Italian 78 | Greek 78 | Tagalog / Filipino 71 | 57,523 | |
| Sullivan County | 1,503 | Spanish 412 | French 350 | Polish 153 | Tagalog / Filipino 138 | Chinese 114 | German 79 | 41,051 | |
| Cheshire County | 2,173 | French 427 | Spanish 387 | German 317 | Chinese 194 | Greek 104 | Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 91 | 72,882 | |
| Carroll County | 1,311 | Spanish 379 | French 307 | German 139 | Italian 75 | Other Indic 67 | Mon-Khmer / Cambodian 54 | 45,709 |
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2011–2015 5-Year Estimates, table B16001, Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over. Statewide and county estimates use the same Census table so the figures can be compared consistently across the page.
The estimates describe languages spoken at home among residents age 5 and older. Census estimates include margins of error, particularly for smaller counties and less common language groups.