New Hampshire Uncharted

For years, New Hampshire's housing shortage has been one of the state's most pressing challenges. Home prices and rents have risen sharply, vacancy rates remain among the lowest in the nation, and Granite Staters in communities statewide continue to struggle with a shortage of housing options. In this episode of New Hampshire Uncharted, NHFPI Executive Director Gene Martin speaks with Nick Taylor,...

Public services in New Hampshire from schools to road maintenance depend heavily on one major revenue source: property taxes. But the way those taxes are structured creates big differences in what people pay and raises important questions about fairness, affordability, and how communities fund essential services.  In this episode of New Hampshire Uncharted, NHFPI Executive Director Gene Martin spe...

Public education is one of the largest investments New Hampshire makes, and one of the most debated. The state relies more heavily on local property taxes to fund schools than most other states, creating major differences in tax rates and school funding across communities. For decades, that has raised a complex question: how can New Hampshire fund public education more fairly?  In Episode 3 of Sea...

Health care costs are a growing part of what makes everyday life in New Hampshire harder to afford. For many Granite Staters, managing chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or obesity isn’t just about doctor visits. It’s about access to medications that can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month.  In Episode 2 of Season Two of New Hampshire Uncharted, host Gene Martin is j...

Energy costs affect nearly every household in New Hampshire from monthly utility bills to housing affordability and long-term economic security. As lawmakers debate proposals aimed at controlling rising energy costs, understanding who represents consumers and how energy policy decisions are made has never been more important.  In the first episode of Season Two of New Hampshire Uncharted, host Gen...

Welcome to Season 2 of New Hampshire Uncharted! This season we will explore the specific policy proposals moving through the State House that could shape the state’s future, and what they mean for people who live and work here. New episodes are coming soon. Be sure to subscribe.

As 2025 winds down, New Hampshire residents are feeling the effects of rising costs, major federal policy changes, and a constrained State Budget. In this special year-in-review episode, host Gene Martin sits down with NHFPI Research Director Phil Sletten and Policy Analyst Jessica Williams to break down the year’s biggest policy developments related to health care, housing, taxes, child care, and...

New Hampshire’s newest graduates are stepping into a job market filled with both opportunity and uncertainty. Even with low unemployment, many young people are beginning adulthood already in the red, as housing, health care, and child care costs continue rising faster than wages. At the same time, slowing job growth and persistent underemployment are reshaping the workforce and forcing young Grani...

The cost of purchasing a house in New Hampshire has surged more than 275 percent over the last quarter-century, forcing a reshaping the finances of families, employers, and entire communities. A typical single-family house that sold for about $137,000 in 1999 now sells for roughly $514,000. Wages haven’t kept up, leaving more Granite Staters priced out of ownership and straining renters as well. ...

Food insecurity in New Hampshire is rising…again. After the COVID-19 pandemic aid briefly lowered hunger rates, food insecurity has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, with more than 42,000 Granite State households struggling to afford enough to eat. The effects are far-reaching, ranging from health challenges to educational setbacks for children.  A recent analysis from the New Hampshire Fiscal Pol...

New Hampshire is aging faster than nearly every other state in the country — and that shift is reshaping everything from our housing market to our workforce. In the latest episode of New Hampshire Uncharted, host Gene Martin sits down with three experts to unpack what the Granite State’s aging population means for communities, caregivers, businesses, and policy.  Joining the conversation:  Lily We...

In this episode of New Hampshire Uncharted, host Gene Martin sits down with two of New Hampshire’s leading experts on health care policy to unpack a question that concerns every household, business, and budget in the Granite State: Why is health care so expensive here – and what can we do about it? Deborah Fournier, Director of Health Law and Policy at the UNH Institute for Health Policy and Pract...

In the latest episode of New Hampshire Uncharted, host Gene Martin sits down with New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration Commissioner Lindsey Stepp and NHFPI Research Director Phil Sletten to explore why the state’s revenue outlook is dimming—and what it could mean for the upcoming budget. “I've been involved with revenue estimating at DRA since roughly 2010 in various roles, and I thi...

In its inaugural episode, New Hampshire Uncharted dives into the State Budget—a critical yet often misunderstood blueprint that determines funding for essential services like education, healthcare, transportation, and public safety. With insights from Charlie Arlinghaus, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services, and Phil Sletten, NHFPI’s Research Director, the discus...