The State of the American Dream in New Hampshire

This research report uses data from the 2000 and 1990 Censuses to track developments in median income for New Hampshire families over the past two decades. Among its key findings is that the typical New Hampshire family, which enjoyed above average real income growth over the 1980s, struggled to keep ahead of the increases in the cost of living over the 1990s, despite strong gains in real output and employment during this decade. The major source of earnings growth for Granite State families came from married women, who increased their hours of work and saw their real wages rise throughout the 1990s.