Strafford County, New Hampshire

Strafford County
County
Strafford County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°15′30″N 70°58′34″W / 43.258289°N 70.976105°W / 43.258289; -70.976105
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Founded	1771
Named for	William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford
Seat	Dover
Largest city	Dover
Area
• Total	382.6 sq mi (991 km2)
• Land	367.6 sq mi (952 km2)
• Water	15.0 sq mi (39 km2)  3.9%
Population  (2020)
• Total	130,889
• Estimate  (2022)	132,275
• Density	356.1/sq mi (137.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	co.strafford.nh.us

Strafford County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,889.^[1] Its county seat is Dover.^[2] Strafford County was one of the five original counties identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was named after William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford in the mistaken belief that he was the ancestor of governor John Wentworth – although they were distantly related, William had no descendants. The county was organized at Dover in 1771. In 1840, the size of the original county was reduced with the creation of Belknap County.

Strafford County constitutes a portion of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as of the greater Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area. It is estimated to be New Hampshire's county with the highest percentage growth over the 2010–2019 period.^[3]

Strafford County is in southeastern New Hampshire, separated from York County in the state of Maine by the Salmon Falls River. The southern part of the Salmon Falls, from Rollinsford to Dover, is a tidal river that flows into the Piscataqua River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 384 square miles (990 km²), of which 369 square miles (960 km²) is land and 15 square miles (39 km²) (3.9%) is water.^[4] It is the smallest county in New Hampshire by area.

• Carroll County (north)
• York County, Maine (east)
• Rockingham County (south)
• Merrimack County (west)
• Belknap County (northwest)

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	23,611		—
1800	32,614		38.1%
1810	41,595		27.5%
1820	51,117		22.9%
1830	58,910		15.2%
1840	61,127		3.8%
1850	29,374		−51.9%
1860	31,493		7.2%
1870	30,243		−4.0%
1880	35,558		17.6%
1890	38,442		8.1%
1900	39,337		2.3%
1910	38,951		−1.0%
1920	38,546		−1.0%
1930	38,580		0.1%
1940	43,553		12.9%
1950	51,567		18.4%
1960	59,799		16.0%
1970	70,431		17.8%
1980	85,408		21.3%
1990	104,233		22.0%
2000	112,233		7.7%
2010	123,143		9.7%
2020	130,889		6.3%
2022 (est.)	132,275	[5]	1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790–1960[7] 1900–1990[8] 1990–2000[9] 2010–2020[1]

As of the census^[10] of 2000, there were 112,233 people, 42,581 households, and 27,762 families living in the county. The population density was 304 inhabitants per square mile (117/km²). There were 45,539 housing units at an average density of 124 units per square mile (48/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.29% White, 0.63% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 15.8% were of English, 14.9% Irish, 14.0% French, 10.5% French Canadian, 7.6% American, 6.3% Italian and 6.2% German ancestry. 93.7% spoke English and 3.2% French as their first language.

There were 42,581 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.10% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 13.60% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,803, and the median income for a family was $53,075. Males had a median income of $36,661 versus $26,208 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,479. About 5.00% of families and 9.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 6.60% of those age 65 or over.

The largest cities in Strafford County are Dover (population) and Rochester (land area) .

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 123,143 people, 47,100 households, and 29,862 families living in the county.^[11] The population density was 333.7 inhabitants per square mile (128.8/km²). There were 51,697 housing units at an average density of 140.1 per square mile (54.1/km²).^[12] The racial makeup of the county was 93.8% white, 2.6% Asian, 1.0% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population.^[11] In terms of ancestry, 24.4% were French or French Canadian, 19.7% were Irish, 17.4% were English, 9.5% were Italian, 8.7% were German, 5.2% were American, and 5.0% were Scottish.^[13]

Of the 47,100 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.6% were non-families, and 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 36.9 years.^[11]

The median income for a household in the county was $57,809 and the median income for a family was $72,286. Males had a median income of $50,489 versus $37,178 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,059. About 6.7% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.^[14]

United States presidential election results for Strafford County, New Hampshire^[15]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	33,163	43.24%	42,374	55.25%	1,153	1.50%
2020	30,489	41.31%	41,721	56.53%	1,595	2.16%
2016	29,072	42.13%	34,894	50.57%	5,034	7.30%
2012	26,729	41.78%	36,026	56.32%	1,214	1.90%
2008	25,021	39.19%	37,990	59.50%	837	1.31%
2004	25,825	43.56%	32,942	55.57%	514	0.87%
2000	21,108	42.73%	25,400	51.42%	2,885	5.84%
1996	14,484	33.81%	23,475	54.79%	4,884	11.40%
1992	16,028	33.72%	21,247	44.69%	10,264	21.59%
1988	20,636	54.74%	16,547	43.89%	515	1.37%
1984	20,452	61.31%	12,752	38.23%	152	0.46%
1980	16,399	50.41%	11,041	33.94%	5,091	15.65%
1976	14,569	48.86%	14,566	48.85%	680	2.28%
1972	16,846	57.83%	12,028	41.29%	255	0.88%
1968	12,427	47.28%	13,129	49.95%	727	2.77%
1964	8,342	31.99%	17,737	68.01%	0	0.00%
1960	13,539	48.57%	14,335	51.43%	0	0.00%
1956	15,494	61.58%	9,659	38.39%	7	0.03%
1952	13,729	53.88%	11,753	46.12%	0	0.00%
1948	9,988	45.87%	11,603	53.28%	185	0.85%
1944	9,388	42.87%	12,497	57.07%	13	0.06%
1940	8,996	41.18%	12,847	58.82%	0	0.00%
1936	8,215	41.71%	11,005	55.87%	477	2.42%
1932	9,060	47.44%	9,970	52.20%	68	0.36%
1928	10,470	58.36%	7,441	41.48%	28	0.16%
1924	9,167	56.63%	6,445	39.82%	575	3.55%
1920	8,700	60.37%	5,643	39.15%	69	0.48%
1916	4,037	49.58%	4,040	49.62%	65	0.80%
1912	2,962	37.66%	3,468	44.09%	1,436	18.26%
1908	4,822	56.25%	3,523	41.09%	228	2.66%
1904	4,869	56.58%	3,553	41.29%	183	2.13%
1900	4,987	55.32%	3,792	42.06%	236	2.62%
1896	5,483	68.58%	2,259	28.26%	253	3.16%
1892	4,666	51.68%	4,229	46.84%	134	1.48%
1888	4,580	51.28%	4,270	47.81%	82	0.92%
1884	4,370	52.74%	3,781	45.63%	135	1.63%
1880	4,634	53.78%	3,922	45.51%	61	0.71%
1876	4,052	54.64%	3,363	45.35%	1	0.01%

The executive power of Strafford County's government is held by three county commissioners.^[16]

Name	Hometown	Party
George Maglaras	Dover	Democratic
Robert Watson	Rochester	Democratic
Deanna Rollo	Rollinsford	Democratic

In addition to the County Commission, there are five directly elected officials: they include County Attorney, Register of Deeds, County Sheriff, Register of Probate, and County Treasurer.^[16]

Office	Name
County Attorney	Thomas Velardi (D)
Register of Deeds	Catherine Berube (D)
County Sheriff	Joseph McGivern (D)
Register of Probate	Jan Nedelka (D)
County Treasurer	Pamela Arnold (D)

The general court delegation of Strafford County is made up of all of the members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the county. There are 37 members from 25 different districts. After the 2020 elections, the party distribution of representatives for the county was as follows.^[17]

Affiliation		Members	Voting share
	Democratic Party	24	64.9%
	Republican Party	13	35.1%
Total		37	100%

• Dover (county seat)
• Rochester
• Somersworth

• Durham
• Farmington
• Milton
• Milton Mills

• Bow Lake Village
• Center Strafford
• East Rochester
• Gonic
• North Rochester
• Place

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Strafford County, New Hampshire

• Robert S. Canney, The Early Marriages of Strafford County, New Hampshire. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995.
• D. Hamilton Hurd, History of Rockingham and Strafford Counties, New Hampshire: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis, 1882.
• John Scales, History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens. Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1914.

• Strafford County web site

43°17′N 71°02′W / 43.29°N 71.03°W / 43.29; -71.03